I bought this for me and the Rosemarie Desk for my husband as matching desks for our office.  For the price, I expected it to be very cheap looking (we were ok with that since we expect these desks to get used by kids too), but I was surprised that it didn't look like super fake wood.  There is a grain feel in it (if you need super smooth surface, this won't work) and unless you are up close, you wouldn't be able to tell the wood is fake.  When we were putting it together, the metal seemed a little flimsy as well, but once it was all put together, it did the trick.  It's not as solid as a rock, but it's not going anywhere either.