Love the design, and the size perfectly suits my needs, but deplore the shoddy manufacturing. I had to remove, straighten, and reattach a piece of improperly installed trim (on the underside of the large top piece) so that the sides would fit properly and the doors would close. I had to scrape out predrilled holes in the doors so that the hinges would work. And I had to re-drill the doorknob holes so that the knobs would stay attached. I like the way it looks, but I was really surprised by its flaws and all the extra work I was forced to do. The fact that the doorknobs themselves were malformed was the least of my worries. In that vein, I agree with others that shelves would be a useful addition to the side compartments. Very disappointing, overall.
I considered sending it back, but the only thing more frustrating than putting it together would have been taking it apart and putting it back in the box. L.L. Bean should demand better from its suppliers.
It pains me to say all this. I love the Bean and have always been satisfied in the past.
We are very happy with this piece of furniture. It arrived a week sooner than expected in perfect condition. Assembly was easy, straightfoward, and I was able to do it myself, except for flipping it over. I did NOT experience any of the issues with having to drill new holes because pieces were misaligned. We were pleasantly suprised to see that a back was added to the piece, which other reviewers had requested. I would also liked to have seen them add optional shelving for inside the cabinets which would permit easier storage of DVD and video games. Over all we are very satisfied with another LL Bean purchase!
Assembled in about an hour by one person. No misaligned holes or any issues. Well packed and no blemishes. Only issue was a strong odor -- I suspect the wood glue -- so I had to air out the room for a couple of days to get rid of it. Overall it seems substantial and worth the price.
This piece (I purchased 2 tall bookcases to go on either side) presented a lot of problems. There were 4 of us trying to put everything together. Two of the people helping are mechanically minded and it still took us 3 hours to assemble everything.
The first piece we worked with/the "top" of the console and the second piece we were instructed to use (either D or E) did not line up correctly. We ended up having to loosen all the screws holding the center piece of wood and banging with a rubber mallet repeatedly to get it to work.
When we tried to attach one of the side pieces it did not line up properly either. My Dad had to use a razor blad to shave parts of the inside off to make it fit.
In the end one of the two doors would not close all the way (but it is only slightly open). On the whole I would not recommend purchasing this item.
