This dining set looks even better in person than online. For the price paid this is definitely of good quality and overall appearance- I've already received compliments on it from all my friends that have been over and they have asked me where I got it, how much did I pay, etc. In terms of assembly- I definitely didn't do it, my boyfriend did and he said it took about 2.5 hours. There are a ton of pieces to this set but well worth it overall. Only downfall is that the seat cushions look slightly more gold in person than online, but I figure down the road if I don't like the color or pattern of the cover that I can always choose a different cover as it will be easy to fix.