If you can bear with it this is a beautiful addition to any kitchen. There were times during assembly that my husband threw in the towel but once he connected the bottom/base things became much more stable and sturdy. 2 pairs of hands helps! A minor request for the manufacturer though. If you could please make the center board between the 2 shelved sections wider so you can put pegs at the same level would be nice (see 3rd photo for example). The way it is now you must use different holes. ALSO, this piece is OFF-WHITE, not bright white - we will paint. You can see the difference in the cupboards right behind the island in our photos. We used our own knobs too but the ones that came with the unit were silver and perfectly okay. When all was said and done we REALLY like this island.We tackled this assembly ogether, over the years we have assembled many, many pieces of furniture, large and small. This one almost made us give up!We diligently worked our way through it and got to the bit where it has to be turned over to fit the top…it fell apart as we gently attempted the "lift", wood came apart, dowels didn’t hold, we gathered it up and laid it in the boxes, I was tempted to use it as kindling.Ext weekend armed with, wood glue,for the dowels, strips of wood as a support frame we managed to finish assembly. It looks lovely and we will use it eventually but right now we’re somewhat wary of it ?First island came damaged and missing pieces. The replacement process challenged my patience to no end, but resolved eventually to everyone's satisfaction. (Thanks for that.)CONS* Look for damaged pieces or missing pieces immediately. Apparently it's common with this model.*Once you have the full, whole set- it's a pain to assemble. The pieces are heavy - which is understandable considering its size.*AIR THIS OUT WELL. We'd expected the smell to be offensive, but it was downright awful. Well ventilated area, try and avoid staying in the room too long as it's nauseating. It took about 2 wks for the smell to eventually diminish from the interior (we did not let the doors stay open all 2 weeks so it probably wouldve cleared out sooner.)* The brace arms for the foldable leaf stick on ours trying to extend them - enough so I don't bother folding it down anymore. You have to firmly pull both arms all the way out to wedge/lock them into place.PROSThe model I have is lovely, once assembled.The sides have adjustable, NARROW, shelving.The interior shelving is adjustable, but you cannot share "height" space as the brackets "use up" the entire hole it goes into.The two drawers slide quietly and seem solid enough to withstand regular use.The storage capacity is terrific, I was able to consolidate my favorite kitchenaid gadgets into the island rather than scattered about my kitchen hither and thither.While the exterior isn't "solid wood" its fairly durable.Ours came with the square stools. They are solid seats, but the screws in the wood supports which hold the legs together at the bottom break off making it impossible to remove and replace with better quality screws. Consider using your own.This island was actually relatively easy to put together although it did take me 3 hours by myself (bad back slows things down quite a bit too). Instructions are very clear and pieces are very clearly labeled. One thing to know is that the assembly instructions have high you build it upside down and then flip it, so make sure somebody can help you if you cannot flip it by yourself. I laid it down on a piece of the styrofoam and then flipped the rest of the way. The cabinets are large, large enough to fit my ninja foodi grill which is big and ultimately was the most important thing that I needed to fit. I added black marble contact paper to the top to match my kitchen better. The only negative that I've got to give is that there is supposed to be a hole drilled for the bottom prongs to the cabinet doors. Not only is there no hole there, as my picture shows, but there's a random hole dead center where the cabinet door goes which one can only assume was supposed to be on the corners for the cabinets but now are seen when the doors are shut and doesn't look ideal. Overall it was a good purchase.Well the island looks nice, but where are my chairs? I really don't want to return the island, why can't they just send me the chairs? Repacking the island pieces is not going to happen....please send me my chairs and then they'll get a 5 star review.I never wrote a review on any product that I have purchased, but I feel compelled on this one. I did much research on different kitchen islands. This one was far less expensive than most I saw. I took a chance on the color of the top to match my cabinets as closely as possible. Fortunately, it it a bit darker than the picture shown and matches very well with our cabinets. I'm not much of a handyman and I was a bit apprehensive after I took everything out of the boxes (came in 3 boxes on a pallet via motor freight.) Freight line was very communicative on delivery day and time to be sure someone was home to sign the bill of lading. I can't overemphasize how easy it was to assemble. The instructions were so clear and straight forward. I did the whole thing myself. Everything fit together perfectly. I would recommend that someone help place the top on, though. It is solid wood, pretty heavy and awkward with the leaf dangling. This is a quality product, for a good price comparably, that I would highly recommend.Just like some of the reviews, I opened all for boxes and discovered damaged, some was due probably from shipping and paint surfaces were chipped away and wood damaged as u can see in that picture. In addition the one chair was manufactured incorrectly and screw holes were 180 off as you can see in that picture. It's a lot of money to put out to get something damaged even before you have to put it together. I sent those same pictures to The supplier and offered to replace it or take a 35% discount, I decided to take the discount because I know I can fix it , and it was a bigger pain to take it apart again. I gave it three stars because they offered the discount. Don't buy if you are not ready to see damage and not able to do the repairs.We ordered the black island and received the white. As we are out in the country decided to accept this one. Installing the island was easy for one person to set up. Did have a small crack in one panel.Took an hour and a half to build by myself,Good quality stuff kinda heavy duty, I really like it I am happy with it :DOnly one thing I found a little lacking were the hinge posts for the doors they are plastic. They do supply an extra set in the kit so they must know the short comings. Should have been metal. Also you cannot put the shelves in the cabinet at the same hieght because the centre dividing panel is too thin and they push each other out when trying to place the pins to hold the shelf. The shipping boxes were well made and everything arrived in good shape. The chairs are well made and very solid with nice big seats and sturdy backs. Looking at the product in the flesh I believe it is a little over priced.Just love this breakfast bar. Have it in the kitchen and provides a great sork top area or placing various food dishes