Digital Trends

 

As with any piece of build-it-yourself furniture, the eNook requires a certain amount of self confidence with tools, patience and a steady hand. The assembly instructions included by Anthro are quite detailed in easy-to-understand English and with accompanying diagrams with each of the 16 steps. It should be noted this is a two person construction project, so you should make sure you have a buddy and some beer lying around.

 

The included Anthro assembly instructions provide tips for installation into wood studs or dry wall. Helpful notes like “how do you make sure that hole is 1-1/2” deep? Measure that length of your drill bit and mark it with a piece of masking tape. Stop drilling when you reach the masking tape” makes it easy for even an Ikea-phobic person to follow along.

 

 
The Parts Included with the eNook

 

With assembly complete, the eNook begins its purpose as a wall mounted desk. You definitely want to make sure you are near a wall outlet at this point as the included power strip is only 6 ft long. You should consider hiding your wall outlet behind the eNook if the idea of a dangling cord bothers you.

 

The Included Powerstrip located in the bottom drawer

 

 

The eNook offers up three different wood finishes to choose from and fits quite nicely in most contemporary home settings. It fit well in our test environment, drawing several comments from staffers. The top flip down door opened and closed easily, though we did note during testing in the closed position the magnetic latch didn’t always keep the door attached. This ultimately required us to lock the top portion to keep it from flipping down by itself.

 

The Anthro eNook in use. No, it is not wall-mounted here

 

As a dumping ground for our portable electronics, the eNook served quite well for storage and charging through the included power strip. As a desk it was not the most ideal, offering a decent but not overly generous space to spread out and work at. In some instances it felt awkward working in the 30” area which supports around 45 pounds. This feeling was balanced though by being able to close up the eNook when work was done, leaving a clean and uncluttered room.