Dwell make really stylish and contemporary furniture and I have assembled a lot of it over the last two to three years. They have a few stores in London, Manchester and Birmingham and can be found on line at www.dwell.co.uk

Most of it goes together very easily however there are some tips to note:

General:

The furniture is heavy, so if you are not reasonably strong and fit don’t try assembling it yourself, especially larger items.

Sideboards:

These will take a long time to assemble and care is needed to ensure they look good, especially with the doors, many people have difficult with these.

Shelves:

Some of the shelves have an unusual connector. One guy called Larry phoned me up last year who had been struggling with this for days, he emailed me a picture and it all became clear:

These are about the size of two polo mints stuck together. Although not obvious the plastic part will slide away from the metal part with a little force. Then simply align plastic disk and push it into the shelf. Put the metal lugs in the unit (wardrobe usually) and then place the shelf in. Finally lock the connector together to provide a firm finnish.

Wardrobes:

Due to the construction these are best assembled on their side, BUT when you stand them up, first lie them on their back.

Why?

If you assemble them on their side you can reach all the cam studs easily and as you slide in the back components the structure builds up nicely. Don’t tighten any of the camstuds connecting the back until the last peice is in as you need to move most parts as you go.

If you assemble them standing up (as per instructions) or lying on their fornt or back, you cannot tighten the cam studs easily or get the panels in easily.

When you come to stand them up, unless you have done it before you may well need two people.

Now the reason I say, don’t stand the unit up from its position on its side is twofold. Firstly you may catch the ceiling, but more importantly you will put undue weight on the joints which will break under the weight of the unit. It is difficult to describe, but I advise:

- Assemble on its side
- Lie it on its back
- Stand it up

NB: Make adequate use of cardbaord if you are not assembling on a soft surface such as carpet to ensure that the corners do not get damaged when you manouvre the unit.

Sliding Doors:

This is true for any supply of wardrobes with sliding doors. On flat pack furniture they run along the top of the robe, compared to fitted wardrobes where the doors tend to run along the floor. Hanging and adjusting these doors can be difficult as a lot of care is needed to avoid scratches and they tend to be heavy especially glass ones. Although two people can support the weight better, you need to communicate well to hang them easily.

Failing that, you can always call one of us out by checking out our flat pack assembly website BUT be careful to ask the person you call whether they have done Dwell wardrobes before, as not all have experience of them.