I cannot begin to tell you how conflicted I was when I was reading the comments about this kitchen cart/ island thing. So many had terrible reviews and experiences saying that the item they received came damaged, missing pieces, had a ton of manufacturing flaws, poor or inadequate instructions and was a total waste of money. The I saw a ton of raving reviews and even photos of people's finished products and it looked so nice! I was so hesitant to put my money and faith in a product that had such mixed reviews. I chose to purchase this cart based on the most RECENT reviews which seemed to be mostly good. And I'm glad I did!
First, this thing came so fast! I ordered it on 9/4 realllly late at night and received it on 9/8 in the morning. I had just been sent a shipping confirmation that same morning so I was super surprised to see it at my door so quickly! Also, might I add that the delivery guy is incredibly strong because this box was 123 pounds and he just carried it over his shoulder like it was no biggie. I could barely push that thing across the living room floor.
I would like to make a point to say that the final product looks magnificent, BUT I did take the time to review all instructions and make sure all my parts were there first. I also used a little bit of deductive reasoning to work through some small parts of the picture instructions that were a bit confusing. I also put my own handles on the doors and drawers so I feel like it definitely livened the piece up a bit. This took a couple hours to put together with two people working on it. It definitely can be put together with just one person but I think the work time would be closer to three hours.
The quality that I received is actually not bad at all. It's obviously not craftsman perfection but for something that is so mass produced I think it is pretty darn nice. There are only a few small things that I noticed about the quality. One of the main things I noticed are that the seams on the doors and fronts of the drawers are not all perfectly flush to one another. Some have bigger gaps in the seams than others. The hinges on the doors are also slightly off so the doors hand a little lopsided. You only noticed this when you're super close up. From far away it looks flawless.
Another thing I find kind of strange is the little wooden pieces that are intended for holding the drop leaf in place when it is fully extended. They seem like an afterthought and get in the way of the functionality of the rest of the piece. Like if I kept the wooden piece in its hole, I can't fully open the top drawer. Things like that really annoy me.
As you can see from the picture, I actually took the extendable leaf and turned it into a shelf that I installed right above the cart. I knew I wasn't going to pull the cart out from against the wall so it seems pointless to have the drop leaf there if it was never going to get used. I think it looks fantastic and really makes my new cart look like it belongs in that space.
So for anyone looking to purchase this item. I think it's worth the risk. I found it to be a wonderful addition to my kitchen and I couldn't be happier right now :)