We are pleased with the quality with a couple little quirks that come from assembling something yourself (some very minor gaps in pieces that aren't noticeable to anyone but us). The only thing we don't really like is that the surface shows a lot of fingerprints. But we got a large desk pad that goes over our work area and matches the dark brown/black wood.  The quality of the desk for the price can't be beat - similar desks we found in stores were almost twice what we paid. So we saved a lot of money putting it together ourselves. Desk took FOREVER to put together - be prepared for hours of assembly or hire a handyman to do it for you. Overall, directions were detailed but easy to follow. We aren't the handiest people but if you can follow directions you'll be okay. There were about 30 pages in all and we followed the accompanying video step by step - that was a GAME CHANGER and helped us see where things should go and how that weren't necessarily communicated on a stagnant page.