My wife and I were looking for an island to provide extra storage space and a spot in the middle of the kitchen where the kids could sit around while Mommy worked in there. Since we are redoing our kitchen and surprises popped up, we could not do what we originally wanted and were looking for a budget alternative.
I have assembled plenty of ready-to-assemble products in the last 20 years--sheds, desks, bookshelves, etc. I admit to being a little skeptical when I read the reviews about the great quality and construction of this products (and assume the other similar islands by this maker as well). After all, I had heard the same before.
I am pleased to say that my doubts were entirely misplaced, especially considering the price. Because I hurt my knee and had to keep weight off it, my wife and teenage daughter assembled the whole island and they did it themselves in less than an hour. My daughter enjoyed building it so much she wanted me to buy another just for the fun of assembling it.
The dowel construction with the recessed hext bolts and wood plugs provide the sturdiest connections and cleanest look I have seen in any RTA product I have built. The design was well-thought out to avoid mis-assembling any parts, the pieces were clearly marked (not a given) and almost everything was furniture-grade quality.
The one exception and disappointment (as was noted elsewhere several times) was the size and construction of the drawers. After being surprised over and over through the early parts of the assembly by the quality and ease of assembling, that the drawers did not receive the same treatment was a mild letdown. I would have sacrificed a few inches of the bottom storage space for deeper drawers that could have been designed with the same dowel contruction as well as deeper side pieces that had the rabbit all the way around for holding the drawer wood base on all 4 sides instead of using screws on 2 sides.
Home Styles, you would better serve your customers to put the little extra into the drawers, charge a little bit more, and have a product that has no drawbacks at all than to skimp a little. I would take a 0.5 star for the drawers if I could but still the island will serve us well."..." Read more
- RomCathDS in Dunellen NJ