Pianist with Nightingale - DIY Book Nook Kit

This review is for the "Pianist with Nightingale" option, which was my 47th book nook build. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend it. The directions leave a LOT to be desired, and easily 75-80 percent of all snap together components required glue in order to stay together - despite there being no indication as such. The lighting/battery system, in particular, is VERY poorly thought out (especially the directions) and cost me significant time/effort while fighting with a battery pack that would not stay in place and wires/lights going EVERYWHERE with no clear indication of which went where. At the end of the day, it IS a nice looking build - it just could've been made a heckuva a lot easier with some decent instructions. Without my, what I'd call extensive experience, this build could not have been completed - and a beginner would have developed a migraine trying to sort it out.

I do recommend this kit (beyond library max). This was my mother's day gift, and I loved it. It was fun to build, the instructions were clear, the pieces were sturdy and fit together perfectly, and everything came together in about 6-8 hours of concentrated building. There were spares of several of the delicate pieces you might break (clearly marked), plenty of glue, and no major issues with assembly. The tiny books are beyond charming.Cons: There was one minor error in the instructions, or possibly a missing part, where A14 is listed but A18 must be used. The whole thing smells powerfully like laser-cut particle board, although that will fade over time. The instructions for the lighting kit were not as good as the rest of it; that part was a pain, although it only took maybe 20 minutes to sort out. Shelving tiny books with tweezers is tedious. But overall, very nice kit with a beautiful result.Final note: for all that I built a million little staircases and ladders, there's no way to get from the ground floor to the second. Once you notice you can't unsee it. :-(

Very beautiful and I love the details. But the building process wasn’t very enjoyable on some parts.First of all, the instruction wasn’t very clear on some parts. The coloring is extremely hard to differentiate between pieces, not to mention super small.There are many many fragile small and thin pieces that you have to insert; therefore are prone to breaking. Worst part is? There are no spare parts for those. In fact, there’s no spares for anything important small pieces at all. The stairs were hell to do because of how thin the pieces are, and then you’d have to press it in without breaking anything (no spares btw).The wiring was extremely confusing because the instruction for that part was very bad and hard to see. All the wires are connected in a way that makes it impossible to separate each light, it was a tangled mess.Requires a lot of glue, good thing it came with a small tube of B-7000 gel glue.Overall, I love the final product but it’s the least enjoyable nook I have built.

I loved putting this together so much. Instructions were clear and the wood didn't have a horrible chemical smell. The lighting was simple and all together fun to put together. The quality was amazing. Beautiful piece to add to my collection!! Added my own touches too from a previous kit I didn't love so I didn't finish it.

I would consider myself an intermediate creator of these book nooks… this is the first nookfan kit I have made. Reading past posts were very helpful-I did have to do some additional sanding on some delicate pieces to prevent breakage, I also thought the order of putting pieces together was not necessarily the best way to do it, and the graphics of the instructions were not very clear. The light cords were also difficult to hide. Still, it is a beautiful piece, it just had some very delicate parts!

I'm a veteran book nook builder now, and when I come across a new brand, I'm always interested to see what the experience will be. I will definitely be looking for more Nookfan book nooks.One of my biggest requirements for purchasing a book nook kit is that it come with a dust cover. This one did, and that's what first caught my eye.I fell in love with the little details like the piano, the cello, and the bird cage. I enjoyed the freedom to line the shelves with the books in my own style.Assembling the books was super easy because this set comes with stickers instead of papers you have to cut and glue. I did that once with a set, and I do not wish to make that mistake again. I was so happy this one had stickers.You'll need a steady hand in several places. Some of the pieces are quite fragile, and I did break a few. Unfortunately, my hands aren't always that steady. Fortunately, it was nothing a little glue couldn't fix. Just be ready to take your time.I do appreciate the color manual as well. While not all of the directions are clear, I was about to figure out what was necessary the couple of times I got stuck.Overall, the details made this a perfect addition to my shelf. I love the magical vibe these book nooks add!

This kit is the best one I've built so far. I love that the books are stickers. Another kit I did you had to cut out the books and glue them to the wood. The self adhesive stickers are a vast improvement. I also like that you have some freedom of placement instead of following an exact planogram.

Instructions were a little difficult but I figured I out.

I received the piano book nook as a gift from my wife. I spent a few night and maybe 6-7 hours putting this together. You could definitely do it faster if you wanted. I took my time and listened to podcasts the whole time. Overall it was surprisingly relaxing.The instructions were very clear. I might rearrange a couple steps, like when to wire a couple of the lights but no real complaints. I didn't have any issues understanding what to do or what went where.I did have a trouble fitting a few pieces together because they of their small size, especially the chandelier. In retrospect, I should have used the sanding tool but I made it work and lucky me the glue was awesome.I definitely recommend if you have a bookshelf and like to work with your hands.

Such a fun experience! Took about 5 hours (leisurely pace) to put this together. Enjoyed every minute of it. I did need to sand a few pieces for a better fit, but file was included. Only advice is to glue as you go, especially with the books on the shelf and the cello. Every small movement had them falling. I omitted the flowers because I felt it was too crowded, but they were beautiful as well. Nicely crafted pieces and super sturdy. Lights work well, but the instructions were a bit confusing. I just used tape to keep the wires at bay during installation of the other pieces. Overall wonderful experience and I was so impressed I bought several more! Would recommend!