Shipping:
My new media console and fireplace arrived at my house (in Indiana) only a few days after I placed my order. It arrived in two very large, very heavy packages. One package contained the materials for the console itself and the other, which had "FRAGILE" written in large letters across it was the electric fireplace. There are many different pieces to the cabinet itself, so I recommend doing what I did which was opening the box somewhere with plenty of room, and laying out each piece to ensure that everything had been included (and to ensure that nothing had been damaged). Everything that was supposed to be included was there and intact.
Assembly:
Obviously, the console itself has to be assembled. The assembly wasn't difficult (as I am a 25 year old woman who did it by myself), but it is time consuming, taking about three hours to complete (although I took my time). The hardware didn't seem cheap to me and every major piece is fit with several wood dowels to help guide the pieces together perfectly. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS TO THE LETTER AND TAKING YOUR TIME!!! The pieces are designed to go together in a very specific order and once they have been locked together, it is almost impossible to take them apart again. This means that if you forget a step, you could be in big trouble. The instructions aren't super descriptive so read a couple of times to make sure you understand what you are doing. There is an optional support piece that is supposed to go in the middle of the shelf to help prevent the top piece from bowing if you have a somewhat heavy tv. I would recommend putting it in during assembly if you have a tv any larger than about 36 inches as I have already seen one review where the person didn't use the support piece, and his did bow under the weight of his tv. Once it was completed, I was however pleasantly surprised by how sturdy the unit was once it was constructed.
Product Review:
I did want to mention that the firebox itself isn't as deep as the cabinet is. This makes for a nice place in the back of the unit to put your power strip for all of your electronics so that you can place the cabinet flush against the wall without leaving an unsightly gap between the unit and the wall. It was a pleasant surprise. As I mentioned before, most of the main pieces of the unit are real stained wood and those that are not are still stained well to match the real wood pieces. Occasionally I go over the entertainment stand with wood polish, which brings out the nice espresso color in the wood. The unit itself is a beautiful, uniform color and is very sturdy considering that it was assembled. I love the cabinet space and width of the unit.
If you want a fireplace that looks like real fire, get a real fireplace. I spent a lot of time looking at these when I was shopping around and contrary to a couple of the reviews, I think the fire looks better than many of the electric fireplaces that I have seen (including several nice hotels that I have stayed at). I'm sure that they do make more realistic electric fireplaces, but you won't find any around this price, I've looked. The fire consists of varying shades of yellow and orange, but to me, the movement of the flames is about as as realistic as any I've seen. The brightness of the logs can be adjusted as well as the brightness/level of the fire, which is nice when you want the fire to seem low or when you are trying to watch a movie on the tv and you don't want the brightness of the fireplace to be distracting. I have a fairly small living room, so I can feel the heat from the heater on the couch when it is at medium setting, but I could see where it probably wouldn't heat a larger room by itself. In my case however, the space heater in the unit adds a nice warmth to the room (sometimes too warm). The remote control allows you to change the brightness of the logs and the fire, and to turn the heater off or on, but the thermostat for the heater must be adjusted on the firebox itself.
After three months of having this product, I must say that I am in love with it. With all of the features, I really feel like I got lots of "bang for the buck". It adds a very welcoming glow and warmth to my living room and I get compliments on it every time I have company. For the price, definitely five stars.
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I really like this piece. The unit is very solid and a beautiful finish on the wood. The instructions were very good and was easy to assemble without a hitch. I love the glass doors on cabinet to keep video games, movies and Wii dust free! BTW my cable modem and router fit nicely laying flat on open shelf with DVRThe only con I have is the flame is only amber. I could not really tell it was amber only in the picture. Come on guys...couldn't you have put a little red in there to mix up the colors?! It is obvious it is not a real flame...which is what I want...but the amber only color makes it a little less comfy when lit.
With the Amazon price with free shipping I saved over $150 over Target and Walmart online plus I got Amazon free shipping!
