Ameriwood Home Parsons Desk, Espresso

Parsons Desk with Drawer - purchased 6/5/16: SHORT VERSION: This is a really good deal for a desk that looks this nice. I have bought two of these and would recommend them. Nice looking color and faux grain, easy to build, and strong enough to be a desk (but not a ladder). Pros: +Price - I was going to build a desk from materials but this cheaper than buying the wood alone, much less the drawer. +Style - Looks great +Easy to build - seriously anyone with functioning hands can do this one. +Not real wood - no need to worry about water rings from cups! Cons (I am being really nit picky here): -Drawer - the drawer doesn't fully extend so you have to dig around in there if stuff is in the back. -Edges - the edges of the table top are kinda sharp on your forearms. I just rubbed it with some sandpaper to fix that. VERDICT: Buy it, it is really cheap and good quality. I would buy it again in a heartbeat. FULL REVIEW: Looks (5/5): The finish is well represented in the photos. It is a laminate covering over particle board (and laminated wood on the legs). Function (4/5): This desk does exactly what you want. It holds your computer off of the floor. The proportions are good and it is fairly sturdy. When assembled properly, there is a small amount of glue on the pegs which help to keep things together. See assembly section for more details. It ends up not being too loose or wobbly, and feels reliable. I wouldn't stand on it though... The drawer is a small drawer, which is fine, except it doesn't fully extend beyond the end of the table. This means that you will have to dig around in the back of the drawer underneath the table top to get things if they are back there. This is a very cheap desk, so I am not removing a star for this, but worth noting. My macbook pro 13" (late 2013) fits inside of the drawer and can be inserted and removed with a small amount of clearance - really small. If you have a larger laptop you might not be able to do it. A keyboard and mouse would be no problem to tuck away, though. Assembly (5/5): Assembly takes about 20 - 25 minutes if you aren't working at a feverish pace. The steps are very easy, all told 5 diagrams on the manual. You basically just put glue on the dowel pins (4 of those), stick them in the ends of the legs, and then put two bolts with lockwashers and washers into the legs through the table sides. Very easy. It is actually pleasing to see that they include the glue, as a lot of furniture doesn't even think to require glue, and it is hugely important. The glue comes in a small squeeze tube and it makes it easy to apply.