Unfinished Dresser

[WestCoastMom]

we are expecting our first child in 2 months and are buying our furniture. We went to an Unfinished furniture store here in Los Angeles this weekend and they had a "baby wardrobe" that we liked, but we thought the price was high, I wanted to see what people here though.

It's about 35" wide by 51" tall and 18" deep.
It's made of solid pine (BB says pines not as good as oak or cherry)
We'll have to paint/stain it.
It has 2 large drawers on the bottom, then the top 2/3's of it is split down the middle, half being a door, and the other half being 4 smaller drawers.
It seems well made, but my husband looked at the drawers and they are stapled, not dovetailed (like BB suggests). Also no corner blocks.

They want $599 for it. Is that crazy or right?

Thanks.

[ciw]

We bought our furniture for DS from a shop that sells pine, oak, and cherry. You can buy everything finished or unfinished. Unfinished pine pieces were the cheapest. We paid $569 for a finished, solid oak dresser with dovetailed drawers. The dimensions are 34w x 19d x 55h. A comparable unfinished piece in pine was a little under $300. BUT, we're on the East Coast so I don't know how the prices run where you are.

FYI, the BBB makes those recs b/c pine dents more easily than oak (but most kid's furniture is made of pine) and dovetailed drawers tend to wear better than stapled ones.

[Scarborough]

I had a carpenter make a bureau for us. It's about 40 " long, counter-top height and 20" ish deep with 3 big drawers. He used birch, I think. I bought some milk paint for him to finish it in from a local arts supply store. The bureau was $475 and the paint was about $12. His quality is extremely high. Generally, he only makes custom kitchen cabinetry.

I would ask around at wood shops and amongst your local social network for the names of carpenters in your area. There are a lot of talented wood workers in this country, and few of them advertise. Ours certainly does not advertise. In fact, there's no paper trail whatsoever. We found him through a friend of a friend.

Especially in this economy, there must be someone who will make you what you want for the price point you're looking at, and who will do it to a much higher standard of construction than an unfinished pine store typically offers.

Good luck!

[WatchingThemGrow]

too high in my book for that quality, I paid 637 for this 3 yrs ago http://www.youngamerica.com/product/202903/8259400015/_/4%26%23160%3Bseasons%3Cbr%3Econtentment_white%3Cbr %3Ewardrobe/Collection/4_seasons

[Carrots]

That seems high to me. Then you have to paint/stain it. However, if you or DH like projects, you could find one second hand. I found DD's dresser at a second hand shop for $30.00. It was old, but well made with dovetail joints and had deep drawers (not sure what the wood is, but it is def. not pine). The top of the dresser fit the changing pad and PBK basket for diapers, lotion, etc. I painted it the same color as the crib.

[justincase]

That seems very high for the quality you are describing. We also went the unfinished route. We paid around $700 for a similar-sounding piece, but...
That included the price for staining by the dealer, it is oak, the drawers are dovetailed.
We went with this line of furniture for both DC's rooms, thinking that they will have it for a long, long time, and have been really pleased with it. And even having it finished, it was a much better deal than anything else we saw.
http://www.woodcraftindustries.com/
I think there's a "find a dealer" link here so you could see if someone in your area carries this, even just to get a price comparison.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I think if I were in the market for pine I would go to IKEA and just get some of their Lesvik furniture. :) I prefer the Hemnes line a bit more but both have been great dressers for my boys and a lot less than the prices others have posted.

Beth