I personally couldn't understand the instructions well enough to put this thing together. I had my boyfriend do all of the work and it was easy for him (typical). It took about two hours or so do put it together properly. We had confusion with some of the tools. It says a mallet is needed, but it's not. Sadly, it got scratches on it as we were putting it together. It is very nice quality and sturdy enough for my needs. It has a drawer for hanging files, but I doubt I'll be using it at all. Has enough space for me and I'm an online college student. I would definitely recommend this desk to anybody. It goes nicely in the living room and matches our other black furnishings.