Sauder Harbor View Corner Entertainment Credenza, For TVs up to 60", Antiqued White finish

I have never bought furniture online without looking at it. I was a bit nervous but knew I wouldn't have the time to run to the store, check everything out, and load it and carry it home, all with a toddler in tow. I read probably 75% of the reviews on this TV stand (from this and other sites). I started with the one star and worked my way up so I could be prepared for the worst possible senerio. People were very upset by how many pieces there were and even in the 4 and 5 star reviews people claimed it took them 6 plus hours to put together and the less positive people were claiming days. I was ready, figuring that with a 3 yr old's help, I was looking at a long time but I was ready.It wasn't bad at all. It was a little slow to arrive, but it was early December so I understand. Now one thing I can agree with people on is that it is HEAVY in the box. The UPS guy who delivered it used a noisy sort of dolly to walk it to my door, leaned it against the wall and ran! I think he was afraid he was going to get sucked into to helping me get it inside. He made so much noise I heard him coming so I saw him making a run for it.The guy never even ran the bell. It was kind of funny. I managed to get it inside, but just enough to close the door behind it. I couldn't move it further. I could immediately see why people had had broken pieces. The box is at least 8 feet long and only a few inches deep. Odd packing. I did not have any broken pieces however and when I finally got around to assembling the unit I noticed nothing was scratched. Everything was just fine. I spent 5-10 minutes separating out all the different hardware pieces, I just set them into tiny tupperware for easy, quick access. Some reviewers have complained that the wood pieces aren't labeled and that is sort of true. The similar looking pieces are labeled but the ones that are obviously different than all the others are not. I am talking the ONLY 3" by 6" piece when the next size is two feet long. Really obvious pieces. I spread them out in the living room close to where the unit would be, put my daughter down for a nap and got started. After about an hour/hour and a half I had used most of all the little hardware pieces. The first several pages of the directions are just setting up all the hardware; nothing was together yet. Again I can't stress enough how helpful it was to separate the screws and such out BEFORE starting. After getting all the hardware in place the pieces start coming together very quickly and easily. Just take your time to make sure all the edges line up, the directions are nice enough to tell you which ones should. After about 4 hours it was almost entirely assembled, just missing the backing and drawers. I had to take a break to entertain a toddler who was starting to make it difficult. When I got inside it took me 15 minutes to finish. I think without a toddler "helping" I could have been done in less than 4 hours. It would be tempting to use a drill, but it would be easy to over do it and cause damage, so let your hand cramp a bit and use a screwdriver. A hammer was needed once in the first step and on the back to help flatten the backing (it is mostly held on my screws).Something I couldn't tell before ordering that I really like is there is a little hole in the top behind the TV for the cords of your Wii, dvd, whatever to come up through. No need to punch out the back as some cheaper units will have you do. There is also a space for the cords to come from either side of the unit. The drawers are big and hold quite a few movies/games and there is plenty of room for your game consoles and dvd player. The sides are awkward and are good for a 4x6 frame and a knick knack. This unit is super sturdy and holds a 50" tv with plenty of space, I think a 60" would probably fit just right. The color is amazing and goes with pretty much everything, a dark wood grain, with a few lighter streaks. I could not be more happy with the color. This unit looks a lot more expensive than it is, shipped to my house for under $200. Looking at furniture in stores you can't get half this quality even if you do all the leg work to get it home. The people who have complained are the people who anger for no reason and expect everything to just fall into place for them. There was nothing outrageously difficult about this and it has a beautiful reward for a few hours of your time.

Immediately upon arrival, I was really impressed with the packaging of this unit. The edges and corners, both top and bottom were reinforced to protect the components inside.As others have stated, this item is heavy. If you can't lift 70+ pounds, you'll need help to move this item into where it needs to go. If you have stairs, you'll definitely need help to move this item into where it needs to go. As an aside, assembly really should take place pretty close to where the product will live.Upon opening the box, I had no damaged pieces due to the quality packaging. I removed each component and laid them out in order. The instruction booklet has a handy blown-up view of each piece in assembly so you can see how everything goes together and will help if, like in my case, a couple of the pieces don't have their letter identifier visible. If that happens to you, grab a sharpie and mark the piece on the unfinished side so you don't have to compare the picture to the pieces later. The picture is in high enough quality you don't need to guess about which piece is which. The hardware (screws, cam locks, etc) were packaged very well, in their own separate sections of a single plastic sleeve with easy open perforations and clear labeling.Assembling this item, even if you're familiar with pre-fabricated furniture assembly, does take a while simply because there are a lot of parts - it took me about three solid hours. However, every screw hole lined up perfectly, every piece was a snug fit, and the components, while press board, are of good quality and sturdy enough to manipulate without fear of splintering. Even the thin cardboard backing, which is always the worst part of pre-fabricated furniture, has holes marked clearly for installation and fits like a charm.The cam lock mechanism for the drawers is genius - it allows you to adjust the height of each drawer independently after installation so you can make sure the drawer fronts line up the way they are supposed to.You'll spend most of your time with this assembly working with a Phillips head screwdriver, so get a good one. A ratcheting screwdriver will make your life much easier. You'll also spend a lot of assembly time with the unit upside down to attach the decorative elements, so be prepared to flip it right side up when complete. Thankfully, the assembled unit is much easier to manipulate than the package, just because of better handholds.Appearance and use wise: the antique white is slightly more wood colored than I expected, but looks quite good in person. It could have been the display settings on the device I used to shop for the product. The side shelves also have a tiny gap between the sides of the unit and the cardboard backing, which is excellent for running small cables through. I'm using one side to house hand-held game systems and a charging mat for the Nintendo Wii. The drawers are also the perfect height to store disc cases (both DVDs and Blu-Rays). The front shelves might not hold a PS5 in the vertical orientation when it comes out, but there's plenty of room for ventilation and all the shelves are adjustable. I was able to run HDMI and power cables for four game systems with room for more - I don't have a cable box or amplifier, so not sure how those items would do. My 55" TV fits perfectly on top - I will probably purchase some straps to attach the TV to the unit so it cannot tip over. I would encourage anyone who has an entertainment stand to get mounting straps - whether you have children, animals, or occasionally trip over things, am extra protection against your TV tipping is worth it.Overall, this product set the gold standard for pre-fabricated furniture assembly. It looks great and holds all my stuff exactly as I wanted it to. Were I to furnish an additional room, I would definitely look at purchasing this product again and I would absolutely buy from this manufacturer.