I'm always intimidated by furniture that you have to assemble yourself, and try to get my husband to do it for me, but when this stand arrived in the mail (very well packaged and safe), he was busy with work and I didn't want to bother him. I took out each piece and they were clearly labeled. The instruction booklet went step by step, very clearly. Construction was a snap! This is real wood, not some sort of pressboard with plastic coating. Solid and sturdy. My television set and piles of books and decor all fit great and look fantastic. This is a good size for our room, perfect height and length. I cannot recommend this stand enough. I look forward to buying other furniture from this company in the future.