Winsome Studio 3-Tier Bookshelf, for Living Room, Home Office, Bedroom, 42", Honey Pine

Being senior citizens (both of us are a tick over 60), my wife and I have always bought the best furniture we could afford from the day we were married. Since we were into Early American and Traditional furniture, furniture makers such as Ethan Allen, Pennsylvania House, and Tell City were the sources we bought our wood furniture. Solid hard rock maple, cherry, and walnut, these types of wood furniture are what we've invested in over the years. These were not veneered plywood-based pieces, but solid hardwoods in the aforementioned woods. Expensive... yes (for example, $1,200 in the mid-'80s for a Queen Anne style sofa table), but they look as good now as they did when we purchased the majority of them 25 to 40 years ago. Ethan Allen is still around, but they've reinvented themselves, and both Pennsylvania House and Tell City no longer exist. It seems the younger generation desires cheap, e.g. throwaway furniture, thus great American furniture companies have gone away in favor of those in China, Thailand, Vietnam, and IKEA's many sources, which often tends to be Poland. Why did I discuss these companies, simply to lend some credibility that I know how good furniture is built, in terms of joinery, and overall construction and attention to detail. For the price paid for the Winsome Wood 4-Tier Bookshelf in Honey, this item is an excellent value. Is the joinery perfect? No, but it's certainly good enough for its use and $79 price! I'm not certain of the type of wood used here since the country of origin is Thailand, but its real solid wood, not a veneered form, and certainly not particle or flake board based. It's likely a wood that's plentiful in Thailand - if any other owner knows the wood type, please comment. The joinery on the upright side pieces is acceptable; the joinery on the individual shelves is excellent. The instructions, essentially graphically based, are very straightforward and easy to follow. The instructions recommend two people for assembly, but I assembled it by myself in less than 30 minutes. One area was, and still is, a bit cloudy, and that pertains to the three horizontal pieces that connect the left and right uprights at the rear of the unit. These pieces have two dowel pins on each end that fit into two holes at the rear of the left and right upright piece. The dowel pins are fluted, and this implies that wood glue should be used. Nothing was stated, or graphically implied, regarding the use of wood glue at these twelve strategic points. I submit that if you plan to never knock this down into its individual pieces again. you may wish to strongly consider the use of a bit of wood glue on the dowel pins. However, if you do plan to take it apart in the future, certainly don't use the glue. I didn't use wood glue, and have noticed these three horizontal pieces do rock a bit back and forth. I'm seriously considering taking it apart, and applying wood glue to the dowel pins, as I'm sure it would increase the structural strength at the rear of the unit. I did not use the 4mm Allen hex wrench supplied in the package to install the hex head wood screws. Rather I used a hand driver with a 4mm hex head for the initial "loose" tightening of the screws. I put some Bee's Wax on the threads of the screws, and this makes the process much easier as it lubricates the threads and wood during the tightening process. This is an old wood worker's trick to ensure that you don't crack the wood. A bar of hand soap, especially Dove, will work in a pinch. I performed the final tightening after all of the shelves were installed with a 4mm hex head extension on a 3/8" socket and ratchet. This made the installation of the top very easy, as the supplied 4mm Allen wrench interferes with the upright side pieces when tightening the top shelf. I know many homeowner's don't have these various types of tools, but I used to work on European cars as a hobby, and I have tons of unique Metric tools, including socket sets with Metric hex head drivers. The color is a touch lighter in color or hue than viewed on Amazon's product page, but this could be the calibration of my LCD monitor. It's used in our finished basement with some oak office furniture that I hand finished with walnut Danish wiping oil, so the Winsome bookshelf is certainly a lighter shade than the oak, tending toward almost a light to medium maple color. But, it's totally acceptable for our application to hold photos, and other small items. The finish on the uprights and the tops of the shelves are fine with no roughness whatsoever. It's obvious there's a difference in finish of the top and bottom of each shelf, but the tops of the shelves on our unit were sanded smooth and the finish was even. All in all, very acceptable finishing of the bookshelf. We considered a leaning shelf, aka ladder shelf, for this application, but we have a cat, and we've been told that the leaning shelf becomes a new toy for any feline! Overall, this bookshelf is a serious bargain at Amazon's current price point. Go to Wally World or any other Big Box store and price out something similar in particle board. There is absolutely no question that this is superior to any particle board-based inexpensive bookshelf. What amazes me is given Amazon's profit margin, the margin of the importer (Winsome), what the cost of production of this product must be. No wonder American companies can no longer compete at the low end with this type of real wood product. This bookshelf probably hits incoming customs at a cost of less than $25 to $40 per unit (likely even less I'll wager), and that's simply unbelievable given the overall quality of this bookshelf.

After reading other reviews of this product I almost didn't buy it, but am glad I did. Perhaps the differences people noted were due to changes in manufacturing or suppliers over time. It is handsome in light and functional way like Mission style furniture and a happy addition to our office. I want to address issues raised in other reviews. First, the color of mine is exactly as shown in the picture. If the other wood in your home has no tint of yellow or orange, it might look wrong to you. Second, mine is solid wood; you can tell by inspecting the drilled holes. Perhaps earlier versions were not. It was very easy to assemble, thanks to my lithium ion impact wrench; the little Allen wrench provided would have taken considerable effort. The tolerances were very accurate and the assemble bookshelf is very solid. Even "third world" countries now use computer controlled machining so this is not a cheaply made product. They included color perfect wooden plugs to fill the screw holes. The only thing I could ask for was self adhesive felt tabs for the bottom of the legs. In summary, this bookshelf is far superior to IKEA products and at $77, I consider it a bargain. (Full disclosure: there were minor imperfections in the top of my unit, but I didn't care because the top of a short bookshelf is going have stuff sitting on it anyway.)

Having been forced to deliver instruction remotely by the pandemic, I had to bring a lot of books home from work. Everything has been spread all over my dining room tables and chairs. It's time to clean up! After looking for a considerable period, I found this product. Though I was nervous about some of the reviews, my item arrived neither damaged nor blemished. It is incredibly sturdy and it's quite attractive. It was also easy to assemble, and I'm not exactly mechanically inclined. I was dubious that for the price it would really be all wood, but honestly, there is nothing artificial. I would buy another one if I could be sure it would be the same quality and color. Very satisfied! update: I did end up buying another one of these, and I'm very glad I did. It's wood. Quite well-made and very sturdy (I'm putting actual books on the shelves. They're heavy). I'm also psyched because the price just went up $20 after I received my second bookshelf! I'm not typically lucky but this choice worked out very well. Great product for the price, even with the recent increase.

This is a good quality bookshelf for a reasonable price. Like another reviewer, I loathe particle board "furniture", and it's vetoed in my house. This is made of above average quality solid wood. Very sturdy, well engineered, and made with quality parts. It's easy to assemble and can be done in 30 minutes. It's nice because there is only one type of screw, and there is very little guesswork to put the thing together. We purchased two of them, to sit side-by-side in our guest room, and both match without issue and look great. You can buy this shelf from Amazon at a cost that's comparable to cheap particle board junk in a big box store. I have not doubts that most people will like this product. It's just right for the price. The only drawback is the height, so be sure to break out a measuring tape if you want to be sure. It tops out at about 3.5'. If it were a foot or two taller, I'd gladly pay 2x what this costs. Another reviewer commented about how smaller peices have multiple parts that were joined together to save costs. I will describe this in better detail... Some of the back supports (the thin wood beams, above the shelves) are made of two peices that are glued in the factory, ripped (sawed) and then finished. Basically, if you look closely, you will see a jigsaw seam where two peices of solid wood were joined. It's not really an issue though, since you have to look closely to notice it, and the construction is still quite solid and well-built. This is only an issue with the small back-beams, and not the large "shelf" components. Amazon shipped it in only *2 days*. Can't beat that. Be aware that you'll be paying about 1/3 of the bookcase's cost in shipping. Still, it's well worth it. I'm very pleased with the bookcase and Amazon's service.

Alright, first off, I have 10 of these. Highlight is they are easy to put together, solid wood, and very sturdy. Detriment is they wrap these in paper when the varnish is not dry, and paper sticks to wood parts. Even with Goo-Be-Gone I had to scrape off glued paper with fingernails (which in turn broke a nail).... grrrr. Caveat is, on the last bookcase I assembled they shorted me a screw (had to find replacement), the other unit I put together this morning, several hex screws stripped out (easy to do as they are made out of soft metal). I had to remove one with vice-grips, damaged the varnish, and then find a replacement screw from my screw storage can. Helpful hint, lean the side supports against a ottoman or such, set the other side close and insert the dowed bars. Then slide shelves in, caring to not let the dowel supports fall out. When all is snug, start inserting screws carefully. Use a drill with a hex bit (unless you enjoy a sore wrist for a week). They really are easy to assemble, however, an extra half hour to remove all the stuck on paper was annoying! UPDATE: Further review of 4 more- Basically a quick assembly with, yes, having to remove all paper from what was wet varnish when packaged. This time I followed a previous posters review to use wet paper towels, worked better. That said, I struggled with what to use for an entertainment shelf unit. Everything was either too expensive or flimsy. I decided to buy 4 of these, solid, and stack them. The top two are anchored to the wall. I may use additional anchors as I have time (I had to put these in bedroom and wouldn't want one falling on someone while sleeping). I attached a picture, WONDERFUL entertainment center, sturdy and strong! Picture attached.

Product was exactly as described and assembly was simple. Looks nice.

This is a solid wood bookcase and an excellent value. It is very difficult to find such robust and attractive wood in a fairly inexpensive bookcase. It is more expensive than the typical laminate bookcase but, with a little effort, you can have a bookcase that looks handcrafted. A similar handcrafted bookcase would be at least twice the price. Here is the caveat: If you simply assemble it according to the instructions, it will not look as good nor be as sturdy. You will need two long bar clamps to do the job right. First, using a good waterproof wood glue, glue the side and back supports together. Pad the two bar clamps and secure the bookcase frame pieces together, allowing it to dry overnight. Second, install the shelves using the hardware provided. This will not be tight enough for a sturdy bookcase. Stand the bookcase upright and gently move it back and forth and side to side, in order to loosen the hardware that you just installed. Third, take an allen wrench with a larger arm than the one provided and tighten each screw that you installed in step 2. You will have to torque each screw with reasonable force. Try moving it back and forth again. If you did the assembly properly, you should have little to no movement in the bookcase.

I own four of these. They are good, sturdy bookshelves. They are "flat-packed", but they were fairly easy to assemble with the provided allen wrench -- I was able to assemble them without assistance, but some people might prefer to make it a group project. Appearance is subjective, but I think they look good and would be suitable for offices and living rooms.