Customer Reviews

Bush Furniture Sonoma Medium TV Stand, Mocha Cherry Veneer

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I bought this for my wife to replace my ugly bachelor style MDF/cinder Block "entertainment" unit. I was very happy with the price, and more than impressed with the packaging to prevent damage during delivery. Be ready to have someone help you move it into your home as it is incredibly heavy for one person. I had to flip it end over end to walk it through my front door (this is not the recommended procedure in case you are wondering). If you have stairs, setup your chiropractor appointment first. From that point I opened the box and took out all 5 million parts. I opened the directions and got started. There is nothing complicated about assembly, but set aside an easy 3-5 hours to work on it. Having built many of these "type" of various units, I now prefer to take my time and double check everything before I get half way through a project and have to start over. I suggest the same. Almost every piece on this unit requires that you glue many wooden pegs for support. While I like this from a construction standpoint, I'd be lying if I said it did not take me a while to complete it.

Over all the stand is functional, the perfect size for my Sony 60" XBR TV. It holds my 4 main components and all different type of remotes function through the glass. The drawer is nice as it holds extra remotes so I know where to find them. I also like that the back is solid wood and not cheap cardboard....so there is a lot of support. The only "Con" is that the center speaker section in the center of the stand is not big enough to hold any real quality center speaker. Mine is currently on the floor in front of the TV stand as a result. At this time I'm not sure how we plan to remedy that. All in all I'm happy with the stand. If you have the time and you have the brawn, then I would more than recommend this stand for you.

12/4/2010 Update: It's been almost 3 years. The furniture has held up well in day to day living. We have an 18 month old now who likes to hit it a lot with toys. Over all it has stood up well to this punishment. Like most "fake wood" furniture, if you gouge it too deep then you will see a lighter color substrate under the darker covering. I usually just draw over it with a black felt tip marker and you never see it without CLOSE inspection. I now have Wii and a computer in it. They both breath in the box OK, but not great. The holes in the back help some. Not too hot to be worried though.

Like many other reviewers, the assembly took a while, but it was well worth it (especially for the price.)

The stand is very sharp looking. The dark wood color blends very nicely with my the "Touch of Color" red border on my Samsung LN52A650. Shelves are the perfect size for my receiver and other components. The glass doors allow for IR signals to pass through. The center shelf could actually fit my cable box, but i chose to put it behind the glass door for now.

There isn't much ventilation for components. My Xbox 360 and PS3 get extremely hot, even with the doors open. I recommend cutting some holes in the back to increase air flow. The center shelves are almost useless, I have yet to find any decent center channel speaker that will fit on the shelf. You can only fit very small components on the center shelves, some cable boxes may fit. I currently am storing some DVDs and some other junk on the center shelves. It would be better if the draw was bigger and there was only one shelf.

Overall I am happy with this purchase.


Dimensions for your reference (according to product web page):

Audio Compartment Dimensions:
HEIGHT: 38.000cm (14.961")
WIDTH: 48.600cm (19.134")
DEPTH: 48.300cm (19.016")

Center Channel Area Compartment
HEIGHT: 26.200cm (10.315")
WIDTH: 32.300cm (12.717")
DEPTH: 48.300cm (19.016")

Drawer Compartment
HEIGHT: 7.300cm (2.874")
WIDTH: 27.100cm (10.669")
DEPTH: 35.200cm (13.858")

Yesterday and today (about 3 hours total, even with my 5 yr old "helping" me) I assembled this TV stand, and I'm very happy with it overall. Delivery from Amazon was faster than promised, and there was no damage to the unit when it arrived.

Positives: 1. Very solid construction. This unit is very heavy in the box, but once it's assembled it is very sturdy. In addition to the four corner legs, there is a 5th leg in the center of the unit. As a previous review states, the back is solid instead of cardboard. 2. Very nice design - looks like a good piece of furniture once assembled. 3. Quality product. Everything lined up perfectly during assembly, and the two glass doors and top center drawer appear to be square to the eye and no "rubbing" of doors as they open and close. 4. The unit is packaged very well, minimizing the likelihood of damage in transit (and when you struggle to get it where you want it in your house).

Some drawbacks: 1. Although my Time Warner DVR Cable Box fits on one of the shelves behind the glass door just fine, my Onkyo receiver is a very tight fit. I had to remove the other glass door to get it into the cabinet, then reinstall the door. 2. The air circulation in the cabinets behind the glass doors is poor - it gets very warm in there with your AV components running. Still, there is an opening around the glass doors that lets some cold air in as the hot air rises and escapes out of the top cable holes in the back of the stand. 3. Costs $60 more than what appears to be the identical TV stand in a light Cherry finish (Sonoma collection).

Note that the center shelves and drawer are not very wide, you won't be putting any AV components or speakers in that space - it's for remotes, magazines, CDs, DVDs, etc.

Overall a very good TV stand. A nice value - better than the cheaper stands out there but not as expensive as a "real" piece of expensive furniture.

I ordered this audio/video cabinet based upon its attractive design, functionality, price and good prior review. The overall experience was quite frustrating, to say the least. As a previous review stated, the unit comes unassembled in a large, very heavy box. Unless you are a 6'6" weightlifter, you'll need a helping hand to move it!

Amazon did their part in shipping the item quickly, arriving in two days! Unfortunately, FedEx must have dropped the box on a corner, enroute. Upon opening the packaging and wading through an extraordinary amount of packing material and a myriad of individual assembly components, I found that the table top was badly damaged.

I called the manufacturer's customer service # and the situation was promptly handled by a rep. They committed to send a new top via 2-day air. So far, so good. Once the new top arrived, I proceeded with the assembly. This was not for the faint of heart. It is an extremely time-consuming process, often tedeous and frustrating. The enclosed documentation is adequate, but not overwhelming with detail.

About 1/3 the way through the installation, there is the need to attach the bottom of the unit which is shown in the manual with a weight attached to it. Unfortunately, the weight that came with mine was detached... ultimately determined to be a result of the original FedEx box drop. I called Bush Furniture again, and after going through a lengthy phone conversation, the rep offered to send me another table bottom with the weight properly attached. Rather than trying to figure out how to dispose of more furniture scraps, and now a 15lb metal weight, I opted for reattaching it myself using screws and epoxy. It worked better than the manufacturer's solution, but consumed another hour of time.

Once assembled, the cabinet is attractive and above-average in quality. The European hinges on the side doors need adjustment (no documentation for this in the manual), but should be fine once accomplished. The fit and finish on the center glass door could also be a bit better.

Now that I'm done with the assembly, I'm satisfied with the end-product, but I would have to think long and hard about repeating this again. I'm a pretty handy person who is very comfortable with mechanical endeavors and the use of various power tools. It took me about 5 hours or so, start to finish, interrupted by several problems along the way. Bush Furniture handled the problems well, but I'm not sure the cost savings was worth the trouble.

I've been looking for a widescreen TV stand for about a year, both on-line and at furniture stores. I came across the Bush VS05850 while doing Google searches and it was exactly what I was looking for--I couldn't have designed a better stand. The color (dark cherry) and style (contemporary "elegance") goes perfectly with our decor. The stand took a bit under 3 hrs to put together (including unpacking)--it was simple to build, although heavy. The stand is solid and is very good quality. My only complaint is the lack of good ventilation for the components--you'll want to keep the doors ajar when running your heat-producing systems. (Note that I purchased this through another on-line seller that offered free shipping.)

Took a little while to put together, but overall a great product. It looks nice, works perfect for our 46" flat screen TV stand and is light weight enough to move around easily. Would recommend this to others...just be prepared to take 2-3 hours to assemble after it arrives. The only other caution is that the finish scratches easily...especially on corners or edges...so be careful.

The table is exactly what I had in mind when buying. The only problem I have with it is there is a manufacturers sticker smack-dab on top of the table that is impossible to get off. Thankfully, the tv covers it up so it's not TOO much of an issue. But, I would prefer they either place the large sticker on a surface that is not visible once the product is put together or use a type of sticker that is easily removed.

The fake-wood started to peel on the first day! This was made very cheaply. I wish I could return it!

The stand looks decent, but the large top piece arrived damaged. It was clearly a manufacturing problem where a piece of trim was crammed into a crooked set of holes. Customer service was responsive, but that part's back ordered a week or so.

Assembly is straightforward if you've done these sorts of things before. Took a couple hours to do by myself.

Okay, so it's a lovely piece of furniture, BUT I nearly killed myself trying to build it. The instructions were not clear (I ended up using the wrong screws on the back, and then couldn't attach the front glass door, but it's fine without- I'm too exhausted to fix it and dang thing weights over a hundred pounds so I don't want to move it). Two pieces of the wood were damaged and trying to find a place to stash this monster for a week while I awaited replacement parts was a pain. Even one of the replacement parts had to kind of be repaired... but I will say that they were very easy to deal with and replaced the parts without question (perhaps this happens alot). I hated the thing while I was building it. But it's really nice now that it's done. I don't think I'd do it again though... and really don't look forward to ever having to move it... even an inch.