You must have at least two people in order to put the set together and be prepared to set aside about three hours for the job.  The assembly of this set is intense (it's hard to believe that people thought it was simple).  We have assembled many, many items and this one took us by surprise.  We actually used an electric drill bit instead of what came with the set in order to finish quicker.  After it's assembled, it looks quite nice.  Unlike some reviewers, I thought that it felt sturdy and chunky-not flimsy at all (maybe it's because we used the electric drill to really get the screws nice and tight).  I was also afraid of the quality of the cushions after reading some reviews, but I thought that they were quite nice and not too thin at all.  Only time will tell how it all holds up, but just be prepared for a few hours of work.