Sauder Palladia L-Desk, L: 68.74" x W: 65.12" x H: 29.61", Wind Oak

This thing arrived in quickly in two separate cartons. The cartons were very heavy! We (the wife and me) opened up the first carton and then proceeded to carry a few boards at a time up to my second floor office. There are a LOT of pieces! So after taking a break after getting all the pieces upstairs we began the daunting task of putting this beast together. There are many steps involved and not all the pieces were marked appropriately. Even the manual that came with the desk at one point stated: Don't worry, this isn't Rome. It can be built in a day. Well maybe it could be built by someone who put these things together full-time but it took us an entire weekend (and I'm normally rather handy at building things like these).The end result is totally worth it though. I was refurnishing my office and this desk, along with the matching bookshelf and filing cabinet, completed the look I was going for: Form, function, style. One tip though: Do NOT use a cordless drill as you will strip the compressed wood (which is what this desk is made from). Use a screwdriver. It also helps to have a buddy with the final stages as connecting the two pieces of the "L" would be very difficult with just one person.Overall, I'm satisfied with the quality, look, and price of this piece and glad I bought it.

Both packages containing the materials and parts for assembling the Sauder Palladia L-Shaped Desk, Vintage Oak finish were delivered on time. However, the overall excitement soon turned into cautious optimism upon remembering what I had previously read online: 'that while it is not hard to assemble, it did take time.'The individual packages were heavy. I received assistance from my wife to help take them into the house.After opening the packages, my initial optimism almost dissipated when it took me longer than expected to locate the Instruction Booklet. I found it sandwiched in between the numerous pieces in one of the packages. It happened just at the time I was becoming concerned that it wasn't shipped at all.The majority of the individual parts were labeled. However, I soon discovered similar to what was written in the reviews, that a few parts and pieces were not labeled. That being said, the number of unlabeled pieces that came with my order was not substantial. Except for the parts referred to as 'ZZ' and 'YY;' the TOP DRAWER FRONT BRACKETS '6G;' DRAWER FRONT BRACKETS '9G' and '10G;' and the DRAWER FRONT 'U' in the Instruction Booklet, all the other parts and pieces were readily identifiable since were duly labeled. I subsequently found the 'U' label which was missing from the DRAWER FRONT without a label, stuck on one of the FRONT BRACKETS.The instructions were easy to follow and understand.Notwithstanding the concise and simple instructions provided, the numerous pieces to be assembled, and my limited skill set as a 'do-it-yourselfer' resulted in it taking me several hours to complete. After working a few hours daily for 3 consecutive days, I finally had the Sauder Palladia L-Shaped Desk in my home!The shortcomings of the few unlabeled pieces were insignificant in comparison to the triumph of the assembled desk.More importantly, the purchase price of $405.00 I felt was a bargain then and is even more so now!Also, its natural appearance adds value as an additional piece of decorative furniture. Ultimately, it increases my overall satisfaction with the purchase!

On a scale of 1 to 10, this would get an 8.5. I am a scale model builder as a hobby and this reminds me of one of those kits albeit at a 1:1 scale. There are about 50 steps to build the desk. So here are my thoughts:The Good:1. All you need is a hammer and a good Phillips head screwdriver. Match the bit size to the drawing in the instructions and you will be fine.2. The pieces arrived in a very secure package and there was no damage.3. The screws and other hardware were in a separate large "sheet" with each screw type labeled in it's own section. I had some extras which is not a bad thing.4. For as many parts as there are, and as big as it is, the fit is very good with one exception which I have noted in the Bad section.The OK:1. This will take some time. I did it by myself and it took about 8 to 10 hours. I took some breaks so my time is somewhere between 8 and 10.2. You need at least a 10 x 10 area to assemble. You need some room to maneuver the two sections around once you get them assembled and ready to mate the two section.3. There is a LOT of turning and twisting all those screws and locking pieces. Patience is required.4. One person can do it if you plan on how to stand up the sections on their ends and then "tip" them over. Again, patience and planning are the key.5. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND using furniture slides. I used 8 of them around the edges and the desk slides pretty easily. This makes getting the two sections pretty close for final mating and then getting it into your final position really easy.6. Some of the areas where you are forced to twist the locking pieces can get congested. Use the smallest screwdriver you can. You do NOT need a power drill. In fact, I don't think you could use a power drill for all of it as it would be too hard to maneuver in some of the tight places.7. You may need to adjust the drawer slides if the drawers hit each other. I had one drawer that was binding on the one beneath it, and adjusting the slides on the side made all the difference. Again, patience is needed.The Bad:1. The plastic corner pieces that align the sides of the drawers to the front of the drawers were not labeled as in the instructions. They turned out to be the same pieces, but you must figure out which piece goes in which drawer as one drawer needs the pieces without the caps. Since the numbers don't match, you have to visually figure it out or else you will have to start over on that drawer.2. The two sections are attached under the desk in the back corner with two screws which you place in the pre-drilled holes in the front-most vanity panel. Getting those holes to line up with the holes with the vanity panel from the second section is virtually impossible. You are crunched down under the sections trying to line up those holes. The wood is soft enough that you can get the two pieces to "attach", but I am not sure I got them aligned.3. This is my biggest complaint about the desk. The two sections line up but the fit is not square. It is really good on the horizontal plane, but vertically there is a "bump". Kind of like two sections of a side walk that join together. There isn't really a gap, but a ridge between the two. Not a huge deal, but you can clearly see there are two sections joined together. You cannot confuse it for a single piece desktop. Now there is a plate underneath where the two sections are screwed together but it is too small to eliminate the ridge.4. The cable holes in the desktop (2 of them) are too small to be of much use. They will allow for a couple of small USB -type cables for a mouse and keyboard, but HDMI and Display Port cable ends won't fit through.The Unknown:1. I have no idea how this will disassemble to travel if I move. I think the two sections will be easily separated, but there are quite large and if you have a small doorway, it could be tricky.Summary:A nice piece for the price considering what you would pay for a solid wood desk. I think it is a bit unfair when folks are saying it is not sold "solid" wood. I did not think it was marketed as such, so I cannot fault anyone.