One of our favorite’s design-wise of the West Elm mid-century line, the media console comes in three possible finishes: Acorn (a lighter more natural and transparent finish), Dark Mineral (a dark brown which still shows grain), and white (paint, grain is still visible).
Wide at 80″ and low at only 27″ off the ground, the first thing we can say is that there are no stability issues here. This is likely improved by the mostly standard x-braced legs which support the full width of the top cabinet frame, and so we’d be really surprised to ever see general wobbliness or wear over time problems which affect sturdiness.
The console is broken down into 3 components being a drawer section and 2 sliding cabinets with shelves. There are three drawers, 2 mid-sized ones and a smaller one, which are all large enough to serve some functional purpose. The sliding cabinets are a bit deceptive from the outside as it looks like they’re potentially one large cabinet (which we may have preferred), but they are indeed separated by an inner wall.
Each cabinet has its own shelf creating 4 shelf spaces of reasonable enough size to fit things like stereo receivers, gaming consoles, or even a printer. The shelves are also adjustable so if you need to make more or less space, or remove them altogether, those options are there. Additionally, each cabinet has a cutout in the back for cables to run through which is a lovely functional addition.
The drawers open and close well on sliders. In the unit we reviewed, one of the cabinet doors was a bit stubborn on opening but we think this could be remedied easily enough.
We love the contrast the drawers and opposite-opening cabinets bring to this particular piece and it’s very pleasing to the eye. The acorn finish is the most prone to showing scratches, with the white being least prone. They’ll all have the same standard for the mid-century line potential to chip at the cornered outer edge which borders the front of the cabinet, but this is unlikely to be an issue unless you bang something into it.
$1,499 is a reasonable amount of money to spend for the materials you’re getting which include a mix of hardwood, engineered wood, and veneer. That being said, it’s a pretty decent sized piece and it’s both stunning to look at and functional, with very high likelihood of lasting a long time. If you can, we’d recommend waiting for a sale as we’ve seen it as low as $1,050, but we think you’ll be happy with it even at the sticker price.
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