Sauder Palladia Night Stand, Vintage Oak finish

I bought my son an antique bed and dresser for his room. It's the night stands that take his 11 year old abuse, so I was looking for something he could forget to use coasters on that I wouldn't freak out about. This fit the bill nicely. At the same time, I ordered a whole bunch of stuff from a reputably high end furniture site (who shall remain nameless) for another room. I ordered two of these, they came in two days, and I had them together in 2.5 hours. The directions were in english (not just diagrams), extremely clear (even included a small joke), the pieces easily identified, and all fit together tightly and well. I had to do a little finessing on the drawer slides to get it to slide easily and appear even when closed, but this was easily done. If you've put together IKEA furniture, this is a breeze. I find the usual issue with furniture I have to assemble is that screws are cheap and strip. Absolutely not the case here!These are particle board with laminate. As one would expect at this price point. Someone said in their review these are wood. Um, no, not even particle board with wood veneer. Don't get me wrong, it's very nice laminate and particle board, not flimsy at all. But if you're expecting wood veneer, it's not. I agree with a another reviewer: you can (and I did) use an electric screwdriver to put these together. I wouldn't use a drill with a screwdriver bit, but an electric screwdriver was fine.

Over the years I've put quite a few of these assemble-yourself types of furniture together. These are good quality. Realize what you're getting w/this type of furniture: they are particle board covered w/a thin fake-wood film. Particle board is heavy and breaks more easily than wood. The "veneer" is thin and scratches or wears easily. That said, these look nice and you can't beat the price, compared to "real" furniture. I ordered the 4-drawer chest, nightstand and headboard. It took about 3 hours to put together the chest, an hour for the nightstand and 1 1/2 hrs for the headboard. I took my time and used a power screwdriver (tho they say not to it's fine if you're careful). The packing on mine was fine - no damage. The instructions were very clear and easy to follow. They look nice and are sturdy. There's a big difference between these and the less expensive ones I've had. These have several extra parts that make them more sturdy and better looking. The drawers work well. I'm pleased w/them.

I am using the Palladia Cherry night stand as a little table for a coffee maker in my office. From a distance, this looks like a pretty high class piece of furniture. It is typical press board put-it-together yourself furniture though. It took a couple of hours to put together. There are many steps, many parts, and many fasteners. A couple of the parts are not labeled, but it is clear from the diagrams in the instructions what is what. Everything went together easily except for the last step involving the drawer. There are three holes for the side rails that attach to the side of the drawer, probably because the rails are used for many different models of furniture. Use holes #1 and #3, not hole #2. Hole #3 is adjustable. Using hole #2 as I mistakenly did (my fault!), made it so the drawer was about 1/8 of an inch too high and wouldn't close. On the plus side, this night stand is cheap to buy, looks good, and is very sturdy.Some pointers with this type of furniture, which I would call mid-range in quality for its type:Take your time and identify the parts and proper alignment before inserting any screws as this stuff doesn't cope well with being taken apart and put back together again--Work on a carpeted surface or a towel as the laminate furniture surfaces will scratch easily--Pay attention to the weight restrictions in the assembly guide (max weight of 15 lbs in the drawer, 40 lbs on the lower shelf, and 40 lbs on top is probably about right as recommended)--Do not use power tools for assembly unless you have used a power screwdriver before, not a drill doubling as a screwdriver (the instructions recommend against using any power tool, probably because it only takes one slip and the whole piece is ruined)--The holes generally line up pretty close, but it is best to not fasten screws down tight until all of the parts are lined up properly--Install some type of foot slider that you purchase yourself underneath or the press board will come apart if the furniture is dragged away from a wall--Clean once in a while with Windex or a damp cloth (this isn't real wood veneer anywhere on it, it's plastic photographs of wood glued to chip board)

The reason that I have always liked Sauder products better than other RTA manufacturers is because Sauder's products are (1) consistently well-made, (2) the assembly instructions are easy to read and follow, (3) I have never had missing parts. This product was no exception. It was fairly inexpensive but looks nice - perfect for the guest room for which it was intended. Assembly took a little time (not a criticism) but was made much easier (and more tolerable) by the concise instructions and the clear labeling of every part. Much of the RTA furniture that you see at Wal-Mart etc. is and looks like junk. The Sauder unit is solid and really looks like a nice piece of furniture.