Set aside 6 hours of your time, at minimum. My desk arrived in two different shipments, which allowed for me to make sure all pieces were accounted for and not damaged. Take your time and read the directions. Power tools are not recommended so having an extra person to help assemble would be beneficial. Overall I am so pleased with this desk! It gives me a lot of workspace and the storage is great. The front secret cabinet is the perfect spot to put the router. This looks just as nice as some of the 2k desks I was looking.