103.541.28 - ARKELSTORP Desk, black, 55 1/8x27 1/2"

Short description of ARKELSTORP Desk, black, 55 1/8x27 1/2 \ ARKELSTORP

Instructions and manuals

Assembly instructions for ARKELSTORP Desk, black, 55 1/8x27 1/2" - 103.541.28: Download

Honest reviews about 103.541.28 ARKELSTORP

Review title: Instructions and screws not lining up
Customer: Ma P.
Review: The instructions are not clear! Difficult to install probably the hardest furniture I put together. Its like a lego with missing pieces. This product suck. I want to throw it away.
Value: 1

Review title: Quality Control Nightmare
Customer: Lane A.
Review: Missing drill holes, couldn’t put it together because tapped holes for screws and dowels were missing just as other reviewers said. I had to drive 1 and half hours to pickup this desk and this is what i get… lost time, gas, stress from traffic, can’t believe it. I want my money back and a reimbursement for everything i had to go through for this. Absolutely furious!
Value: 1

Review title: Looks good, but frustrating
Customer: Rod D.
Review: Cross beams underneath the desk drop down quite a bit, causing me to hit my knees on them constantly. Opening the drawers is just dragging wood against wood. The wood on top seems to be of good quality and looks just as pictured.
Value: 3

Review title: Assembly Disaster - Missing Pre-Drilled Holes
Customer: DAVD H.
Review: My Arkelstorp was missing pre-drilled holes on the underside of the desktop to attach the drawer rail as described in step two of the instructions. Two screw holes were missing and two dowel holes were missing. IKEA furniture assembly is hard enough without the poor quality control.
Value: 1

Review title: Beautiful desk. Perfect size.
Customer: lisa
Review: Beautiful desk. Perfect size.
Value: 5

Review title: Not the best.
Customer: Robert
Review: I did find the directions a bit confusing with the two side drawer option. Plus the fit and finish of the drawers are terrible. Fit together very poorly. Of course you build those last when the entire desk is already assembled. Wanted to return it but the work to disassemble it all was too much. I got the drawers to stay together and kept it all.
Value: 4

Review title: I like that it is
Customer: Barbara
Review: I like that it is small enough to fit in the space I have but big enough on top to put things on.
Value: 5

Review title: Eucalyptus desk
Customer: Mira
Review: Too soft top board of this desk. My kid was writing on the paper and it made indentation. Pretty desk but indentation made me disappointed
Value: 4

Review title: Great desk
Customer: Douglas
Review: Great desk
Value: 5

Review title: Perfect fit
Customer: KATIE
Review: Exact desk we needed
Value: 5

Review title: Great desk for the price.
Customer: Madison
Review: Great desk for the price. Looks great in the office.
Value: 4

Review title: Good quality desk for the right price
Customer: Katy
Review: I was a bit undecided about getting this desk at first because some reviews said it was difficult to assemble. The truth is that it ended up being much easier than I expected. Just make sure to stick to the specific instructions for the side you decide to place your drawers. This is a big desk/working table with a large surface area. I love that I can have all I need within reach on that space.
Value: 5

Review title: Love It!
Customer: Sandra
Review: Took a while to find...but really spacious and clean looking desk!
Value: 5

Review title: Beautiful Desk, but AWFUL quality control.
Customer: Lindsay
Review: I researched a new desk for MONTHS in early 2020. I finally found the Arkelstorp that met all my criteria (including a larger work surface than my current desk and drawers specifically to one side). COVID hit and then it was out of stock for a while. I finally ordered in September and it took a little less than a month to deliver. I live 4+ hours from the nearest store so delivery was my only option. The box it comes was much thinner than I expected. My brother carried it up to my office in one go.

I was excited to build it as soon as I got it, but I had the same issue as someone else (believe me, I read EVERY review). The two end pieces of the desk with the legs weren't completely dry when they were packaged and the white tissue paper in the box stuck to the paint on the legs. When I unpacked it some of the tissue was still stuck on the legs, other parts had a white residue from the tissue paper that could not be cleaned off. I was VERY disappointed.

I called IKEA immediately and they said the nearest store (4+ hours away) would mail me the replacement parts. I called a week later and it still wasn't shipped. The pieces finally arrived 2 weeks from when I first called. The new pieces were not damaged so I got to building immediately.

For one person, it took me 2.5 hours to build. I would have been done a lot sooner if not for manufacturing quality control issues. If you buy this desk, be prepared to deal with some frustration.

Major issues to be aware of:
-General: The thick screws strip extremely easily. Be careful.
-Drawer Slide - Step 10: Make sure that the drawer slide that is closer to the edge (not the side that the hand is pointing to in the photo) is 100% flush with the edge. This ends up being one of the slides for the top drawer. One of my drawer slides was slightly warped and didn't sit flush and I didn't realize until the end. Because it wasn't flush, the two drawers would not close completely (they kept hitting each other and were overlapping). Thankfully I could take the take out the slide at this point in the build. I had to be creative to find a solution. As the slide was warped, the screws didn't line up with the holes to make the slide flush and as most of the screws were too stripped for me to screw in again, I took out all four screws and drilled a new hole for a new screw (not from this desk) at the front of the drawer. I then put the screw at the opposite end (back of desk) back in and forced the slide as close to flush as I could and attached my new screw. The two screws are now the only thing holding the drawer up, but nothing heavy is going to go into it, so I'm not worried. The drawers now close but are still slightly crooked. I really wonder why this slide wasn't attached like the other top drawer slide by screwing directly into the bottom of the desk. If I had two more long screws of the right length I would have done that instead of my solution.
-Drawers - Step 28: The dowels on one of the drawers would not push in. When I tried to attach the back of the drawer, the dowel actually pushed through the back of the piece, chipping the wood. Many of the dowels on the drawers were hard to push in as if the holes were not drilled deep enough.
-Drawer Stoppers - Step 36 and 38: I'm not strong enough to screw in the drawer stop screws, so I'm not going to bother attaching the stoppers. These screws stripped too.

So my desk is now built and upside down on my floor until someone can help me flip it. I'm frustrated with the quality control on this desk and that the drawers are still crooked with no way to adjust. It would be better if the drawers had a metal slide rather than wood. I'm hoping I don't have any additional issues with this desk and that it lasts many years. I'm buying a piece of glass to protect the top too. Hopefully this review helps someone else interested in buying this desk.
Value: 3

Review title: Worth The Wait!
Customer: Mnda
Review: I found this desk on IKEA's website about a month ago, but every time I checked back it was out of stock at my local store. I considered a few other options but got lucky & snagged one as soon as they came back in stock! It only took about an hour and a half to put together, and in my opinion the drawers were the hardest part - the bottom liner of one of them did not fit properly. The only reason this review is not 5 stars is because, after putting it together and flipping it over when finished, there was a chunk of wood missing out of the top of the desk. I have no doubt it was like that when it arrived, considering I did all of the assembly in an empty carpeted room that I had just vacuumed beforehand. I was a little disappointed but as long as I don't look at that part, this desk is perfect!
Value: 4

Review title: PERFECT!
Customer: XajaX
Review: Plenty of room for my laptop, printer and lamp. We stained the desktop piece to match the rest of our decor. Absolutely beautiful results!
Value: 5

Review title: Great desk!
Customer: VetteFos
Review: I bought this for my home office and it’s perfect. The natural wood with the black is beautiful. I am going to add a glass top to protect the wood but I’m loving it so far.
Value: 5

Review title: LOVE THIS DESK!
Customer: SnazzybyKK
Review: I love this desk . I love the two tone and that its an all wood construction !
Value: 5

Review title:
Customer: ern1961
Review: I bought this to work from home. Very nice sleek looking.
Value: 5

Review title: Awesome budget desk
Customer: InstantSheep
Review: This is a beautiful, sturdy desk for a reasonable price.The top is completely wood which is a huge plus, and the space is just perfect for my room.The desk is also made to allow you to install the storage drawers on either the left or right, but you do NEED to install it. The support pieces are not long enough to connect without it. All in all, a wonderful desk for a low price.
Value: 4