Delightful, well built, wonderful table top, extraordinary storage.
I'll admit that I was rather nervous purchasing this - as it involved significant assembly, and I have literally never been able to master most of the ikea purchases that I made. And, when the box arrived - the instructions and number of components looked rather off putting. But, I very much wanted a second kitchen counter for food prep, and this cart, along with the leaf - really was ideal.
The entire build, by myself, took about 4 hours without really putting any concerted effort (I'd add a part or two every couple hours) and was remarkably straightforward for someone with no assembly skills whatsoever. If I had to do it a second time it would take me less than 90 minutes - which is what I expected it would take most people with any spatial IQ.
Highlights of the build - the only secondary tool required is a screwdriver with a phillips head (don't use too small a head or you will strip the screws a bit). All of the screws, bolts, and other fasteners come in their own bag, and, unlike an Ikea build, there is none of the weird interlocking parts that you need to fit in and then twist - rather the counter comes with its own self fastening locks, that you simply need to press with a bit of thumb pressure to lock in.
I will note, that even with directions as perfect as these, I took about five or six wrong steps (that nobody with any assembly skills whatsoever would have done) - but they were easily corrected (missed a bottom rail in one case, and placed the slide rails for the drawers on backward - obvious when the drawers didn't all glide out silky smooth like they do when properly assembled.
Oh, I also ended up with 12 additional wood screws - but, because they had a name, I was able to look at the directions and immediately see where to place them (inside pre-drilled holes to make it trivial).
The counter, once completed, also doesn't have any of that Ikea wobble - lots and lots of wood screws in strategic locations make sure of that. And, the wood screws all have names - Magnetic wood screws, Long wood screws and such - each individually bagged.
Ikea could also learn a great deal about assembly instructions - these were remarkably straightforward, with every component labeled with a letter, so you couldn't go wrong.
The cart, once assembled is super stable with a far nicer wooden counter top than I was expecting. It practically begs to have food prepped on it. The unexpected bonus that I hadn't even really thought of - awesome drawer and shelf space - my rather confined kitchen counters have now been mostly emptied, and I finally have a place for paper towel rolls.
All in all, I'm super pleased with this purchase, and it came to about $60 less than what the identical counter from Wayfair would have cost me.
Oh - one final note - the packaging was immaculate. The outside cardboard box was a bit scuffed up in shipping - nothing to be done about that - but it was irrelevant, because the interior was double insulated, and each of the parts came with their own individual wrapping. Not a single chip, scuff, or mark to be seen - everything was perfect. Absolutely stupdendous purchase, I couldn't be happier.
Delightful, well built, wonderful table top, extraordinary storage.
I'll admit that I was rather nervous purchasing this - as it involved significant assembly, and I have literally never been able to master most of the ikea purchases that I made. And, when the box arrived - the instructions and number of components looked rather off putting. But, I very much wanted a second kitchen counter for food prep, and this cart, along with the leaf - really was ideal. The entire build, by myself, took about 4 hours without really putting any concerted effort (I'd add a part or two every couple hours) and was remarkably straightforward for someone with no assembly skills whatsoever. If I had to do it a second time it would take me less than 90 minutes - which is what I expected it would take most people with any spatial IQ. Highlights of the build - the only secondary tool required is a screwdriver with a phillips head (don't use too small a head or you will strip the screws a bit). All of the screws, bolts, and other fasteners come in their own bag, and, unlike an Ikea build, there is none of the weird interlocking parts that you need to fit in and then twist - rather the counter comes with its own self fastening locks, that you simply need to press with a bit of thumb pressure to lock in. I will note, that even with directions as perfect as these, I took about five or six wrong steps (that nobody with any assembly skills whatsoever would have done) - but they were easily corrected (missed a bottom rail in one case, and placed the slide rails for the drawers on backward - obvious when the drawers didn't all glide out silky smooth like they do when properly assembled. Oh, I also ended up with 12 additional wood screws - but, because they had a name, I was able to look at the directions and immediately see where to place them (inside pre-drilled holes to make it trivial). The counter, once completed, also doesn't have any of that Ikea wobble - lots and lots of wood screws in strategic locations make sure of that. And, the wood screws all have names - Magnetic wood screws, Long wood screws and such - each individually bagged. Ikea could also learn a great deal about assembly instructions - these were remarkably straightforward, with every component labeled with a letter, so you couldn't go wrong. The cart, once assembled is super stable with a far nicer wooden counter top than I was expecting. It practically begs to have food prepped on it. The unexpected bonus that I hadn't even really thought of - awesome drawer and shelf space - my rather confined kitchen counters have now been mostly emptied, and I finally have a place for paper towel rolls. All in all, I'm super pleased with this purchase, and it came to about $60 less than what the identical counter from Wayfair would have cost me. Oh - one final note - the packaging was immaculate. The outside cardboard box was a bit scuffed up in shipping - nothing to be done about that - but it was irrelevant, because the interior was double insulated, and each of the parts came with their own individual wrapping. Not a single chip, scuff, or mark to be seen - everything was perfect. Absolutely stupdendous purchase, I couldn't be happier.