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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 34 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
 Looking for utility at a low price Dec 03, 2010
By Michael D. Hartigan
Sturdy bench that fits the bill. If you are looking for something inexpensive to serve both as a bench to sit on and a little storage space, this works. We bought this to put in our attached garage and serve as a place to remove your outdoor shoes and put on your indoor shoes, or vise versa, when entering or leaving the house. It works fine for that purpose. As you would expect, at this price, this is not a great piece of furniture. It's all particle board with a thin photo finish that resembles wood. It's easy to assemble and passes the 10 foot test with no problem. It easily supports a two hundred pound person and can store three pairs of shoes, boots or slippers; more if you want to use all the space. I would recommend it if you are looking for utility at a low price. If it's furniture you're looking for, this is not it.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Good Value, Attractive, Sturdy Jan 18, 2011
By Matthew Wall
This is a flat-pack, self-assemble product made from pressboard and veneer, but in that category of furniture (the "Ikea" model) this is quite high-quality. The curved piece at the bottom and the facing pieces/fascia make a simple design rather elegant.
Parts fit together well, assembly was fine (although the instructions, as seems to be a universal, could have been a bit more clear), and the resulting bench has withstood the assault of my two young kids thus far, serving as a storage/landing place in our living room (we got two of them). The glides on the bottom make it easy to move around, even with things stored, although if you want something that will stay in place you may want to put it on carpet or a rough surface.
One of the kits was missing one cam lock, although we replaced it with a standard piece from our box of extras to no apparent ill effect.
A couple of hints:
- installation of the backing board in its proper position is critical for stiffening the assembly; take care with this step.
- this is also the most difficult part of the operation -- lining up the nails in the back with the center divider pieces. To make this easier, I suggest nailing in one corner of the backing board first, then one at each of the divider lines. I had to draw a pencil line down the back with a straight edge to make sure I nailed through the center line of the dividers, it's modestly tricky.
- use of a mallet (not called out by the instructions) is recommended for the plastic connectors; gentle tapping works best. If you don't have a mallet, use a sneaker and tap gently (my wife, in assembling one unit, got overenthusiastic with her installtion of one of the plastic connectors and made a slight bulge out the top of one unit through the veneer. It is not solid wood!)
One caveat for parents of younger children: the corners of the top protrude and are a little sharp.
Update August 2011: I am lowering my review from four stars to three after having these in place for nine months (see comment for details) based on fairly bad wear of the veneer. Structurally it's fine and has been useful, so it's still a decent bargain, but cosmetically it's looking a bit shabby after some fairly average use/wear.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 Just like a high-end retailer's Aug 30, 2004
By Tiffany Bueckers
This is a great buy! I bought both this bench and the matching cubby shelf. I have been looking at a high-end retailer's entryway combo which is similar, but wanted a natural wood look to match the maple furniture in my house. These pieces are PERFECT! Actually, they're better than the high-end retialer's because they cost $750 less after S&H is added in, and if I move, it won't be a big deal if these pieces don't work because they weren't that expensive. My only regret is that Target didn't have the baskets that fit in the bench (shown in photo)at my time of purchase, and I don't know if they will get them in. Also, I wish they stocked this in the store rather than being an online purchase only (to save on shipping).
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Good value for the price Apr 11, 2011
By Sarah Raymond
I bought this to put at the end of our bed in the master bedroom. It fits in with the other furniture in our room, looks good and is what I expected for the price. Obviously it is not real wood but I plan on making a covered cushion to go on top of this so we can sit on it which will cover up most of the top anyway. I looked at many other storage bench or covered ottaman options and this was definitely the best value. Be careful when you hammer in the plastic dowels as they don't need to be put all the way in. One has started to crack the other side which is the top of the bench but as a cushion is going to go over that, it doesn't matter but if I was planning on keeping it as is, then this would be a problem.
5 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Nice for the price! Jun 23, 2005
By Michelle Huffman
"( : Jasmine & Jamie's Mommy : )"
This is exactly what we were hoping for! This bench fits perfectly across the bottom of a full size bed. It arrived in great condition, minimum wear to the packing boxes, and product inside was not scratched at all. Took less than 30 minutes to assemble. All pieces were included, and the directions were easy to follow. Hopefully this piece will keep its good looks for years to come.
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