We live in a small house but were missing our previous fireplace.  We purchased this because the fireplace looks realistic and we would have storage.  It's perfect for the space, the fireplace looks more realistic than higher priced electric fireplaces.  We opted to use the assembly because it can be frustrating to assemble some things and the fireplace could be tricky.  We are very pleased with the TV/fireplace and the assembly went much better than expected.  It's a very nice addition to our living room.  The only downside was the shelf for tech pieces.  We have an older DVD player which didn't fit.  It's just time to get rid of that anyway.