I'm actually impressed. This little desk (I purchased the 47" in white) was easy to assemble, though there's a gazillion hex bolts & screws that are packaged in individual bags labeled with numbers that correspond to numbers in the directions, so you'll know exactly which to use where. The parts are all well-made, holes are all pre-drilled and some are lined with anchors. It is very sturdy once assembled, and actually nice looking for being relatively inexpensive.The directions were clear, but I suggest you decide if you want the drawers on the left side or right before assembly, then look at the directions carefully. There are actually 2 sets of directions all in the same directions booklet - one for drawers on the right, one for drawers on the left - that I didn't even see until I was nearly done because I just jumped right in without reading the directions through first. I highly recommend reading through ALL the directions before assembly. I did NOT and ended up having to take part of it back apart because I'm an idiot. ;)It took about an hour (less the taking it apart part) to assemble alone in a cramped space. The individual pieces, wood and metal, out of the box are light enough for even an old weakling like me to lift alone. If you have access to a drill motor with phillips head bit and small hex bit, it would probably make it go much faster, but I opted to do it all with the screwdriver and allen wrech provided. They've sent extra feet, hex bolts, nuts and/or screws for each portion of the assembly.I always keep a glass of water and usually a cup of coffee on the desk while I'm working. I'm not sure if the laminated top will warp if something wet or hot is on it, so I've purchased some coasters just in case.Unlike described in some reviews, my desk arrived in perfect condition with not even a single nick or mark anywhere on the parts. It was really well packed in the box with cushioning all around.I love the monitor riser. My laptop on an air cooler actually fits quite well on it, though I do have the desk pulled about 3/4" away from the wall. It's raised up so I'm not crouching and hurting my back. I love the power and USB outlets. I wasn't really concerned about the LED lights, but they are kind of cool and make a great night light if you're into that kind of thing. I DID read the directions for this part of the assembly. They wanted me to assemble the riser and attach it to the desk, THEN add the outlets and LED light strip. I opted to install the outlet and LEDs on the riser first, THEN attach the riser to the desk. I believe that saved me quite a bit of angst because the riser is only 4" tall and I'd have had to install the LED by looking under it. Bah!Moving on. The fabric drawers are actually sturdier than I imagined. It's kind of a nifty way to get around sending pre-built drawers. I don't know how long they'll hold up, but I'm not rough on stuff so I suspect it will be nearly forever. I do plan to line the bottoms of the drawers with something like parchment paper, wallpaper, or maybe even waxed paper to protect them from dust and debris, and use drawer organizers to keep items from making contact with the fabric.Overall, I'm really happy with this desk. It's a massive improvement from the little dressing table I was using, has SO much more space and storage and I look forward to getting years of use out of it.