Hassle to put together, some slightly damaged pieces, and DO NOT USE LID SUPPORT PROVIDED!
Just wanted to update.. April 2016: Ive had this item for 3 yrs now and it still looks the same as the first day we got it, its also been through 2 moves and withstood damage from those. Im going to bump it up to 4 stars at this point as Ive forgotten the hassle of putting it together. We never ended up using the lid supports in fear theyd bust the item but otherwise its been perfect for corralling the kids shoes and school backpacks and coats and am soo glad I purchased this. I am constantly getting compliments on how nice it looks.
March 2013/purchasing date: I was very skeptical about purchasing this item, but i happen to snatch it up for the few days had it listed as $238 with prime shipping instead of the $330s it is currently, so i am going to list the pros and cons after putting it together and living with it for a few weeks.
Pros: feels pretty strong once put together, looks nice, perfect height for young childrens coats and backpacks, good customer service from home styles, Mine did NOT have an odor as others have experienced.
Cons: step number 7 almost impossible- holes did not match up so it took alot of forcing/bending of the camlocks,etc to make the pieces fit together (it did end up working, just hard), several pieces with small damage, nothing that can be seen when put together or jeapordized strength of unit, had to clean out wood and paint from every hole before assembling or it would have caused a problem, lid supports are way tooo stiff and would rip this unit apart-called and for free quickly got replacement lid supports but still way to stiff and didnt work. I recommend purchasing a different brands self balancing lid supports so the ones provided dont ruin the whole thing( on or local hardware store). They told me i needed to work with the supports to loosen them up first, but i couldnt even bend them to try to loosen them up, maybe a little wd40 would help? but i decided to purchase a different brand that had good reviews so i wouldnt have to risk them being too tight again later. Color is NOT PURE WHITE, its more of an antique white almost almond- this was a problem for me as the rest of my living room and trim was pure white. For an adult this would be way toooo short for coats, only about 5ft 4 in tall total. The cubbies at the top arent very deep (7 1/4 in deep by 8 1/4 in tall 10in under notch x 17 in width each ) so it could be hard trying to find baskets to work for it which is what i wanted to do, target has some fabric ones that will work out ok, just nothing fits it perfect.
Even with all the cons i am still glad i took the plunge and tried it. Its what i needed and works great for the kids with the slight modification of lid support to prevent smashed fingers.
Hassle to put together, some slightly damaged pieces, and DO NOT USE LID SUPPORT PROVIDED!
Just wanted to update.. April 2016: Ive had this item for 3 yrs now and it still looks the same as the first day we got it, its also been through 2 moves and withstood damage from those. Im going to bump it up to 4 stars at this point as Ive forgotten the hassle of putting it together. We never ended up using the lid supports in fear theyd bust the item but otherwise its been perfect for corralling the kids shoes and school backpacks and coats and am soo glad I purchased this. I am constantly getting compliments on how nice it looks. March 2013/purchasing date: I was very skeptical about purchasing this item, but i happen to snatch it up for the few days had it listed as $238 with prime shipping instead of the $330s it is currently, so i am going to list the pros and cons after putting it together and living with it for a few weeks. Pros: feels pretty strong once put together, looks nice, perfect height for young childrens coats and backpacks, good customer service from home styles, Mine did NOT have an odor as others have experienced. Cons: step number 7 almost impossible- holes did not match up so it took alot of forcing/bending of the camlocks,etc to make the pieces fit together (it did end up working, just hard), several pieces with small damage, nothing that can be seen when put together or jeapordized strength of unit, had to clean out wood and paint from every hole before assembling or it would have caused a problem, lid supports are way tooo stiff and would rip this unit apart-called and for free quickly got replacement lid supports but still way to stiff and didnt work. I recommend purchasing a different brands self balancing lid supports so the ones provided dont ruin the whole thing( on or local hardware store). They told me i needed to work with the supports to loosen them up first, but i couldnt even bend them to try to loosen them up, maybe a little wd40 would help? but i decided to purchase a different brand that had good reviews so i wouldnt have to risk them being too tight again later. Color is NOT PURE WHITE, its more of an antique white almost almond- this was a problem for me as the rest of my living room and trim was pure white. For an adult this would be way toooo short for coats, only about 5ft 4 in tall total. The cubbies at the top arent very deep (7 1/4 in deep by 8 1/4 in tall 10in under notch x 17 in width each ) so it could be hard trying to find baskets to work for it which is what i wanted to do, target has some fabric ones that will work out ok, just nothing fits it perfect. Even with all the cons i am still glad i took the plunge and tried it. Its what i needed and works great for the kids with the slight modification of lid support to prevent smashed fingers.