So this thing is not too hard to put together but is super tedious! I knew how a lot of the parts worked and my husband didn't and so it was a lot of me doing and him telling me I wasn't right and then I was. He learned about cam-locks in self assembled furniture. I personally would recommend using small amounts of wood or gorilla glue when you put this unit together to ensure it remains solid. At first it was a little wobbly after assembly but after a few days it settled and feels quite solid and doesn't wobble so much. I love this entertainment center. The fireplace warms the area in front of it pretty well. It doesn't heat the room, but takes the chill out just like I wanted. I have a 12 foot panoramic sliding glass door that is old and cannot be replaced (hooray for living in condos). The old door is drafty so this entertainment center is exactly what I needed and a reasonable price. The room will be about 61°F according to my canary home security monitoring station and the fireplace helps get the area up to about 70°F to 75°F. It should not be used as a main heat source but as an adjunct to a central heating system. The furniture is of decent quality. It is fiber board that is enameled. It is easy to scrape during assembly. I would also recommend having large blankets for laying out all the pieces of the entertainment center during assembly so you can see all the pieces you are putting together and keep them from getting scratched. I tried to be super gentle while assembling it but accidents happen. We did put 2 small scrapes on the facade but they aren't noticeable and we are happy with the finished product. I love the height and versatility of this entertainment center. It is lower profile, has more space and is taller than our old one. Because it is a good foot taller, I don't have to strain my neck so much to see the TV from the couch. I love this thing because of the effort to put it together, it was rewarding to me, though I'm sure would frustrate many people. It took me and my husband about two hours to put this together. If you have back problems or some reason it might be difficult to assemble this entertainment center yourself, please hire someone to help you! We did not argue but at times we had some tension between us.