South Shore Axess Desk with Keyboard Tray in Weathered Oak Finish - Modern Home Office Computer Desk for Work & Study - Perfect for Small Spaces & Remote Work

First review: First of all, I bought 2 of these. We wanted matching desks for my husband and I in the living room. We paid around $89 each in January 2011. When first removing the parts, I thought we had a great desk, the wood is a little thicker than other desks made this way. I was a little disappointed by the plastic dowels that help hold the pieces together. Most manufacturers use wooden dowels. I was also disappointed with the plastic drawer slides on the drawer. These are 100% plastic with plastic tabs that you lightly hammer into the wood. Each piece (there are 4, 2 on the desk and 2 on the drawer) only has 1 screw to help hold it in place. You tap in these plastic pieces about 1/2 way though the construction, by the time I got to the very end to put the drawer into the desk, these had popped out about 1/2 way, so I had to grab the hammer and tap them back in in order to get the drawer into place. My biggest disappointment would be that nice shelf that runs along the back of the whole desk. This DOES NOT screw down at all. It has 4 of the above mentioned plastic dowels and basically sits right on top of the desk. There are very shallow holes on the top of the desk for the plastic dowels to sit into. You can very easily knock the entire thing off. This would explain why they don't show the monitor on that shelf in the pictures.... I'm not sure why they designed it this way, there is ample room for them to install some cam locks and screws and attach it to the desk more securely. Also, be sure to check your pieces, one desk was missing 2 cam locks, the other was missing 3!As far as the instructions go, some pieces were not marked as other reviewers have said. Also, it does not tell you which way to have the finished edge facing, so you're not putting things on backwards, when applicable. You need to pay attention to that. Otherwise, I didn't feel that the instructions were hard to understand. I put together both desks while making dinner, took about 2 hours in all. I will be posting pictures soon with the above mentioned problems. You'll be able to see then from the product page, where the manufacturer pictures are. Aside from the shelf not being attached to the desk more securely, I really like these desks. The color is great, mine came very well packaged, no damage at all.Follow up: April 2011. We've had these desks for a few months now and both hold up very well. We do have our monitors on the small shelf I mentioned above and it has not, as of yet, fallen down. We have both desks back to back, so there really is no way to accidentally hit the shelf and cause it to fall, like I feared would happen. All together a very nice little desk.Follow up February 2013: I'm actually looking at a South Shores dresser and remembered these desks are also South Shore. We've had them for over 2 years now, the finished has chipped off in some areas where the edge is, most noticablly where I store my computer tower , this is from pulling the tower in and out. For the $89 that we spent, you can't expect perfection, and have to realize that these desks simply won't last for forever like a nice sturdy all wood piece would. Some of the finish has worn off from using the mouse and not a mouse pad and part of the wood has cracked on the keyboard tray. Still every usable, but I imagine we will replace these in another year or so. As stated in my first review, we purchased two of these and my husbands is in much better shape, but he doesn't use his as often as I do (I am a heavy computer user). Still a good little desk for the price, but keep in mind it will only last for a few years. I'm thinking twice about buying the South Shores dresser now, because I do not want to be spending $300 every few years for a new dresser!