Update 5/28/2014:
I was so impressed by the look and feel of this bench, I ordered another one. The first one was bought to go in one of our rooms and I had intended to look for something different to go in our entryway. After assembling the first one, I decided not to take a chance of possibly getting a lesser quality product.
Original review:
Once completed this is a very solid piece. Instructions are very basic and fairly easy to follow. The hardware is average for the wood screws, machine screws, and hinges, but below average for the cam locks. As others have noted, the color is darker than pictured (thankfully I took that into account before purchasing). The wood is a very soft white pine, this allows the fasteners to go in easily, a small drill/driver will be helpful although not mandatory to attach the corner supports (think about screwing in 32 screws by hand). The cam locks are used mainly to hold the pieces together while the corner supports are screwed in place. These corner supports are critical to the structural integrity and they do a gooddd job of holding the bench together solidly. The center divider does rely on the cam locks to hold it and is the only piece that relies solely on these pieces of hardware. Over-all I was very pleased with the fit and finish of the completed product.
Liked it so much I just ordered a second one.
Update 5/28/2014: I was so impressed by the look and feel of this bench, I ordered another one. The first one was bought to go in one of our rooms and I had intended to look for something different to go in our entryway. After assembling the first one, I decided not to take a chance of possibly getting a lesser quality product. Original review: Once completed this is a very solid piece. Instructions are very basic and fairly easy to follow. The hardware is average for the wood screws, machine screws, and hinges, but below average for the cam locks. As others have noted, the color is darker than pictured (thankfully I took that into account before purchasing). The wood is a very soft white pine, this allows the fasteners to go in easily, a small drill/driver will be helpful although not mandatory to attach the corner supports (think about screwing in 32 screws by hand). The cam locks are used mainly to hold the pieces together while the corner supports are screwed in place. These corner supports are critical to the structural integrity and they do a gooddd job of holding the bench together solidly. The center divider does rely on the cam locks to hold it and is the only piece that relies solely on these pieces of hardware. Over-all I was very pleased with the fit and finish of the completed product.