When our son was born we had a Jenny Lind changing table (search for ASIN B000FTD1HA, the oak color) that had been given to us fully assembled but unused by the original owners. It wasn't bad, but never impressed me as being very sturdy. Our son is a big kid (born 10 lbs 12.2oz!) and changing him sometimes turns into a wrestling match, until finally a few weeks ago the entire top shelf of the changing table collapsed! Wood split and splintered, no way to repair, utter disaster. Looked like the Titanic, after hitting the bottom of the Atlantic.
So, after a lot of research, visits to every store that carried anything that could even be adapted for use as a changing table, we finally found and settled on this particular one on Amazon. We needed something that could be used after he outgrew the need for a changing table, not to mention something sturdy enough to hold up to some wear and tear while he's still being changed on it. But most of all, we had a very tight budget to work with. Most dresser-type changing tables seem to run well north of $200, pretty well out of our limited reach. Granted, this one isn't quite a full dresser configuration, what with the pockets above the drawers, but it still seemed sturdy enough to fit the bill for today, and practical enough for his use when he gets older (we also have a full size separate dresser for his clothes).
As someone else pointed out, the packaging this is delivered in was pretty substantial and seemed well designed to protect it from having corners and ends crushed in shipping. And as someone else noted, there *are* a lot of parts in that box once you get it open. But the wooden parts are all numbered and marked, and the small parts (screws and nails and such) are pretty distinct and obvious in the instructions. The first few steps of assembly were a little time consuming finding various parts and pieces where I'd sorted them to, but after a little bit things started coming together nicely. I'm no expert at this stuff, but a little hammer and screwdriver work and some patience was all it took to follow the instructions to completion.
Fully assembled this is a very nice piece of furniture. It looks nice, the drawers (although small) track smoothly -unlike drawers for most dressers and such in this price rangeand the height is great for tallish folks like my wife and I. My only worry, and the only real reason I took off a star, is that there's a lot of particleboard here, which is worrisome for long-term durability. The top board seems to be solid wood though, and I'll post updates here if the situation changes.
Overall though, this is a nice looking, easy to build, and practical changing table. You may be able to find better tables out there, but if you have a limited budget this seems to be the best deal around for your dollars.
Updated 4/02/10:
It's been over a year since we got this changing table, and our son is now into potty training so it isn't seeing nearly as much use as it was back then. It's still in great shape thoughthe drawers still track smooth and true, the particleboard hasn't split or shown any other signs of damage, and the paint is even still in good shape. Overall it's held up excellently, and if we have another kid I expect it will continue to serve us well. My one and only complaint is that those pockets between the drawers and the table top make for really good footholds for our son to climb up, but honestly our kid is part mountain goat anyways, so I think he'd find something to work with regardless. All in all, this is still an excellent buy and absolutely worth a score upgrade to 5 stars.
My wife and I picked this changing table out for the newest addition to our family. With the new baby coming I have been putting what seems like a million items together in the past couple of months so when I opened the package this changing table came in I was pretty disappointed at first because it seemed as though there were hundreds of parts. In reality there are a lot of parts however they are numbered properly and the instructions make putting this changing table together an easy task. Once put together I called my wife into the room and she was really excited. This item is what I would consider high quality for a piece of furniture ordered online. Obviously there are more expensive options that come put together however this changing table is well designed and offers a great amount of storage in what we consider very functional for a changing table.
One other item I would like to note is the packaging the changing table came in was perfect in the sense that it could have been dropped off the back of the delivery truck nuerous times without damaging the pieces of the changing table. Sometimes when ordering furniture online you will receive products with chips in the wood or missing parts but that is not the case with this product.
I would highly recommend this changing table to families looking for a changing table in this price range.
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we bought the south shore savanah changing table because it was not expensive and fit into our apt. It was delivered promptly nicely packaged. I am not handy and I knew that this would take me a long time to build but when i opened the box and saw the amount of parts i flipped, to make matters worse the instructions were so hard to figure out. I ended up hiring a handyman and it took him 2 hours and cost me $50. But after all that it was worth it. The changing table is beautiful and very sturdy it looks like a $400 piece. If your looking for a great changing table at a great price this is your best bet. (just be aware its frustrating to build)
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My son and daughter-in-law really like the table and it arrived just in time for the new baby. It is made out of particle board, which was surprising because I expected it to be made of wood. But it's very sturdy and the heavy weight makes it very stable. I'm very pleased with it.
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Once it's assembled, it's awesome. Some other reviews said the table was not stable? Not true. If you screw in all the parts correctly, it's as solid as a rock. Yes there are a lot of parts, but what "assembly required" product doesn't? I don't think it's intended for amateurs though. You need to be at least bit handy. Definitely need patience and follow every step carefully. My assembly time was 1 hour and 45 minutes exactly. All in all, great price for a beautiful piece. Goes well with our baby room decor.
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When we bought our new house, I hadn't realized there was no front hall closet! Uh oh. I had to find a solution, and this shelf, along with a storage bench that matches, did the trick! It is easy to put together and VERY heavy and sturdy. You will need to hang it on studs, and the hangers in the back are the perfect width to do so. The unit sits flush against the wall when properly installed. The hooks are heavy duty, we hang coats, full backpacks, purses, you name it, on them and they have never budged. No wobble at all to this piece! I bought baskets at IKEA to use in the storage areas. It is difficult to find something attractive yet functional enough to use in the entry hall, yet I have gotten several compliments on this. The only downside is the unit is black, so it shows dust easily. But it is so wonderful to have, having to dust it often is no biggie. I HIGHLY recommend getting this!
