If you can afford a handcrafted captains bed, great. Otherwise, get this!
I purchased the Queen 12-Drawer Storage Bed.
A brief review:
The Good:
The bed comes with all parts you need to assemble, including instructions and extra screws.
When put together, the bed looks nice, is sturdy enough to hold two adults, and offers ample storage space.
The Cons:
The bed is mostly laminate particle board- as such it is: brittle; heavy; scratches easily; and you must take extra care when assembling and screwing in parts.
The full review:
Three of us worked on putting this bed together. The man of the group put together the dozen drawers with a power drill and hammer while the two women worked on the bedframe with handheld screw drivers. We worked fairly efficiently and had no problem reading the directions. The build time from start to finish was still almost 4 hours.
The laminate scratches and chips VERY easily. I would recommend assembling the drawers on padding or thick carpet, and make room to spread them out or gently stack them as you finish them. Whatever you do, dont drop them. Sadly, we dropped one (it chipped) and scuffed several. The bed frame, of course, needs to be assembled in the bedroom where it will stay. The room we chose has hardwood floors, so at the very start we attached felt furniture pads to the bottom of the bed ends and middle supports. (When the bed was assembled, the pads allowed the two of us to move the bed into just the right spot without any difficulty- and without damaging the floor.)
One hole, for the wood screw to hold the metal support, was drilled just a few millimeters off, but considering how many screw and nails went into the thing, that was not a big deal.
Make sure that all of the screws for the drawer hardware are screwed in flush. One drawer wasnt sliding in smoothly and on further inspection, I noticed one screw was at a slight angle and was not flat against the metal slider. I removed the screw, put another one in correctly, and the drawer slid in just fine.
Our bed came with several extra screws. This was a good thing, because the screws are a bit soft and the heads get stripped easily. Be very careful while using your screwdriver.
The bed looked great once assembled. I was so excited to start using it that I immediately put a few clothes in it- the next day I pulled out a shirt and it smelled VERY strongly of processed wood. I aired the drawers out a week (leaving the drawers open all day) and the smell dissipated greatly. I would recommend letting the drawers air out for at least a week in a well-ventilated room before you really use them.
Overall, if you cant afford a real wood storage bed, this is a good alternative. I recommend it.
Update, six years later:
While the bed is still pretty and functional, it has required some tweaking/repairs to get right. Several drawer bottoms have partially popped out and have needed to be repaired over the years. They cant take a lot of weight or pressure, so dont stuff them silly; the under mattress slats bow and wiggle around a bit, especially if you are heavier or move around lot in your sleep, and need to be periodically adjusted for maximum support ( I am thinking of just putting plywood or a bunkie board down to eliminate the issue altogether); and the bed wobbled (swayed) with too much movement, so I bought metal brackets from the hardware store and I reinforced the joints and that took care of that issue. The bed is a little high for short folks, so a step stool or a bench at the foot of the bed would be a good call if you are super short or less mobile. Last, you cant place an end table next to the bed, so youll you need a headboard, wall mounted shelf, or a slim sofa table used as a headboard to give you space to put things like glasses, tissue, books, a lamp, or your alarm clock. I went with the sofa table.
All in all, it has held up to years of use. It isnt perfect, but with a few adjustments, it works fine for me, and has eliminated the need for a bulky dresser in my small bedroom.
(Original review January 2011; update June 2017.)
If you can afford a handcrafted captains bed, great. Otherwise, get this!
I purchased the Queen 12-Drawer Storage Bed. A brief review: The Good: The bed comes with all parts you need to assemble, including instructions and extra screws. When put together, the bed looks nice, is sturdy enough to hold two adults, and offers ample storage space. The Cons: The bed is mostly laminate particle board- as such it is: brittle; heavy; scratches easily; and you must take extra care when assembling and screwing in parts. The full review: Three of us worked on putting this bed together. The man of the group put together the dozen drawers with a power drill and hammer while the two women worked on the bedframe with handheld screw drivers. We worked fairly efficiently and had no problem reading the directions. The build time from start to finish was still almost 4 hours. The laminate scratches and chips VERY easily. I would recommend assembling the drawers on padding or thick carpet, and make room to spread them out or gently stack them as you finish them. Whatever you do, dont drop them. Sadly, we dropped one (it chipped) and scuffed several. The bed frame, of course, needs to be assembled in the bedroom where it will stay. The room we chose has hardwood floors, so at the very start we attached felt furniture pads to the bottom of the bed ends and middle supports. (When the bed was assembled, the pads allowed the two of us to move the bed into just the right spot without any difficulty- and without damaging the floor.) One hole, for the wood screw to hold the metal support, was drilled just a few millimeters off, but considering how many screw and nails went into the thing, that was not a big deal. Make sure that all of the screws for the drawer hardware are screwed in flush. One drawer wasnt sliding in smoothly and on further inspection, I noticed one screw was at a slight angle and was not flat against the metal slider. I removed the screw, put another one in correctly, and the drawer slid in just fine. Our bed came with several extra screws. This was a good thing, because the screws are a bit soft and the heads get stripped easily. Be very careful while using your screwdriver. The bed looked great once assembled. I was so excited to start using it that I immediately put a few clothes in it- the next day I pulled out a shirt and it smelled VERY strongly of processed wood. I aired the drawers out a week (leaving the drawers open all day) and the smell dissipated greatly. I would recommend letting the drawers air out for at least a week in a well-ventilated room before you really use them. Overall, if you cant afford a real wood storage bed, this is a good alternative. I recommend it. Update, six years later: While the bed is still pretty and functional, it has required some tweaking/repairs to get right. Several drawer bottoms have partially popped out and have needed to be repaired over the years. They cant take a lot of weight or pressure, so dont stuff them silly; the under mattress slats bow and wiggle around a bit, especially if you are heavier or move around lot in your sleep, and need to be periodically adjusted for maximum support ( I am thinking of just putting plywood or a bunkie board down to eliminate the issue altogether); and the bed wobbled (swayed) with too much movement, so I bought metal brackets from the hardware store and I reinforced the joints and that took care of that issue. The bed is a little high for short folks, so a step stool or a bench at the foot of the bed would be a good call if you are super short or less mobile. Last, you cant place an end table next to the bed, so youll you need a headboard, wall mounted shelf, or a slim sofa table used as a headboard to give you space to put things like glasses, tissue, books, a lamp, or your alarm clock. I went with the sofa table. All in all, it has held up to years of use. It isnt perfect, but with a few adjustments, it works fine for me, and has eliminated the need for a bulky dresser in my small bedroom. (Original review January 2011; update June 2017.)