Note: I bought this through the Sears website, but fulfilled by Great Offer Stock. I'm posting a copy of the review I wrote at Sears.com here to share.
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I bought this nightstand because I wanted some nice furniture after getting a real job, and wanted to upgrade from the ikea type of laminated furniture that I used throughout college and grad school. This looked quite promising as it was described as solid oak. When it arrived, it's not too disappointing, but I definitely want to warn you that it's not solid oak as advertised.
Packaging: 5/5. When this arrived today, I was worried because there was a 1 inch hole in one of the sides of the outside cardboard box, probably from somebody dropping a package on it en route. But when I opened it up, I found several layers of cardboard and styrofoam around the nightstand, and it wasn't damaged at all. Happy about it.
Ease of assembly: 5/5 Came preassembled. Didn't have to waste time trying to figure out how to put it together
- Excellent appearance: It looks good, with a nice rich espresso color. The surface is clearly veneered; you can tell this from the fact that the grain on the top surface of the nightstand does not carry over to the edges. I'm okay with this, but Sears really should clarify the description on the product page.
Frame: 5/5. Solid and heavy. Stands well on the floor, no wobble. I'm guessing that based on a weight of about 50 lbs, a substantial amount of this piece of furniture could be real hardwood. But definitely not the drawers (see below)
Drawers: 2/5. The drawers are relatively flimsy for multiple reasons. This might be acceptable if this nightstand cost $*, but certainly not at the ~$*price point I paid.
1) Sides and back are made of plywood. You can most easily tell at the back corners where the ends of the plywood pieces are exposed. You can also look up from below the drawers and see the layers of the plywood on the sides and back as well.
2) Bottom of the drawers is flimsy: The inside is nicely lined with fabric, which I liked at first. But the bottom didn't feel very sturdy, so I looked at the drawers from below, and the bottom piece is obviously just medium density fiberboard, not even plywood. This probably explains why the manufacture lined the drawer: to hide the cheap material. This make it much more prong to warping than real wood.
3) Joints: Front is glued to the sides via dado joints. The sides are attached to the back with dovetail, but this is totally just for show. When you're already working with low end materials and have other joints as weak as dados, dovetails are completely superfluous, and are just there so that the manufacture can make you think it's higher quality.
Overall looks great on first glance, but not as satisfying when you examine the details. Actually not too surprising since it's made in China...