This bookcase delivers.
On the strength of the reviews, I ordered two of these. They arrived promptly, but I suddenly didn't have any time free. Because the boxes were too heavy for petty thieves to carry them away, and shrink wrapped layers of bubble wrap, I confess I left them on the porch for two weeks. They weathered a few rainstorms with no harm done, and finally I found a free afternoon.
This is a fun kit to put together. There are a lot of pieces, but they're small and easy to manage. The directions were clear. The pieces were straight, nicely milled, and accurately drilled. Sorting them took the most time, followed by finding where I set down my coffee cup... The glueing and assembly was pretty straight forward, if a little repetitive. It didn't start getting heavy until I had four units and the base together, which I then put in place. Then I added two units at a time, and finished the first bookcase.
It looks great! The design has interesting construction details which visually hold your eye, and keep a substantial piece of furniture from being overpowering. It has a serious amount of storage, and because it's built in units, it naturally encourages things to be arranged in collections. The dark taupe color is more gray than brown, and quite pleasant. The finish reminds me of a textured formica, durable and done well.
It went a little slower than I had hoped, mostly because I couldn't find the electric screw driver, or even the good screw driver, and had to use the one in the kitchen drawer. By the time I got the first one done, my husband was home and my daughter was asking about dinner, so I needed to postpone building the second bookcase to the next free afternoon.