South Shore Axess Collection Desk

Please keep in mind that I am a single mother (not a handy man or Bob the Builder) while reading this review. This desk took me (and only myself) about a little over an hour to completely put together. I found the instructions easy to understand because I can follow picture diagrams fairly well. I'll admit, some parts made did confuse me a bit, but after reading over it once more, I understood. I felt warned when I read previous reviews on this product, but went ahead and bought the desk for the low price anyway, and I do love it. It's very sturdy, which I didn't expect at all. It also has a very nice and modern look to it. It's also quite heavy. I do believe it is a good buy and would recommend this to anyone who has been eying it like I was.

I ordered two of these so my husband and I could have matching desks. They arrived prior to the delivery estimation which was awesome. He put them both together and this took approximately 4 hours total. They're super cute and clean looking and the drawer is large enough to hold legal pad sized documents. I would definitely recommend them to people looking for an easy way to spruce up their computer area. I do have a couple of things to note: You need to be home when they deliver them as they require a signature. (We made this mistake on the first delivery try.) Also, it should be noted that the largest person in my household is 5'7" and 125lbs and I am just hitting the 5'3" 115lbs marker. When using these desks our legs fit underneath, but just barely. I have to sit back a bit if I want to cross them underneath me. So perhaps this would be a better purchase for tweens and the vertically challenged.

All in all, a great buy for the money especially with the free shipping.

Update 11 Months later: Although the construction of the desks has held up well to constant, daily useI'm sad to report that these desks are like Gizmo. Never Get Them Around Water. Even the slightest condensation from your glass will cause the top to ripple and the black coating to come off. Although I'm still pleased with them for the price, I would caution anyone with children or a penchant for beverages at the computer to think carefully.

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I was very pleased with the transaction and desk. The desk arrived earlier than the projected date. It appears just as pictured. Very sturdy and durable.

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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!

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My fiance put this together and he said it took him 2.5 hours to do it, but he's pretty handy when it comes to putting things together. He said it wasn't too bad, but not a walk in the park either.

I like the desk it's somewhat difficult to find a decent desk with shelves, a hutch, and a drawer for less than $100, so the price was just right for my graduate student budget. My previous "desk" was simply a table from IKEA, and although the table was about 20 inches longer than this desk I feel more organized and less cluttered now that I have a drawer and shelves. The little hutch top is perfect for my 19" monitor, my docking station, and my computer speakers; I put my laptop underneath the hutch, my keyboard on the shelf and I still have plenty of work space plus room for pencil cups or whatnot. I would advise that you buy a separate printer stand if you want ample space, though; I did and I'm really glad I did.

There are two downsides. Number one, the desk sides/corners are *sharp*. I wouldn't put this anywhere near running kids. Just the edge of the desk top is pretty sharp, so if you're leaning on it to do work, scoot far up. The other downside is the height. I'm only 5'2" and I have a task chair with a pneumatic lift. At the lowest setting, I can put my legs under the keyboard shelf if I'm sitting with them straight out in front of me. I prefer to fold my legs up in my chair or cross them while I work, and that doesn't fit so well under the keyboard shelf, so I feel like I have to sit way too far back from my monitor in order to type comfortably. I could remedy that by putting the monitor on the desktop, I suppose, but this set up is much more convenient when I want to unplug my laptop and go, so...

Also, I just got it about a week ago. It's still intact, but I don't expect to last years and years. Like I said, I'm a graduate student on a budget, so this is just for the next 2-3 years while I finish my doctoral program.

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