Monarch Specialties , Bookcase, Ladder with 2-Storage Drawers, Cappuccino, 69"H

This ladder bookcase is simply wonderful... OK first off today is monday. I wasn't expecting this until tomorrow night at the earliest. So shipping was on point.It arrived in one neatly packed box around 3pm. By 6pm I had this assembled all on my own, while entertaining a 4yr old and had made dinner in between assembling. I did however need a little assistance getting the box upstairs bc it is pretty heavy. And by that I mean I had the man of the house carry it up alone lol don't feel bad for him.. he left for work and I did everything else on my own :)Upon opening the box a really nice aroma began waffting around.. none of that factory-assembly-line smell like a lot of products that are bought online have. And though it is not made out of these it actually smelled vaguely like mahogony or cedar. (Bonus)The first thing I did was lay everything out on the living room floor to see what I was working with... there were a lot of pieces and it was almost overwhelming. But I just took it one step at a time and everything came together pretty much hassle free.The directions are fairly easy.. all of the wooden pieces are labeled with numbers and the hardware is labeled with letters. Picture diagrams show where to place everything. Also as you can see in the pictures I put up the hardware is all seperated... look at the "parts list" and you will see the hardware is in order of use; so if you are unsure of how to connect something it's a safe bet you need to use the next piece in line.In order to assemble it recommends you use a Phillips head screwdriver, but I used a power-drill (carefully, so i didnt strip the screws).. and that, I'm sure saved me a lot of time. I would suggest doing the same if you are able to. If you are even slightset bit handy this should be a breeze whether you have one or not.The finished product is identical to that of the picture shown. Its really nice. Its classy looking and sturdy too! This will go in my super small bathroom to hold towels, dental/hygiene products and more. Now I just need to paint the bathroom and it'll be in its final place!I hope this review was helpful. I am in no way paid to write reviews and I don't get any kind of discounts. I just know shopping online comes with a lot of uncertainty. But this one is a winner!I would definitely recommend this product, and I will buy again in from this company in the future.

They (ordered 2) delivered on schedule. Very heavy. It took me 6 hours to put the first of the 2 together. Got the electric drill the second, assembled on our dining table, that one took me 4 hours to assemble. Had to study some of the diagrams as images were not enlarged. Every piece was labelled so that made it very helpful. Loved how the screws/tools, etc. were all compartmentalized and rolled. Wish they were in order of assembly directions, especially for the layperson like myself. Very happy with them both!

Overall a nice piece of furniture and am happy with the purchase.Now for the real side of things(nit picky) - the color is very dark. In low light it is solid black. In bright light its VERY dark brown and you start to see wood grain when the light reflects off it it. Other than that it looks like laminated black wood. Not good, not bad, I was just hoping for more a bit brighter wood. Oh well...Sturdy - its kind of sturdy, but could be better. The feet are not adjustable so if your floor is not perfectly level it will teeder a bit. This comes with plastic caps for the bottom, which are nice.ConstructionI like building and assembling things so I thought I totally got this. I don't think it is as bad as some have commented on here but I can confirm it is not the easiest thing to put together. At my leisurely pace it took me about 75 minutes from start to finish.Why is assembly so hard?* The instructions are picture based and do not do a good job of showing you the orientation of the part so I can see some people getting frustrated.* Some of the instruction steps involve a lot of steps, that should be sequenced out better. Like one step might be install 4 screws, easy! The next step is to install 18 screws among 5 different parts while putting together. This makes the pictures smaller and harder to read. That step would be much better being split up.* The pictures themselves are not that great and a few are depicted wrong.* There is far too much hardware that is similar, but technically different - such as 2 very close in size but technically different dowels, same for some screws included.This is what makes it hard.I strongly suggest labeling the following and you'll have a better time* Label the hardware before you begin - go by the picture of the hardware and the quantity count listed in the instructions and then label the physical bag.* Leave all hardware in the labeled bags until that specific hardware is needed. This ensures nothing gets mixed and you can't tell what is what anymore because they look so similar.So don't let the assembly wreck your buying decision, just be aware of it. Its like a fun puzzle that leaves you with a decent furniture piece. Hope this is helpful.

To say that the instructions to setup this bookshelf is frustrating is an understatement. The instructions has very poor diagrams & lacks important details to properly setup the bookshelf starting at step 3. More specifically the drawer rails. I’ve included photos of the proper way to install the drawer rails for others to reference. I initially installed them upside down & had to go back just to fix them. Also, note that the instructions does direct you to build the bookshelf upside down.All of the hardware & shelving pieces were neatly packed & padded. Only wish that the hardware plastic was labelled since multiple of the hardware pieces do look similar.If you have a power drill, I highly recommend using it. I’m in the middle of a move and found myself going back and forth to the store to get a hammer & Phillips screwdrivers for the job. Utilizing mostly a screwdriver was very time consuming.Apart from the instructions, the bookshelf is extremely sturdy & you do get your bang for your buck.