IC INTERNATIONAL CONCEPTSWriting Desk With Drawer, Solid Wood, Real Parawood, 48" W x 26" D x 30" H, Easy Assembly, Espresso

I have now made more than a fozen items from International Concepts, including chairs, tables, and desks like this (this model, I have built twice.)First, I am convinced this is a fantastic company. Unlike soft pine furniture, this is a good solid-feeling hardwood.As I read reviews, I hear people saying “oh, pieces did not fit together” — I believe they are wrong. In building chairs, I often found that you have to look VERY carefully at each piece, how it curves, wheher there is a slight angle where it fits together with ither pirces etc., and if you get it wrong, you eill run into problems. But anyone who does it slowly and carefully will absolutely be able to figure it out.This table, is much, much easier to assemble than the chairs — all you do is attach four legs and you are done. The table top plus drawer all comes pre-assembled and in one piece. Say, 15 minutes if you are slow and careful.What will take longer, is the finish. I like to do 2 coats on the entire table, using say an oil based polyurethane, say semigloss. Then, I do two more coats, just on the top, oil based glossy polyurethane. It dries beautifully smooth, a perfect table top. Note, it comes so nicely sanded I never felt the need to sand, except once or twice in all the dozen items I’ve made so far.I have used these items for a couple of years so far, they hold up really well, really solid, not like Ikea-style put-together pieces. These pieces of furniture look like atufr my kids and grandkids will use. Solid wood. All solid wood. No plywood that I can see at all.They take paint very well — I painted and then polyurethaned chairs, note polyurethane can add a warmer yellow tint. Kitchen chairs take a lot of beatings.The only issue, if I have any, is that the table tops are assembled from long pieces, a little like butcher block but wider strips, and adjacent strips will take stain very differently than each other. So, if you stain and then poly the surfaces, expect a somewhat variegated look, and also lots of “dots” where the stain is taken up more strongly.BTW, I include the photo so you can see what the table surface looks like if you stain it. These surfaces were so smooth I did not feel a need to sand, even. If you paint it, the surface is perfect (like maple, I would say, you will not see any knots) but with a stain you can see the pieces as they are glued together. Perfect writing table surface. I used a Minwax Pre-Stain, then Minwax #233 English Chestnut stain, letting it sit for about 10 minutes before wiping up excess, then after it dried I used Minwax polyurethane, oil based — semigloss on the legs and skirt and drawer, two coats. Glossy on the table top, four coats. Really, 2 coats would probably be enough, but 4 thin coats will really last. 3-4 hours between coats. As I said above, the actual assembly of the table is very fast, maybe 20 minutes in all, and quite simple; just look closely at the instructions to see the order of washer-splitwasher-nut, and tighten it with the included little wrench. If you use a hex nut ratcheting wrench, be careful not to overtighten.Enjoy!

This desk is easy to put together, very solid, and looks nice. It's not huge (check the dimensions listed) but it is a simple solution for a smaller space. The included tools to install the legs are really cheap, but you only use them once, or better yet, have another option at your disposal. At the end of the day, this is a very nice desk. You won't be disappointed.

I was pleasant surprised by the quality of this desk for such a low price. Installation of the legs was easy, requiring only 2 bolts per leg. The desk was unfinished but had been sanded and was smooth. A person could simply leave the desk unfinished; however, we decided to stain the desk instead. Here is how I finished the desk and a few photos are attached of the final product.1. Lightly sanded the entire desk with 120 grit sandpaper followed by 220 grit sandpaper. I then used my mini shop vac to vacuum up most of the dust. I then wiped the whole desk down with a tack cloth to pick up any small particles.2. I then used  Minwax 61500 Pre Stain Wood Conditioner, 1 Quart  and put a nice coat of prestain over the entire desk. I waited at least 15 minutes for it to dry. I am not sure if the prestain is needed, but I decided to do it anyway.3. I then applied the stain. I used  Minwax 70012 1 Quart Wood Finish Interior Wood Stain, Dark Walnut . I applied a liberal coating starting with the legs and working my way around the sides before making my way to the top. My wife was running the timer and started wiping off the excess stain after 5 minutes. Each piece of wood had stain on it for ~5 minutes.4. I let the desk dry overnight and then applied  Minwax 63010 Fast Drying Polyurethane Clear Satin Finish, Quart . I applied an even coat with a 2" foam brush on the sides/legs and a 3-4" foam brush for the top. Youtube videos said to use a bristle brush, but I just couldn't get enough product on the top with a bristle brush.5. I had to wait at least 24 hours for the polyurethane to dry fully.6. I then lightly sanded the entire desk using 400 grit sandpaper. I removed excess dust by then wiping down the table using a rag that had some mineral spirits on it (could have probably also used a tack cloth).7. I then applied a second coat of polyurethane to the entire desk and let it completely dry again.8. I then sanded and applied a third coat of polyurethane to the top only.9. I replaced the knob with a different one from a local hardware store.