We have a galley kitchen that has a little over 6 feet between the cabinets on either side, enough room for a narrow island to give a little more prep surface. The additional working surface was our primary use case - storage was secondary. We looked at having something custom built, but it was far too expensive, and most of the RTA pieces in the size we wanted got unsatisfactory reviews for sturdiness, or they had an unfinished back that was meant to be placed against a wall. This little gem is perfect.We received two separate cartons for this shipment. The one had the granite top - it was wrapped in protective wrapping to avoid scratches, then in cardboard, then in a wooden frame (with a couple dozen wood screws holding it all together), inside the shipping carton. The second had the remaining pieces of the island - pieces again had protective wrapping to avoid scratches. And the hardware was vacuum packaged so that each type of screw, connector, dowel, etc. was separate (rather than everything jumbled in a bag). They also provide additional of the most common pieces of hardware. Hardware was very sturdy. And the tension points (e.g., corners at the bottom) have additional wood for bracing. The casters are sturdy.Assembly instructions were clearly documented, and the unit was easy to assemble - it took the two of us 3 hours (we're not the "handy" type). It can be assembled by one person if you have the strength to handle the weight of the granite, but will be much easier with two, especially at the beginning (for stability). The drawer glides were already installed on both the drawer and the insides of the cabinet.The bottom of the drawer and the back of the unit are thin plywood, but serve our purpose well, as we will not be putting heavy items in the drawer or pushing stuff against the back wall inside the lower cabinet. The interior cabinet shelf has three positions, so conveniently adjustable, and can be left out entirely if storing very tall items. As other reviewers have mentioned, the drawer only opens about 2/3 of the way, but that meets our needs.We are very happy with our purchase and would definitely buy this again.
