Sauder Cottage Road Book Shelf, Bookshelf with Storage, Library Bookcase with Doors and Adjustable Shelves, in Soft White Finish

For inexpensive furniture which isn't designed to last, Sauder has been a decent alternative to bankrupting families to fill their homes.Over the years, Sauder has been hit or miss (usually miss), as "furniture" usually deteriotes either by weak structure design or the fake wood paper starts to peel off.I was very skeptical at purchasing this due to history, but there have been some good pieces. For the price, the look, and the color, I took a chance.I am *extremely* impressed with this cabinet. It's very sturdy, looks incredible, and the doors don't look lopsided because the company finally used adjustable hinges (about time, Sauder!).Construction took about 30 minutes, and the instructions easy to follow with one exception: there is a section instructing us to slide on an edge piece, but there is no indication on which direction it is to be applied. This piece is what is seen above the doors, and if it's installed upside down, as I did, there is a gap between the shelf and doors.If this should happen to you, the correction is extremely simple: untorque one of the front edges (either side, doesn't matter), and lift it off. Then slide the piece off the board, flip it, and slide it back on. Reattach the edge and torque it down. Gap removed.I also enjoyed the contrasting "aged wood" shelving, which was a surprise since the images don't show really show this. You can see it on the shelf above the doors, but not the others. Quite a nice touch, adding a bit of charm to the overall design.Like most other Sauder cases, this also uses the thin backing which requires many nails to appy.Unfortunately, the backing does not have perforated sections to pop out, so if you intend to set electrical items on your shelves, it is highly recommended you measure and cut before you apply the backing. Don't make the mistake I did by thinking you can slide the cord out the side. Ugh, now I have to nail the backing and this means moving the shelf out. You'd think I'd learn by now.The width of the cabinet is about 30in/76cm, which is another reason I purchased it. I have a small area in a room that's about 31in/79cm, and this fit perfectly inside it. Despite being a "thin" cabinet, there is ample room on each shelf.Thanks to the addition of adjustable hinges (both for mounting and for door placement), this is the first Sauder set in which the doors look and operate perfectly. I hope Sauder continues using these hinges, because it's worth the extra cost to customers to include them.This is the best Sauder piece I have ever purchased in the arena of "self service" furniture, and I've got to give props to Sauder for remaining competitive in this market now that that other store seems to be taking the spotlight.If you don't have one of these stores in your area, you might want to give Sauder a look. This came with free shipping, and believe me, that's a huge savings given how heavy this was.This ends my review and I hope it was helpful.Thanks for reading and have a great day.

I now have three of these bookcases in my office. I’m using them to store all of my genealogy research and family notebooks.They’re very upscale looking and sturdy, I especially like how the doors fit so well on the first try. There was very little adjustment needed.The shelves are sturdy and generous in depth and height. And there’s a certain cool factor when you have three of these bookcases lined up like a real library!The assembly process is actually fun for a person like me who likes to put things together. Within interruptions, it took me about an hour to put the bookcase together, the only tools I needed was a Phillips head screwdriver and a hammer. For those who don’t especially like putting puzzles together, if you read the directions and follow them exactly, it goes very smoothly.One thing I have learned is, don’t question the process, the instructions are explicit. The materials provided are exactly what you need and assembly is really a fail proof system. If it doesn’t go together properly or you have parts left over it’s not Saunders‘s fault, you missed something or skipped a step!I would highly recommend these book cases!

Overall, this is worth the price. Five stars for directions, packaging, and ease of assembly. We purchased two and put the first one together in 90 minutes and the second in 45. Could definitely be done solo but two would be ideal as these are pretty heavy.All parts were clearly labeled and separated in individual bags. Direction manual was clear with great pictures. Tools not included but all you need is a Phillips screwdriver and maybe a hammer.Giving it four stars because the back piece is cardboard with a big seam down the middle. I have not attached that yet as I plan on covering it with a peel and stick wallpaper first. Also, the doors are not quite lining up as I would like, even with adjustments. I probably will add door bumpers as well - that would have been a nice add on.This is not fine furniture, but it is an inexpensive storage solution for my craft are in the basement. Overall, I’m pleased.

This is a nice looking unit for the price and has decent structural integrity. Overall the instructions are very good but there are some things you need to be careful about. The shelf/base pieces are labeled with white stickers so you don’t wrongly place them during assembly – the problem is that not all the pieces have white ID stickers, one or two have the ID code inked on the rough side of the board (so don’t panic, now you know). Next the bottom base has a finished and unfinished edges (Back and front). Intuition tells you the finished edge faces front – It does not (at least in my case) and doing so will mess up your assembly. In my case the rough edge faces front (but no worry it gets covered over in a later step). Lastly for some crazy reason the top base support board is not fastened to the side panels (unlike the lower support base which is attached to sides). I used my own side brackets to secure the top base to the side panels to avoid gaps and give better structural integrity. The instructions even mention lifting up the unit without the fastening the backing on the unit may cause the entire unit to collapse, YIKES (its only because the top base is not attached to the side panels). Over all I’m very pleased and the wood look of the shelves is very realistic (not sure if its wood veneer or not). Took me about 3.5 hours to assemble, but could of been less had I not encountered the above issues.

Would buy again. True to the good reputation held by Sauder, this piece is beautiful. I am so pleased with the quality for the price. It was easy to assemble, had all the pieces, was packaged well. I can't say enough good about this piece of furniture. It is currently unavailable to buy again but I am keeping my eye on it and as soon as I can, will order another.

Easy to assemble and very sturdy. Great instructions