Home Styles 5537 13 Lafayette Cabinet
We didn't want to spend twice as much or more on a pier cabinet for media components, found this, and decided to try it. Although it is impossible to judge the color and quality from some small pictures, it turned out great. I would consider the finish and quality to be as good as most cabinets at twice the cost in department stores. The color of my unit may be a bit darker than the picture appears, more of the dark tones, though that could vary day to day in production. Be careful when inserting components onto the shelves as the front corners especially are easy to scratch as you slide them in, but a little dark furniture polish should hide any marks. There is one hole for wires in the bottom of lower cabinet and one in the top shelves. It would be nice if there were some optional punch outs for at least one higher hole since all my wires must run down behind the adjustable shelves and out the bottom. Though you could certainly make another hole in the thin panel backing.
ASSEMBLY
Assembly took some time and was a little difficult because the holes may have been a little off between the two sides and the pieces in between. But it all worked with a bit more force than I would have preferred to use. I had one issue with the lower front trim not having all the holes in correct position, but it did not appear to have any structural impact and the other fasteners hold the piece properly, so I didn't worry about it. Once together, all the important seams fit together nicely. There is a small gap around the bottom of the upper trim, but it wraps down around the sides so it is not really noticeable. The foot pieces in the four lower corners attach separately and aren't perfectly aligned, but good enough you probably wouldn't notice.
RECOMMENDATION
I would recommend this if you are looking for something that doesn't look cheap but not wanting to spend as much as most of these cabinets cost. I would not recommend this if you do not like to assemble items or sometimes have difficulty with assembly. When looked at closely it is clearly not a $600+ unit, but it looks good enough for me.
The item was shipped and received very quickly. Item was packaged in two boxes with sufficient packaging. The unit went together with ease. This is a sturdy unit with ample storage for all of my components. Had a minor issue with a few of the screws for the hinge on the door but did not affect anything. I am very happy with this purchase. Have to admit I was a little worried about ordering something with out seeing it first or knowing if it would arrive with out damage, however any concerns were not warranted.
BalasHapus