Initially I was very pleased with this order and gave it 4 stars. That was with the first 2 units I purchased. I purchased 2 more promptly and have had nothing but problems. One arrived with a chipped top. I contacted SimpliHome and they were friendly and prompt, but could not help with a replacement top as they are somehow out of stock and told me to return or replace through Amazon. Amazon has been excellent and a replacement should arrive in a couple more days. However, this morning I found a new crack or split in the top of the OTHER unit which I had not returned but was in the same order. Apparently this appears to be where the wood is laminated together to form the top and either the glue came apart or there was shrinkage or expansion? I do not know but the hairline crack is about 6 inches across the top. The unit has done nothing but sit still without being used. Packing up and sending back one unit was a hassle. Now will I have to send back another? What an EXTREME hassle. Hubby doesn't want the hassle. However, I have spent over $1200 to get four of these and want it remedied. I do not know what to think. I am waiting on SimpliHome to contact me again regarding the new problem. It has been only 6 days since the unit was assembled and the hairline crack appeared today. I gave it 2 stars. Originally I gave it 4. Read the positive things below, and there are positive things and that is why it is getting a 2 instead of a 1 star. However, out of 4 cabinets I have had 2 damaged or defective units. That is a 50% attrition rate. I still have to decide if I need to send this unit back. Of course, there is the original replacement unit that should be arriving shortly to replace the first damaged cabinet of the two. We will see how that pans out - or will it have problems? All that being said, even if it all works out in the end, this has been a hassle to have to disassemble and repack cabinets. See below for the positive remarks on the first 2 units. I ordered the 2 sets of cabinets (4 total) approximately 1 week apart. Previously -when I was happy - I wrote: First, I will address assembly. We found it easy. I am over 65. First cabinet 90 minutes. Second cabinet 30 min. We have put together ready to assemble kitchen cabinets many year ago, so that helped. That being said, I would say if you know basics you can probably do this. We did use an electric drill with screwdriver attachment. However, screwdriver along with wrench provided would do satisfactorily. We are able to screw in screws straight. Endeavor to do that. I do not really know why in some lower-rated reviews people had such trouble. I read that they busted hardware. I would speculate user error, but everyone's circumstances could differ. If you are not familiar with a cam, it is a mechanism that simply does a quarter turn to lock the bolts provided in place. If someone attempted to screw this repeatedly, I could see a problem... but the cam is not designed to be installed that way. Also, the bolts that the cam clamps down on, we decided that perhaps some people screwed these in too far? Just stop where it indicates it should be flush with the wood and you will be fine. We found the directions straightforward and very understandable. Granted, maybe someone could have a sticker that was erroneously placed in their unit. We had no such difficulty, though. Lastly, on assembly, EVERYBODY says they have trouble with the doors. We admit that there is perhaps 1/8 inch variance on the hang, and speculate it is due to the depth of the hinge that is preinstalled on the door itself. Hinge depth matters when getting doors square. That being said, we elected to not fool with the hinge and accept the small variance. We did not want to chance messing things up. People with huge problems installing their doors, you might wonder if they overscrewed or misaligned other portions of the cabinet. If you are out of square, you will run into problems. Again, assembler error is what I anticipate, not to offend anyone because certainly there could be rogue door problem, but not our experience. If you look closely at my pictures, you will see I changed the knobs. There was 1/8 inch variance on one and about 1/16 on the other cabinet which is due to the door hang. We decided that unless you were looking for that, it would not be noticeable. Note be sure to put the back on before installing the doors. We laid a square in the door and watched that as we put the back on. We purchased 2 units and installed the door while unit was upside down on the 2nd unit. Don't know if this helped, but we think so. Be sure to install only one screw in the middle of each hinge before screwing in the other screws. Overall we were happy with the doors. Now for what I wish people told me in reviews. Interior dimensions are reported wildly different. The actual shelf is about 10.75 deep by 11.75 wide. However, that being said there is more useable space than that for the depth. There is approximately 1.25 inches between the edge of the shelf and the actual door. I took pictures with dinner plates. These plates are 10.5 inches. I took a picture with the plate all the way to the back and then took a picture with the plate about half inch off the back wall. I would think an 11- inch plate would fit fine and probably an 11.5-inch plate with the door closing. Note I read someone had problem with shelves. If you do not install the shelf support pins in to the stopping point, your shelf will not fit correctly. We installed pin correctly. Shelf is stable. Overall appearance I think is great. I had some VERY minor imperfection in the lacquer in 2 spots on my second unit but not noticeable. When people say they are "junk," that was not the case for us. It greatly depends on your assembly success. Also it depends on the person. Some people think $300 is a great deal of money. Granted, it is not cheap. However I find these much better than MDF. Pine is soft. Yes. But You aren't going to probably get hardwood for this price. You can occasionally see a wave in the wood, but again not noticeable. If you are accustomed to high-end furniture, you might pick these apart. But let's get serious. Why were you buying on line anyway? I will tell you why. You have been to a furniture store and all the really good stuff takes months to order due to Covid and manufacturing. Even some of the cheaper "value produced" furniture could take a couple months. And then it is cheaply made and probably expensive. At a home décor superstore I looked for cabinets. Prices were $150 to $300. ROUGH WOOD. Distressed. Go to their clearance aisle and note the scratches exposing MDF or note the finish coming off, or drawers that will not close. These cabinets are MUCH better and sturdy. If you want high end furniture, do what I did. Buy these with the thoughts of being interim. I actually hope these will look good for a number of years. Nobody addresses the NC lacquer. First I had no or minimal smell, but mine are white and not stained. I have asthma, but no odor issues. FYI Nitrocomposition lacquer can yellow on white or light wood. Think old guitars. Nobody mentions this. I plan to keep mine out of the sun and hope this takes a number of years to yellow. Did not stop me from purchasing. I just painted my house and I need furniture. Bottom line, I ordered 2 more for a total of 4. $300 is a little pricey, but there are some by SimpliHome on Amazon in the $220 to $250 range for different styles and color such as the Bedford or Redmond. I think that would be the best price point for these in a perfect world. If I hear one more person say you get what you pay for, though true, I will go crazy. If you can afford higher end, go find it. If you think it is too much, go get MDF from a big box store. But $220 to $250 for these is very reasonable in today's furniture environment IMO. I paid $300 because I simply wanted this style and color.
