Shelving & Wall Units
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Shelving & Wall Units
Feb 2009
We have a lot of books and now that we are in a house, we would like to get some nice, solid (non-Ikea) bookcases. The BPN listings are so old, it looks like the recommended businesses aren't around anymore. Would love some new suggestions.
WoodChuck
Fenton McLaren has really nice solid book cases. Many styles.
College Avenue in Oakland, and also San Pablo Ave off of Gilman st. in Berkeley (across from REI).
anon
Hi there,
The craftsman home on claremont has beautiful bookcases. They are arts and crafts style. Good luck. They have a great website.
Lori
For nice-looking, really solidly-built furniture in the Craftsman style, I like Fenton MacLaren. They have stores on College Avenue in Oakland and San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley. For the quality of the furniture, their prices are really reasonable. This is not IKEA furniture, it is furniture which you will want to keep for years. I got a really nice small craftsman-style desk there for only $700. I'm sure bookcases would be substantially less.
Jim
We bought our wood book cases from Fenton MacLauren on San Pablo in Berkeley about 10 years ago and they're solid and indispensible. Good luck in your search. Here's the link: http://www.fentonmaclaren.com/
Leonora
I have purchased several solid wood bookcases over the years from
Fenton MacLaren (San Pablo Ave across from REI in Berkeley). High
quality, good workmanship. They have a large selection in many
styles and sizes, both raw wood and various finishes. Although I
haven't been there in a year or so, I would recommend them highly.
satisfied customer
Aug 2006
Hi there -
I am looking for the perfect, not too expensive, nice wooden
entertainment unit for our small cottage . We have lots of
electronics to put in it, DVD, VCR, Replay TV, TV, Subwoofer
(17''W x 20''H x 17''D) (I know, I married an audio geek!). I'd
also like to hide the TV behind doors. I think custom furniture
is just too expensive. So, any suggestions on good, affordable
furniture places (except IKEA which I love but has terrible
selection of entertainment units) will be most appreciated. I
don't mind staining and finishing the wood.
Cheers
Mrs. Audio Geek
Try Gorman's on Broadway in Oakland for an extensive collection of
unfinished furniture. In addition to what they stock they can order other
items. Try also Fenton Maclaren's unfinished furniture store on San
Pablo
Anon
how about EQ3 at Bay Street, Emeryville, or the ''nude''
furniture place on Broadway in Oakland by the Honda dealership
and 580?
May 2005
We are looking for an unfinished bookshelf for our
son's room. The places we have bought them previously
(Busvan, Sawmill) are gone and we can't find one that
is simple, but has a little more detail (slight
'header' at the top and rounded edges on the shelf)
then just 4 planks nailed together. We're looking for
3 feet wide by 8 or 7 feet tall. Any suggestions?
Thanks.
To the person searching for unfinished bookshelves, consider Fenton MacLaren which has several locations in the Berkeley/Rockridge area. http://www.fentonmaclaren.com/
Good luck!
Eileen
Check out the Fenton MacLaren "outlet" on San Pablo Ave. (2575 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94702. Phone 510-848-7643) They have all sizes of unfinished bookcases, so hopefully something close to what you need. We bought a simple unfinished pine dresser there for our son 2 years ago and have been pleased with it so far.
JP
Gorman's, formerly of Berkeley on Telegraph, has moved
into I think the old sawmill building, near Auto Row in
Oakland. I have bought several bookshelves from them, made
to my specifications. You can also buy standard sizes
there. I had them finish my shelves, but they seem to
mostly sell unfinished pieces. I have nothing but positive
comments about Gorman's.
anon
Jan 2004
Where can we buy all-wood bookshelves (3-4 shelves) without
having to refinance our house again? We don't want particle
board, and we don't want unfinished pine that we have to paint.
Any other suggestions? We are trying to fill two walls in our
recreation room, so it is hard to find any used shelving for such
a large area.
Lori
Gorman's (used to be on Telegraph, but now is in Oakland, on
Broadway; enter parking lot from Piedmont Ave) has a large
selection of all-wood bookcases in a variety of different wood
(not just pine). None of their bookcases have particleboard -
in fact, they discontinued one supplier who had switched to
it -, but the backs are plywood, and some of the models have
veneered plywood shelves.
They are available either unfinished, or finished for an
additional charge. You can save money by putting on the finish
coat yourself . Their delivery charge is very reasonable, too.
RK
Try Fenton MacLaren on San Pablo in Berkeley. They've got
bookshelves in finished oak, maple and cherry (I think) as well
as pine, in a couple of different styles.
book keeper
I really like Furniture Oasis next to the Emeryville
Marketplace and its sister store, Shei Wah, on Solano in
Berkeley. I have some wonderful cherry bookshelves from
them which they delivered fully assembled. If you don't see
what you want in the store, they can order from the many
catalogs they have. The two stores are run by a very nice
couple and I've enjoyed everything I've bought from them.
Nancy
December 2001
We're looking for a desk/shelving unit with doors that
we can hide our computer in when not in use. Nothing
ultra fancy but looks nice when closed. Can hold a 19"
monitor, CPU, printer, keyboard/mouse and some other
stuff like the cable modem, disks, paper, etc. We also
are looking for a large a/v wall system. It needs to
accomodate a 36" TV with separate center channel speaker
underneath, have shelves to place the DVD, Receiver, VCR
and other equipment. Plus drawers for cassettes and
disks. Recessed small lights would be nice but not a
must. Preferably areas to place the subwoofer and some
bookshelf speakers. The key here is to have as many
doors as possible so when things are not in use, they
aren't visible. Even doors with sonically transparent
grill cloth would be good to go over the speakers.
Jonathan
We found a piece to house our PC two months ago at Evolution
Furniture. It is on University Ave, between 5th and 6th, on the
north side of the street. Evolution has a few buildings there.
Home office - living room stuff is in the store above The Art Store.
Our piece is made of cherry. It is about 5 feet 5 inches tall, about
3 feet wide and two feet deep (very rough estimates). It has doors
on the top and bottom, and a pull out key board tray. They had it
in stock so we didn't have to wait the usual 4 months for a nice
piece of wood furniture. If you don't like what they have, I suggest
that you also call Viking Trader on Shattuck in Berkeley, or Country
Home on Grand Lake (?) in Oakland. I prefer to shop at the local
furniture stores. If you aren't limiting yourself to locals, you might
also want to take a look at what Ikea has. with all stores, remember
to ask what they can order, in addition to what is shown in the store.
We bought a computer armoire about 6-8 months ago online and found that
not only do we love it but we saved TONS of money. Most of the ones that
had to offer what we wanted (lots of space, cubbies, holds all the
computer parts/phone, etc., filing cabinet drawer, double pull out shelf
for papers, keyboard and etc., closed door so kids can't get in and mess
can be hidden, and on and on . . .) were anywhere from $800 - $2000 at
most places or the cheaper ones were just that -- CHEAP!!! So we started
searching online and I found a website where someone posted a place to
try, (Advanced Furniture Outfitters, Inc.) www.afo.com and that's where
we bought ours. We love it, it has everything to offer that we want, it
looks very nice, it's extremely sturdy and it was only $399!!! We
couldn't believe it! And they always have some great shipping deals
(some models are free, some are $3 and some are $2 and some are $1 from
time to time). It arrived in the mail about a week or so after ordering
it and it's one of the best purchases we've ever made - we still feel
very good about that decision and we love it -- everyone who comes over
comments on the armoire and says, "That's exactly what I need. Where did
you get it?"
April
I don't know if this is kosher to talk about my business
on this newsletter, but if you're interested in building
a custom unit for your desk/shelving/tv wall unit, I
can help you. I work as a designer for Closets by Design.
We do closets (of course) but also any other kind of
built-in/furniture system (entertainment centers, garages,
offices, etc.). If you'd like to make an appointment
for a free design consultation, call me at (510)338-0472
(that's my home number).
Good Luck,
Nancy
From: Linda (3/99)
About 5 years ago we bought shelves from
Bob's Discount Wood Furniture
2078 San Pablo Ave (just S. of University)
Berkeley, CA
They have held up very well.
From: Leah (3/99)
I've heard that Bob's on San Pablo is the cheapest for basic bookcases.
Also there's Gorman & Son on Telegraph.
this page was last updated: Apr 8, 2009
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