Custom Furniture Review

ISS Designs and Rakks

Rakks and ISS Designs have been gaining popularity recently among the Dwell-reading do-it-yourself design crowd due to their no-nonsense modern look and relatively sophisticated options.  There are also some essential differences, though, which I'd like to address here.

Web site:
Both ISS and Rakks have very informative, though a bit idiosyncratic, web sites.  What's up with the self-extracting .exe of a Word file with architectural specifications for Rakks?  No love for designers that use Macs, I guess.  Of course, this being 2007, they could create a Web application that generates a custom spec sheet.  Strange.  In any case, as a do-it-yourselfer you can just browse through the specs sprinkled about six PDF files (or five, if you don't care for slatwall).  Rakks also provides CAD files for most of the components, but even a design-savvy do-it-yourselfer would be hard-pressed to do anything with them.  You'll need either some AutoCAD experience or Google's SketchUp Pro - much more usable than AutoCAD and free during a trial period. 

ISS allows you to order some of the components online, but I haven't figured out how to order cabinets without having to call them.   As for Rakks - you gotta call, though, thankfully, they sell direct and you don't have to deal with that most miserable part of ordering architectural stuff as a home user - talking to a distributor.

The best part of both websites is the fact that the installation instructions are there - free for the viewing.

To compare them side-by-side, check out these pages:

	ISS Designs	Rakks
Specs:	http://issdesigns.com/products.htm	http://rakks.com/literature/specs.html
Installation instructions:	http://rakks.com/literature/install.html	http://issdesigns.com/Installation.htm

Components:

ISS is certainly more friendly for residential purposes: it offers cabinets, not just shelving, which makes it a more appealing option if you are building a system for "storage", not just "display".  Rakks targets more commercial environments - retail stores, libraries, and even laboratories - where you are more concerned with display or workflow.  Of course, if you are trying to give your living or closet the look of a boutique - as I think many these days do strive for - Rakks is a decent option.

ISS also offers an eco-friendly option: 100% post-consumer recycled wood fiber particle-board.

Installation:

If you can find a stud and put in an anchor bolt, it shouldn't be necessary to hire a handyman.  If you haven't done it before, it's not rocket science.  In fact, it's easier than following typical "self-assembly" furniture instructions originally written in Mandarin and then translated to English by someone who learned the language from reading other self-assembly instructions ;)

Conclusion:

Regardless of the sophisticated hardware, these are still systems of metal brackets, pole, and standards - which gives them the cold straightforward commercial look.  ISS is probably a bit further along at trying to sell this idea to the residential environment.  That said, the competition isn't really Rakks - it's the Euro-design closet companies that offer myriads of accessories and professional installation.  So if your goal is to build an extensive at-home library at a reasonable cost, ISS is a good choice.  If you want to give your living room or closet the look of a funky clothing boutique and, again, don't care much for any accessories other than shelves and are willing to do the work, you can opt for Rakks. 

Bestar In Style 57400 desk and 57850 printer stand

Canadian furniture maker Bestar was promoting these small home office units from  their In Style collection through Costco. Prior to buying I spoke with a Bestar customer service rep and was assured about modern design, durability, etc., though the fact that it is no longer listed probably means I wasn't the only disappointed with the thin melamine surfaces or the fact that it takes two people to assemble.  (Costco is now selling the much more expensive Aspen collection, which looks to have surfaces of regular thickness and actual drawers, but it seems much more boring - no cool metal tubes supporting the tops and the keyboard tray is the typical ugly black doohickey.)

Obtaining of the products through the Costco web site was easy and curbside delivery was prompt.  The parts arrived in good condition despite some damage to the packaging. 

Assembly - problematic:

The instructions require assembling cabinets around the 3/4" modesty panel, which was extremely inconvenient and require 2 people to handle in order to avoid breaking it.  The easier and more logical way would be to tell the user to separately assemble both cabinets and only then attach the modesty panel.  This would require only one additional hole in the right place, which, alas, was missing.

Pros:

• The countertops are  of a good size and are raised on attractive metal tubes.
• The pull-out keyboard shelf is wide enough to accommodate both  a standard keyboard and a mouse-pad.  Assembly instructions were very clear and informative. Hardware packaging was sufficient.

Cons:

• Absence of toe-kicks means that you'll need a Roomba vacuum to get the dust that collects under the left and right shelves.
• Not very user-friendly: there is no room for media storage - nowhere to place your CDs and DVDs, and there aren't even any drawers.
• Both countertops are ¾" thick and made of melamine, which makes the whole thing look like a cheap dorm-style computer desk.  Not exactly up to the company's mission statement of "produce and distribute mid- to high-end ready to assemble furniture."
• Assembly - what a nightmare.  See below.

Suggestions:

If you do buy this, don't put your computer in the CPU holder on the left, as their picture suggests, since since the airflow will likely not adequate for your computer.  It wasn't for my simple Dell OptiPlex.  Place your computer on the right - on the open lower shelf, though that way you'll waste the top right shelf.

Conclusion:

• Both units need configuration improvement (adding drawers, upgrading the counters to 1” or 1 1/8” thickness and most important-simplifying of the assembly process).
• You get what you pay for, but this may not even be worth the price.

Ligne Roset P&P 900

  Product:           P&P 900
  Vendor:            Ligne Roset

  Configurability: Poor
  Looks:                Great
  Service:              Sales - poor, installation - great
  Price:                  $$$$

The P&P 900 is a modular system that uses aluminum beams to support adjustable shelves.  Ligne Roset's literature describes beams that can be either attached to the wall or to the ceiling, but the sales person at the New York SoHo store claims only the wall-attachable beams are available.  The shelves and other components available in two widths - about 19" and 36" - and can be ordered in ebonized oak, covered in white lacquer, or in glass. 

The ebonized oak looks great on pictures, but up-close it seems a bit dull - though certainly of a higher quality than it did two years ago, when it looked like you could easily get a splinter if you were to move your finger over the wood.  The quality of the white lacquer seems good.

There are also chests that are available in both widths, a 36" wide writing desk, 15"-wide cabinet, a desk, and a shelf for supporting a television and two A/V units.  The cabinets have doors that are hinged on the top edge, so they are a bit awkward to open if the handle is at eye-level, because you'll have to move your head out of the way quickly as you open the cabinet.  The chests have three drawers each and work without fail.  The desk is just 36" wide, so you won't be able to have much more on it than your laptop, but if you are doing real daily work, you'll probably opt for a real desk anyway.  The TV shelf is also good for a small A/V set-up.  Their depth of 22" is just right for most A/V components that are about 18-19" deep and need a few inches for cabling in the back.  But if you have a serious set-up, it's no substitute for a real A/V rack or for hiding your components in a closet. 

All in all, this seems like a very nice system that can be made to look great:  a lot of books, a couple of vases, a flat-screen television, and a laptop would give your room a good dose of stylish simplicity.  But if you need a lot of surface area for your work or own half a dozen things needed to make your TV and speakers work, you'll obviously need separate furniture for those tasks.  Price-wise, this system is certainly on the very high end.

 

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