Bush Business Furniture Series C 72W 4 Door Hutch in Hansen Cherry

I have purchased about 7 various pieces this Bush Business Furniture in Hansen Cherry. I am a bit neurotic when it comes to office furniture and I wanted something that would last. It had to be able to take the abuse of well….actually using it. I must say that I have been impressed so far. All of the sets came shipped on varying days from different shippers over a one week period. The packing is very impressive. Each piece of wood inside the box is wrapped in foam and/or foam like paper. One box appeared to have taken a beating, but no damage to the items. Several boxes weighed over 120lbs. Assembly varied depending on the item. If it had drawers, it took longer than a desk with two legs. Following the instructions was easy as long as you made sure you chose the correct fasteners for each step. (correct screws) They look very nice with thick laminate and they are extremely sturdy. If you want a commercial grade product at a fair price, look no further.

WEIGHT: I bought 2 lateral file cabinets & the hutch to go on top. Each item alone is quite heavy (MDF). The lateral file cabinets are manageable, especially if you remove the drawers, but the hutch weighs a ton by itself and I am not sure how my husband and I will be able to lift it onto the file cabinets. The hutch is attached from behind the file cabinets so we will also need to move into final position after the hutch is on. We are planning on placing (permanently) furniture sliders underneath the file cabinets before final assembly to facilitate this. APPEARANCE: Laminate looks really nice. It is an attractive medium-dark cherry with red tones. One corner of the file cabinet and one corner of a drawer have a little damage and the laminate is about to chip off there; I will try to put some protective coating on those corners (I mind a little corner shininess less than I mind a chip). One of the file cabinets side had a black marker-like mark on it but I can hide that as I have side-by-side file cabinets. The hutch is particularly attractive as the gray shelf sides and tack board inset provide a beautiful contrast to the cherry. The file cabinets have softened edges on the front and sides of the top, which I really like. The file drawers and the hutch edges are sharp. ASSEMBLY: This was not easy. I am "pretty handy" and I don't think I could have done it. My husband is extremely handy and armed with an electric screwdriver, screwdriver, hammer, etc. He did an amazing job in interpreting the directions, assembling the 3 pieces, and dealing with getting everything to line up perfectly. Most things did line up but sometimes muscle was needed to push things into alignment and then to get the pieces to connect (e.g., get the dowel rods to go into the holes.) It took at least 3 hours per cabinet and needed 2 people at many points. Hubby said it was very hard on his back with lots of time spent bent over (we were assembling on the floor.) Keep track of screws, dowel rods, etc. There was essentially no spares provided. On the plus side, nothing was missing either. The hutch attaches with just some attachments on each side in the rear. We went to Home Depot to buy hardware to bolt the file cabinets together securely so we won't have a problem when we move the assembled unit into place. (We got L brackets and a piece of wood to fill the gap caused by the top's overhang plus wood stain. More time & money!) FUNCTIONALITY: The file cabinet drawers are much shallower than the cabinet itself. The cabinet is about 22.5" deep while the drawer interior is only 13" -- big enough for sideways hanging files. It's a sad waste of space. The file cabinet drawers have locks and anti-tilt on only one side. When you attempt to open a drawer while the lock or anti-tilt is engaged, with the moderate force that you would use to open a drawer, the side with the lock stays in but the other side comes out by an inch (before I stopped pulling in fear of breaking the drawer.) It doesn't feel strong and I doubt if it protects your files much. By contrast, I was at Ikea this weekend and the Galant lateral file cabinet has its (combination!) lock in the center and the drawer was absolutely solidly locked. I had some buyer's remorse on the spot, lol. Also, when you open/close the drawers, there is a latching sound as the drawers move in/out of the mechanism. I actually would recommend the Galant as superior in construction but the Bush hutch has the little shelves that I like and the Bush furniture has the cherry laminate (not available in Galant) and these are what made me choose this set in the first place (whew!) OVERALL: We are still in the bolt the cabinets together and attach the hutch phase but it is finished enough that I can see what it will be like and I'm looking forward to using it. It is attractive and provides the functionality that I am looking for. I will have ample filing storage (4 lateral drawers), storage in the cabinets overhead, paper organization in the small shelves, and open storage on the top of the file cabinets. I don't like the drawer lock/anti-tilt mechanism. I definitely wouldn't recommend if you don't have confidence and patience in assembly and two people available.

This is a beautiful piece of furniture. I was amazed at the look, the feel and the quality. Be aware though, after putting it together it weighs a ton...seriously, my husband could not get the box in the house. He has to take the pieces out of the box outside the front door and then bring it in piece by piece. Now both of us are pretty strong, but we had to use two small end tables and put books on top of that, then lay the piece on its back and slide it onto the desk. Then we had to get it upright. No doubt about it, after putting it together and getting it on the desk, this set will never be moved from the place it sits.

Overall it is a good piece with lots of storage space. My one big complaint is the doors were very difficult to put on. They designed the hardware unnecessarily too complicated. As a result, after several hours on just the doors alone, I couldn’t get them properly spaced. The instructions could also use some additional clarification on these steps as well. While I was able to construct it well on my own, it really takes two to lift it. If I had to do it over, I’d have put the desk into position first then assembled the hutch on top of the desk instead of on the floor next to it (thereby requiring some help lifting it up onto the desk).

This unit is super heavy - heavier than the rest of the desk. That's OK - there's a lot of wood in it - just have someone helping because once it's assembled (upside down) anyone less than the Hulk will need assistance to flip it and put it in position. Don't forget to fasten it to the wall as directed ! The only part I had to re-do was the door hinges. There are separate inner and outer hinges and they look near enough alike that unless you pay close attention, you will put the wrong ones on the wrong doors at which point the doors don't fit. Close examination showed me where I went wrong and 15 minutes later everything lined up as it should. There's a upholstered note board which you can pin things to, and the credenza fits perfectly on top of the desk. Fully finished - I paired it with a bow-front L-Desk - perfect !

Product came broken

Good enough for the living room. Only negative thing is you need 3 folks to lift it once assembled.

Huge space upgrade for home office. One factor that prevents it getting 5 starts is the doors may not be able to be adjusted perfectly, but otherwise the product is very good. Will require significant effort to get it on the desk, so plan accordingly.