Once together, it was just lovely. Im very happy with it.
Im only 5 feet tall and I put this together myself in an afternoon, though Im sure two people would have an easier time of it.
The directions have fantastic illustrations that show every hole of each piece so you can easily tell which way is up.
3/4 of the assembly was quite zen, but towards the end, there were a few parts that were frustrating:
1. The bolts that attach the legs are impossible to screw all the way in without power tools or being The Hulk. I needed a drill and it was still hard as heck.
2. The magnetic pieces for the doors should have come earlier in the instructions. They have you put them in after youve put the top on, which makes it nearly impossible to get access to the top screw.
3. Once the bulk of the piece is together all the pre/drilling disappears! The doors need 14 screws each and not a one is pre/drilled. Just a tiny score to show you where the screw goes. Yet youre not supposed to use a power drill? Ha!
4. The wood glue was questionable. I dont think it did a darn thing but make the dowel insertion a little more tedious.
That said, this weighs a lot, looks and feels real sturdy once its together, and is just a gorgeous piece in the living room. The fireplace element is so cozy and warm, or you can just enjoy the fire without turning on the heat. My cat is fascinated.
Each shelf holds 2 layers of 30 DVDs, so you could potentially fit 240 DVDs in the cabinets if thats all you used them for. I used one shelf for electronics and the rest for DVDs, so 180 for me.
If you have the patience to put this together, and you have a drill (along with the common sense not to go too far with it and strip the pieces), and you like the way it looks, Id say get it. It looks just as good in person as in the pictures.
Beautiful, heavy, great illustrations
Once together, it was just lovely. Im very happy with it. Im only 5 feet tall and I put this together myself in an afternoon, though Im sure two people would have an easier time of it. The directions have fantastic illustrations that show every hole of each piece so you can easily tell which way is up. 3/4 of the assembly was quite zen, but towards the end, there were a few parts that were frustrating: 1. The bolts that attach the legs are impossible to screw all the way in without power tools or being The Hulk. I needed a drill and it was still hard as heck. 2. The magnetic pieces for the doors should have come earlier in the instructions. They have you put them in after youve put the top on, which makes it nearly impossible to get access to the top screw. 3. Once the bulk of the piece is together all the pre/drilling disappears! The doors need 14 screws each and not a one is pre/drilled. Just a tiny score to show you where the screw goes. Yet youre not supposed to use a power drill? Ha! 4. The wood glue was questionable. I dont think it did a darn thing but make the dowel insertion a little more tedious. That said, this weighs a lot, looks and feels real sturdy once its together, and is just a gorgeous piece in the living room. The fireplace element is so cozy and warm, or you can just enjoy the fire without turning on the heat. My cat is fascinated. Each shelf holds 2 layers of 30 DVDs, so you could potentially fit 240 DVDs in the cabinets if thats all you used them for. I used one shelf for electronics and the rest for DVDs, so 180 for me. If you have the patience to put this together, and you have a drill (along with the common sense not to go too far with it and strip the pieces), and you like the way it looks, Id say get it. It looks just as good in person as in the pictures.