After reading the reviews, I knew that this would be difficult.  It took me (by myself) most of the afternoon with breaks.  The part that I had problems with was putting the two side shelves together.  My advise- when you put them together make sure that the pieces with the holes are on the top and the bottom is flat.  They look the same and even with being careful, I managed to do it wrong 3x.   Also, I am glad I waited to tighten all of the screws and glue.   Was able to take it apart when I had made a mistake.  Now that it's together, I love it.  I couldn't be happier.  It was worth the work.   

Pros: Great value, beautiful, quality piece of furniture
Cons: Hard to assemble