This is really more like a 4 1/2 in my book. There is a fair amount of real wood used in the bracing and structure. Its clearly not a handmade heirloom piece, but one will have difficulty finding an heirloom quality table with 4 drawers for $400.
Good:
- Heavy, which is important in a lift top table for stability. Its not going to be off balance under any normal/reasonable use.
- Good lift mechanism. The hardware will likely support far more than the wood it is attached to.
- More storage than comparable models.
- Appears generally well built.
Bad:
- The weight of the lid (and all you put on it) is pushing the screws that hold the lift mechanism in place out... There are 8 of them. This may be enough. But screws are much stronger against lateral force. A different attachment design would make me feel better about this.
- Only the top (side) drawers have a proper slide mechanism. The bottom drawers just slide on a bottom brace.
- The size of the bottom drawers is curiously short... There is room for them to be another 6 to 8 inches longer to maximize storage. But this is just wasted space in the back.
Other:
Cant call this bad as some may prefer it, but the top lifts opposite the drawers. We want this in front of our TV to get better use out of our media-center PC... I.e. its a convertible desk. So we need the drawers to open the same direction as the lift top. That way, the drawers are in front for easy access, and the table lifts to the front for easy use.
It appears to be designed to live directly in front of a couch, such that having the drawers on the lift side would make them difficult to access. A fine idea, but not what I needed.
Luckily, a person who is generally handy with building things can fix this. If you take out the side drawers you will be able to access a total of 12 screws holding the top on. 3 are screwed up from the top brace over each of the side drawers. And 3 each are screwed outward through a piece of brace wood on the front and back. The top is symmetrical, so you can reverse it. (Mine was assembled by a furniture store... Maybe you get to choose how to put this on if you assemble yourself.)
Pretty Good Stuff (Minor Complaints and Concerns)
This is really more like a 4 1/2 in my book. There is a fair amount of real wood used in the bracing and structure. Its clearly not a handmade heirloom piece, but one will have difficulty finding an heirloom quality table with 4 drawers for $400. Good: - Heavy, which is important in a lift top table for stability. Its not going to be off balance under any normal/reasonable use. - Good lift mechanism. The hardware will likely support far more than the wood it is attached to. - More storage than comparable models. - Appears generally well built. Bad: - The weight of the lid (and all you put on it) is pushing the screws that hold the lift mechanism in place out... There are 8 of them. This may be enough. But screws are much stronger against lateral force. A different attachment design would make me feel better about this. - Only the top (side) drawers have a proper slide mechanism. The bottom drawers just slide on a bottom brace. - The size of the bottom drawers is curiously short... There is room for them to be another 6 to 8 inches longer to maximize storage. But this is just wasted space in the back. Other: Cant call this bad as some may prefer it, but the top lifts opposite the drawers. We want this in front of our TV to get better use out of our media-center PC... I.e. its a convertible desk. So we need the drawers to open the same direction as the lift top. That way, the drawers are in front for easy access, and the table lifts to the front for easy use. It appears to be designed to live directly in front of a couch, such that having the drawers on the lift side would make them difficult to access. A fine idea, but not what I needed. Luckily, a person who is generally handy with building things can fix this. If you take out the side drawers you will be able to access a total of 12 screws holding the top on. 3 are screwed up from the top brace over each of the side drawers. And 3 each are screwed outward through a piece of brace wood on the front and back. The top is symmetrical, so you can reverse it. (Mine was assembled by a furniture store... Maybe you get to choose how to put this on if you assemble yourself.)