Sauder Select Engineered Wood Computer Desk in Brushed Maple

TLDR: I did it! A very sturdy and beautiful desk is completed. Recommend going into this knowing it will take some time. Have a large carpeted space to work on. Watch a few old movies while you are at it. It is worth the effort! 11:30 am. I use a hand truck to scoot the box into my apartment. I open the box next to my door because I can’t move it any farther. As I take the pieces out one by one, fear grips me. What if I get 90% done and realize I am missing a part? Next thought – these Styrofoam pieces are cool; I wonder if I can use them for something. Next thought, stop saving trash and move on! I start laying out pieces. Most are labeled with a sticker or by etching or stamping on the part A few have nothing as far as a label. I become confident in my power of deduction and elimination to identify the mystery parts. The instructions and illustrations seem to be written at my level, which is beginner level. Next, ooh, I find the packet of hardware. It is so cute, all bubble wrapped and sorted. My confidence grows. Next, I find the metal pieces for the slides for the pull-out tray. They are impressively heavy. At the bottom is the big piece, EE. EE is heavy! 11:45. Hmm, that big piece of cardboard it was packed in, I wonder...oh yeah, “Stop saving trash”. Off to the recycling bin and to buy a Phillips head screw driver and measuring tape. I have those somewhere, but apparently, I need two, so they can keep each other company, because the first set is hiding from me. I am back from the hardware store, our local Farm and Fleet. It took a while. There is some cute stuff there. I spent $23.00 on the tools. And two bags of hips. And a bag of caramel corn. I will cook carrots and tofu later – it will even out. While shopping, I realized there are some fun people here, and I should have showered first. I came home and showered. You never know when you will need to go to the hardware store again. 12:45 and back at it. Not really, I Googled “Crafts with packing styrofoam.” Not helpful. But I did learn not to recycle the styrofoam, as it takes a lot of energy to process. Better in the trash. Wait, I already said that. 1:00 and back at it. Sorted the big pieces. It appears the two unlabeled pieces are D260 and D263 Large drawer sides, right and left. I see that a No.2 Phillips screwdriver is required. I did buy a No. 2. Whew! Okay, now sorting the hardware. It is 1:45 and I do not know where the time has gone. 2:30. Why, yes. I can confirm that all parts are present and counted. I got a little confused so labeled them with sticky notes. Fear grips me again. What if I drop and loose an essential screw or nail and I can’t finish. Why, yes. That has happened to me in the past. Well, actually, I just had to go to the hardware store in shame. But I have learned. I have a good feeling about this time. Sad discovery. Part B has a small chip on one edge. I took a picture. I am too far in to give up now. We will see if it shows in the finished project. 3:17 First step done. DO I have the Hidden Cams in straight and the Cam Dowels in far enough. I have no reference point. It’s hopeful though. At least, per instructions, I did not tighten the HIDDEN CAMS in this step. 4:00 step 2 is completed. I checked the list twice more than Santa would have. It was a little hard. Taking a break. 5:50 and my break is over and I fastened the six angel brackets. Step three done. Step four was nerve wracking and step five was hard. I don’t want to talk about it... 6:25 and I am determined. One step at a time. Step 6. More hidden cams. There is a nice illustration for how tight is too tight, and a warning for not going tight enough. But I would need to stand on my head, with a flashlight, to see the tiny guide clearly. So I am continuing to go by feel plus a little crank a little bit tighter. 6:55 and done with step 6 and step 7. Good news, the little chip is on the back and inside. That ended up okay. Step 8 is attaching the bases. They are cute arched pieces, so this is satisfying. And so now finally I see what those angle brackets are for. Bracket to desk, Bracket to arch. Attached. They slide in the groove of the arch pieces, so easily, with a little tapping, align with the holes of the desk. Step 9 is easy. Extra heavy pressed board is nailed to the backs. Hmm. This is supposed to add substantial stability. Okay? It looks good though. I wonder if I can tip this upright by myself. Meanwhile, I will construct the drawers while enjoying a movie. I am glad to be done with big pieces on the floor. Now I am working with small pieces on my ottoman. It’s 8:00 pm. There are several tricky steps with the drawers which are manageable because of the small size and weight. 9:45. I am on the second movie. I am not going for speed at this point. Putting on the hinges and attaching the door was easy peasy! Believe those instructions that tell you how to adjust up and down and in and out. You get a perfect close. 10:45. Here I am with completed Deskie. I named her Deskie after spending the day building our relationship. Building – get it! She is sturdy and sharp looking.

The desk is very attractive and functional. It is well made and sturdy. The instructions are very easy to follow and all parts are well organized and labelled. The pieces are heavy but that is what makes this desk sturdy and attractive. It does require patience in the assembly process which took me approximately five hours. All you need to assemble the desk is a #2 screwdriver and a small hammer. It is well worth the money and the time it took to assemble. I am already enjoying it . Good work Sauder!!! Bill

I have used other Sauder products and this was a similar experience. The desk arrived beautifully packaged with no visible damage. It is very heavy, but that is expected. The delivery people (it takes two) brought it right in the house where I unpacked all the pieces. NOTE: some of the drawer pieces did not have a letter designation like all the other parts, but it was intuitive how to assemble them. I found the directions to be concise and easy to follow. The only issue I had was in moving the desk into position, and putting any pressure on the top did cause the top to lift. I wondered if the pins that insert into the came should be secured perhaps with some strong glue. I ended up putting two L brackets on the right side of the desk inside the right hand drawer. There are two pieces that fit into the hole for cords. I ended up not using the half moon one as I felt it crowded the cords. The drawers do not pull out as far as I would like so the rear of the drawer is harder to access. The finished desk looks quite nice and feel it was a good buy at a reasonable price.

I am thrilled with this desk. The finish is rich and satiny. The cabinet and drawers operate smoothly. It feels and looks elegant. At 69, I have put together several pieces of furniture over the years, but I was concerned that this might be beyond my current skill level. My fears were unfounded. The parts were well marked. The directions were clear and easy to follow. They even provided QR codes that linked to short videos for each step. All in all, a great purchase for an unbelievably good price.

This is probably the very best desk I could possibly find to fit my needs within a low price range. It isn't made of expensive wood, but that's how they keep the price down. It is very sturdy, dense wood (particle board I think) with some kind of thin vinyl sheet covering that's made to look and feel like wood. The quality looks and feels very good; I've had a few comments from people about how nice my desk looks. ---Features--- I really like how much room there is for my legs. It's nice and wide (easy to get in and out), and the keyboard tray leaves my knees plenty of room (I'm just over 6 feet tall). The depth is about two feet, so occasionally when I need to stretch my legs all the way out, I have to scoot my chair back. Not a big deal, because at least I'll be able to easily fit the desk through a doorway whenever I move. If I had a keyboard separate from my laptop, I'd pull out the tray, and I'd be sitting back far enough to solve my very minor stretching problem. For those of you wondering, the tray is wide enough to fit a traditionally sized keyboard w/ number pad and a mouse pad (Many other desks I looked at had a problem with this). As far as drawers and cabinets go, I would have preferred more drawers instead of a computer tower cabinet, but I can still put the cabinet to good use. There's a removable shelf inside the cabinet about 18 inches high at its highest option, so some computer towers may be too tall without removing the shelf (I wouldn't put a computer inside the cabinet anyway, as it would get hot in there and lower the life expectancy of the parts inside). The large drawer has ridges for hanging file folders inside; I find it useful. The drawers pull in and out very smoothly. One thing I should probably mention is that there's a large hole centered toward the back of the work surface, intended for computer cords (it's hiding behind the monitor in the picture), so if you won't be using this desk for a computer, I could see that bothering some people. ---Assembly--- The instructions were very clear and easy to follow. If I remember right, the only tool I needed was a Phillips-head screwdriver. This desk took me 5 hours by myself to assemble, but I'm extremely meticulous and slow when putting things together (I took an additional 2 hours adjusting the cupboard hinges and drawer brackets until they were aligned about as perfectly as is humanly possible). One complaint I had about the packaging was that there was styrofoam used for padding, and it was crumbling all over the inside of the package, leaving loads of white specks sticking all over the desk parts. I grabbed a rag and wiped down every piece entirely, and then I vacuumed the carpet before assembling. To sum everything up, this desk is perfect in just about every way (size, quality, etc.) for a price under $200. I've used it for a few months now, and I'm definitely glad I didn't settle for a cheaper, smaller desk of a similar style under $100.

I bought a Sauder computer desk through Amazon. The package arrived early and was well packaged. Despite being extremely well packed by Sauder it had been dropped directly onto a corner and the front left top of the desk was crushed in slightly. I had already unpacked the desk and all parts and the last piece out was the top. When I saw the damaged top I decided it would be nearly impossible to repack all the parts to return to Sauder through Amazon. I put the desk together and although it took me 7-8 hours to do so I found that the instructions were very well written with good pictures and parts marking. I was also impressed with the precision fit of the desk. All parts lined up perfectly and in addition to working well it looks very nice. After using and being happy with the desk for a few days I decided to call Sauder customer service to ask them if they would recommend the best way to repair the corner that had been damaged. I was wondering, since the desk is particle board, if I could possibly wet the corner a little and then clamp it down carefully and compress the corner back into shape. After speaking with a Sauder representative he informed me that their warranty even covered damage caused by shipping companies and that he would be happy to send me a new replacement top! I was not expecting this type of service as I had only called to ask an opinion on a possible self repair idea I had as stated above. An extremely well packed desktop arrived, again early. I was dismayed to see that the exterior of the box was once again punctured and cut in several places. I pointed this out to the delivery carrier who said "you can always send it back". Upon opening the box I found that the top was so well protected it suffered no damage from the careless handling by the delivery company. Bottom line- I would not hesitate to purchase another Sauder product as they stand behind their well designed and precision manufactured product. The customer service representative I spoke with, Randy, was extremely helpful, friendly, and professional.

When looking for desk options, I got a little overwhelmed when I saw how long some said it took to assemble various desks. So, being forewarned, I just told myself that I would set aside a day and just let it be what it would be. The instructions actually ended up being the best instructions I have every worked with. VERY clear. I laid out all the pieces and made sure everything was there. I timed the installation (hey, what else would a 69-year-old retired auditor do) and it took 4 hours. Not bad. Everything went together well. Some minor tweeks once together to get things to line up, but all told, easier than I thought. Put the TV on to watch to keep me distracted (Indiana Jones 1 & 3). The desk itself is perfect. I did not need a lot of storage and the one thing I REALLY wanted was the slideout keyboard tray and it is perfect. The color fits perfectly with our furniture and our carpet. Love it. It is not real wood of course, but that would be much more expensive and this is fine. Be careful of the backings to the drawers as it is very thin paneling. I pushed on it without thinking as the desk was upside down during installation and it cracked slightly (not bad), so just realize that. So glad as this desk was over $100 less than the other one I was considering.

I ordered this desk, as we needed something cheap, yet durable and attractive. I read the reviews prior to ordering (so I had some hesitation before purchasing), but I couldn't find anything as nice looking for as good a cost. I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best! 1) It shipped two days later than quoted, which was not a big deal for us, as we weren't in a rush to get the desk. The package came with one of the corners of the box damaged and opened to exposed pieces of the desk, which were also damaged. Most of the damage was minor, and seemed to be on pieces that would be facing the wall, or on the inside of the drawers, so we decided to move forward with setting up the desk. (Anything to avoid having to get replacement parts and deal with shipping again!) Once everything was mostly set-up, we were missing four little plastic hinges that hold the bottom drawer together. Bummer. I'm guessing they fell out of the giant hole in the corner of the box. (So much for avoiding customer service contact!) 2) The value might have been reasonable if it were shipped better. Incidentally, it was quite disappointing to see the desk go on sale nearly $60 more than what I purchased it for the DAY AFTER I purchased. Bad luck! I believe the new price is more reflective of the desk's quality. 3) The desk wasn't as difficult to put together as we were preparing for, based on some of the reviews. Took awhile, but not because of difficulty of instructions - just because there are a lot of steps and pieces. 4) I'm sure once we are able to complete the drawer, it will look fairly nice with the rest of our decor. It's a pretty color and design for such an inexpensive piece of furniture. Plus, it seems sturdier than some of the cheaper desks we looked at in stores. I just wish it didn't have tiny nicks and cracks from poor shipping. I can tell it won't hold up for more than a couple years. All in all, I would probably purchase this desk again. It's just not exactly as I was hoping it to be.

This desk is a solid unit and it looks great too. Typical "RTA" unit (Ready To Assemble) that went together easily and the instructions were clear. The keyboard tray is very wide and is able to hold a laptop and a scanner side-by-side, which was a big plus. Lots of room for all of the typical office gear. We had an upper shelf from another older desk that also fit on top of this Sauder desk, and it still left lots of space for everything. All told, this unit works well and we are very happy with it. The only thing that we changed was the knobs for the drawers and the door, as the ones that came with it were a bit industrial looking. We highly recommend this desk.

The best desk I've ever owned. Very strong and sturdy.. The finish is great and this perfectly fits my room. I only wished they had this in Black or Greyish but nevertheless i still love it. Downside to this is that it took me almost 5 hours to assemble. The Instruction manual and the video provided could've been better.

Good value for the money Downfall... The keyboard tray is not super tall so of the tray is in you can't squeeze in your hands to type or use the mouse quick quick. The finish is very fragile, the mouse wore off some of it already and anything scratches it. Good space for storage, easy to assemble. looks good and has ample space for screen and laptop set up

This desk should be double the price as it's a fantastic deal!!! It's very solid, the instructions were extremely clear to understand and we assembled the desk in 2 hours. Shipping was really fast and the desk was in mint condition out of the box. I highly recommend that two people work together to assemble this desk as it makes it that much easier. I highly recommend this desk. Buy it.... You will not be disappointed.

We bought this desk a few weeks ago and are loving it. It looks beautiful and my husband put it together all by himself in a couple of hours. I asked him how it was to assemble since I had read a few complaints on amazon.ca about the assembly. He said it was not harder than anything else he's had to put together. The desk arrived within a week of order. I searched a long time and through many stores to find the perfect desk for our space and I'm glad that I found this one. I love the keyboard tray because I still like to use a desktop computer when I'm working on a complex document. I also like how the computer tower is hidden away. I find the desk is a perfect size in terms of desk top space and storage. It seems like a piece of furniture that will last a long time. It was a good investment.