Groove Handle Dresser

This is a very substantial, attractive dresser. It is deep enough that the drawers hold a lot of clothing, while the unit as a whole ably supports my 55" TV and associated sound bar. I was worried that the wood drawer slides would stick, but they do not. They operate very smoothly, better than some of the metal slides I have experienced. That said, one slide rail arrived warped, and did bind its drawer. I contacted Walker Edison at their location in Utah indicated on the back of the instructions, and after sending them a screenshot of my Amazon order confirmation and a photo of the offending part, they FedExed me a replacement. As with any flat-box dresser, with all those drawers, there are a lot of pieces, so assembly is a bit of an Allen wrench hell project. I paid attention, and took my time, and it all went well. If something seems wrong, or holes do not match up, it is likely that you picked up the wrong piece, or it is turned the wrong way. I would look back at the instructions, realize my mistake, and onward! As I said, I am very pleased with the handsome result.

This looks really pretty and is very solid and sturdy for the price. It wasn’t easy to assemble but it only took a few hours for one person to do it alone.

This is not my first piece of furniture. I’ve assembled plenty of IKEA pieces and other Amazon brands with dismal instructions, but this was the absolute worst piece of furniture I’ve ever assembled. I would return it if it wouldn’t be a nightmare to take apart and send back. CONs: It is a pain to put together. The dowels are brittle and crumble apart. The screw heads notches too wide and low to grip a phillips screwdriver well. Incredibly brittle wood. The wood is not finished on all outside surfaces. The top piece split when I was putting it on, but at least I was able to glue and clamp the spot and it’s towards the back end. PROs: It does look nice once you finish. Instructions are not the worst, but could be better. Most pieces were labeled but not all. And at least the holes mostly lined up. ADVICE: I managed to do this myself, but I regret it. Assemble this with two people to make your life easier. I do not recommend using a drill on this for fear of the wood splitting. I used a small ratcheting hand tool to go faster. Similarly it would be better to use a rubber mallet to tap the dowels in than a hammer. Also might be good to have wood glue around to glue pieces together to strengthen screws and dowels, help reinforce cracks, and fix any splits as you go.

Where do I start with this review? The Good: - It is a sturdy enough dresser, once its been installed properly. - Definitely modern looking and comes with a variety of color choices. - Really good instructions for assembling process. The Bad: - It takes a while for it to be assembled. It took a bit more than 6 hours for me to assemble (one person hand assembly). - Others have pointed out earlier as well. There is a gap that exists and they could have made the drawers bigger. - Bottoms of the drawers are MDF boards and that makes them rattling and cheap. - Its a one time and use thing. There is no way it can be unassembled and reassembled later. The Ugly: - Poor quality control. The panel that goes in the middle came broke for me. Lucky me that its the middle one. I was able to glue that and use it. Had it been any other, it would have been a total disaster. I took out a star because of this. - The wooden sliders on which the drawers slide are pretty bad design. They not only make them cheap, but a lot of rattling because of that. For $300, they could have used metal sliders. Took another star because of this and the cheap bottom drawers. Some suggestions: - Read the instructions very carefully and take time to assemble. Don't rush. - Do not install the board at the back before installing the legs. It becomes that much easier if you swap those two steps (unlike the instructions). - I used some beeswax to polish the wooden panels for drawers. It does give them a good patina. - I used some synthetic grease to lubricate the slider & drawers. That made them a bit tacky and less rattling (this could have been avoided completely if they have provided metal sliders).

a little time consuming to assemble. The instructions were clear, and all parts and fasteners provided. All fit together nicely. simple wood-on-wood guides, work OK. Perfect fit and sufficient capacity for small bedroom space.

I was judging people in the reviews being like “it took me forever”. Like of course its gonna take you forever? I judge me now. I started from 11 am and finished it at around 4 pm. No mistakes, no backtracking. That was just me taking my time, trying to stay organized and lifting it all by myself. BUT. She is gorgeous. Everything is solid except for the part that leans against the wall. And the bottom of the drawers. The rest is solid. No weird odor either that usually comes with boxed up furniture. A worthy investment of five hours from my weekend! You do need a hammer and screwdriver.