Review on Premium 2-Shelf and 4-Drawer Bookcase by Taylor + Logan - Rustic Wood Grain Finish for Optimal Storage by Tina Price

I dreamed of a white Christmas, but that wasn't what I had in mind. I ended up assembling this Taylor + Logan bookcase/shelf in about 2 hours, not thanks to the terrible instructions. I am filled with a mixture of regret, disappointment and anger. My house is full of sticky white styrofoam balls that I need to vacuum up tomorrow. I wish I never let that in my house. It's cheap DIY furniture and it looks like it. This is a terrible product and you should stay away. There's so much wrong, but I'll start with the packaging. In all my recent reviews I pay attention to the amount and type of packaging as I care about the environment and want to reduce my impact on the planet. Creating waste is inevitable, but we can try to reduce it and require manufacturers to use more sustainable production methods. Taylor + Logan don't seem to care about the planet or your home. If they did, like many manufacturers, they would use eco-friendly corrugated cardboard liners and molded bamboo egg crates, all of which can be recycled. There's so much styrofoam in here, Captain Planet is crying. It's a mess that needs cleaning up and it should all be landfilled or incinerated. Worse still, unlike what most other manufacturers use, styrofoam is very friable. There is also a large piece of polyethylene foam. IKEA, on the other hand, uses cardboard and does a pretty good job of reducing waste. Despite all the foam, it didn't protect the contents from damage. The box was roughly handled during shipping judging by the condition it arrived in. At 80 pounds, she is heavy and has not been treated with care by the shippers. One of the drawer sections had a large tear which I patched with Gorilla Glue (placed under my dining table leg to hold down and dry). Some other parts also have small chips on the edges. The shelf is made of MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) - mostly sawdust and crushed wood particles bonded with resins under pressure and heat. I had this ugly brown disposable furniture as a kid and I don't like it. The main reason for buying MDF is its cheapness. Do not use an electric drill during assembly. You have to turn the screws manually so you can feel the torque. Overtightening can cause cracks. You will also need a hammer to drive in 20 small nails for the back wall. In hindsight, for those who have experience in making furniture with their own hands, the instructions are relatively simple. However, while you collect it, it seems intimidating. The main reason it took me so long was that some of the panels were missing a small sticker showing what letter the part was. The instructions are small and some of them are completely wrong or confusing. If you're an IKEA professional, you know how to count holes and how pieces line up. Small wooden dowels are inserted into holes of a certain size, eccentric screws into larger holes, etc. Track plans are a real challenge. Some details from the previous steps are missing and the images are not 100% accurate. The screws do not fit in the hole they are supposed to go in. There are also extra holes on the bottom of the boxes or they are not drilled properly. Worse, after tightening all the boxes, I found I had to unscrew and redo them all. The instructions don't say to screw them into the SECOND hole. The diagram shows all the screws that go in the first hole. You have to take turns for the middle bar! What nonsense is this? So left to right, second hole, second hole, FIRST hole, second hole. After the change I understood why. The middle plate has guides on both sides, so the holes must be alternated. I had to figure everything out through trial and error. At the same time, unscrewing the batten weakened the panel, creating more sawdust that had to be removed. Do yourself a favor and just go to IKEA and buy yourself a HEMNES line. Consisting primarily of solid wood, this line of products is great for inexpensive DIY furniture, not that cheap MDF junk. After that was all done, I spent another 20 minutes meticulously picking up all the styrofoam pieces and vacuuming the driveway. Finally, I would like to add that the shelves are only 7.75 inches high, which makes the bookshelf look very poor. This height is slightly higher than a standard DVD case.