Okay, so let’s talk about this table.
I’m not going to beat around the bush here, the table is from Wal-Mart. Yes, Wal-Mart. I know, I can’t believe it either. It does have one redeeming quality though – it’s a Better Homes and Gardens brand, called Providence, which makes it a tiny bit more legit I suppose.
I originally bought this table for the kitchen but it was too big (should have measured!) so it became the dining table by default. We needed furniture for the entire house and had only a couple days to buy it all. We headed to IKEA for almost everything, but I didn’t want only IKEA so I found this cute table at Wal-Mart for only $500 for the solid wood table and 4 tufted chairs (we purchased 2 additional chairs). The table I actually want is like 2k for just the table itself, so this one will hold us over while I save for years for the other one.
Okay, so table review? The table so far has been great. It is solid and heavy and I don’t feel like it’s going to collapse on me when I use it. The chairs though? Terrible. Awful. DON’T BUY THEM. First off, they are not comfortable. You sink so far into them that you can feel the wooden seat frame. Just not comfortable at all. And secondly, we all know you shouldn’t lean back in your chairs. But we all do it anyway. So far, in about 8 weeks of owning these chairs, we have *almost* broke two of them. Almost? Well, they haven’t totally split in two because as we were leaning back in them and heard loud cracking and destabilizing of the chairs, we quickly put them back on all 4s and have been too scared to lean back in them again. They will probably be completely broken within a few months. That’s my prediction.
In fact, now that I’m rambling on about the terrible quality of this extremely inexpensive Wal-Mart furniture (gee, shouldn’t that have been a big red flag?), I’m now wondering what the return policy on this set is because I might be able to get my money back. The only problem is, the set is huge and heavy, I threw all the packaging away, and I’ll have to drag it all into the store fully assembled to even attempt to return it? Wow, sounds like the most fun day of my life.
So, overall, the table itself is pretty good considering you got it + 4 chairs for $500. The chairs though? Don’t do it.
Walmart takes EVERYTHING back so return it. If you don’t have a truck as a friend who has one. i have seen people return huge TVs following a big game without packaging. Keep us posted.
Sounds like you would have been better off with a Craigslist find until you had the money saved for a better set!
At least the table is good though!
You should look into World Market – they have GREAT dining furniture!
We bought a cheap table and chairs set from Fred Meyer (similar to Wal-Mart) when we moved into our home 5 years ago. Same reasons you did, the one I really wanted was thousands and this one was good enough. We have since covered it with a new table top because the fake wood top just did not hold up and the chairs are falling apart. So sad to hear that you chairs are so awful, I was hoping I could find a cheap replacement. Good to know. Thanks for the honest review. In the meantime, I will keep my eyes peeled for new chairs.
Don’t fret about it. $500 for a solid wood table is still a good deal. Replace the chairs as you can and forget about the crappy ones.
i have seen this set on the WM site and wondered about the quality. i have bought some furniture from WM and was always pleased with it but never at that price point. if the table is solid and heavy i would not worry about replacing the chairs! i am sure some better ones can be found on Craigslist at some point. and i know Kirkland’s sales those same type chairs and they are very good.
My husband and I had a similar experience with some of their bookshelves. We bought 4 of them, took them home, put 2 together and when we went to move it, they fell apart! We decided to bring the 2 back that were still in the boxes and when we were there, we asked what could be done about the 2 that had fallen apart when we went to move them. They lady told us we could bring them back for store credit, which we were ok with. We immediately went home to get them fearing that the next person we talked to would think we were crazy and tell us too bad. When we got back to the with the broken shelves, they gave us CASH back for ALL 4 of the shelves! Needless to say, things worked out MUCH better than expected!
Ugh, I hate it when something “too awkward” to return breaks. I also hate coming across as a complainer, but I’ve found great success with just sending a quick, pleasant (and usually slightly humorous, I want to stand out!) email to the company of the failed product. I let them know my issue, and then ask if there is anything they can do about it. So far I have a 100% fast, friendly, replacement response. It has been amazing. Companies are willing to really go all out to keep good reviews. So who knows, maybe try an email? : )
I really appreciate your review and hope that you also went on the Wal-Mart site and left comments there. Before I buy just about anything I check out those reviews and really appreciate honest and detailed appraisals. On another note, I am disappointed that Better Homes and Gardens has put their name on some shoddy items. I’ve purchased some other items based on their good name and been very disappointed. Goes back to when our grandparents taught us the importance of the value of our name and the concept of integrity.
I am SHOCKED that a reputable brand like Better Homes and Gardens would put their name on some of these crappy products. They are better than that.
Now that is really disappointing as $500 is a bit of money so I would really count on getting something maybe not high quality but at least dissent. And from what you are saying those chairs are just terrible. Haven’t you tried to get your money back?
I probably should try.