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Best of all, it's still in stock.
Shipping delays and inventory shortages are practically a given when shopping for new furniture online right now. Case in point: A few weeks ago, my girlfriend and I went hunting for a new media cabinet to better match the bright, bohemian décor of our new apartment. It wasn’t long before we realized many of the best options on popular higher-end furniture sites were not only way beyond our budget, but also wouldn’t ship for up to six months.
Another issue was that we both had a very specific idea of what we wanted—something small enough to fit our modest living room, but with a color scheme that wouldn’t look out of place surrounded by white walls and light wooden shelves. This proved to be a surprisingly rare combination. After more than a week of digging, we found our answer in an unexpected place: Burrow, the popular direct-to-consumer retailer best known for its modular, apartment-friendly mid century modern sofas.
In recent years, however, Burrow has dramatically expanded its range of offerings to include a wide variety of tables, carts, benches, shelves, desks, and yes—TV stands (or “credenzas,” if you must). As an added bonus, its credenzas are also versatile and highly customizable, with options like doors that flip to reveal different color wood finishes, as well as both hairpin and straight leg styles. Other thoughtful touches include twin openings on either side of the bottom shelf for easy cord management.
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The high-quality construction and sleek, contemporary design rivals what you’d find from pricier manufacturers, but for a fraction of the cost. That doesn’t mean “cheap,” exactly—the Carta we had our eye on still runs $895, but with free shipping—and best of all, it’s still in stock. All told, that’s a savings of about $500 on a comparable floating model we spotted on West Elm that wouldn’t ship until late June at the earliest. Burrow also helpfully packages its furniture into matching collections. The Carta credenza, for instance, can be matched with other accessories in its “family” including a coffee table, a side table, and a bench.
As promised, the stand shipped in less than a week. Once unboxed, it took my girlfriend and I less than an hour to assemble. In lieu of the usual mess of screws and flimsy dowels, each side of the frame simply clipped together using a clever, integrated locking mechanism that required only a few twists of an Allen key. It took us a second to get the hang of it, admittedly but once we did, it proved to be a breeze.
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The panels were thick and sturdy, too, made from solid, high-quality Ash. One hitch, though, was the inside shelving. In lieu of pins, which have a tendency to wobble and buckle under heavier weight, Burrow uses a patented “tension anchor” system that we found to be a slight headache to install. Another minor issue came up when we went to attach the round knobs on the cabinet doors and found they didn’t fit the pre-drilled holes. Thankfully, that required nothing that a little extra elbow grease couldn’t fix.
Minor imperfections aside, the end result was exactly what we’d hoped for: A beautiful, stylish, and affordable TV cabinet that fit the space perfectly—and that we could enjoy now, rather than in six months.