Crosley Furniture Newport Expandable Bar Cabinet in Black Review

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(More customer reviews)I was originally eye-balling the C&B steamer bar cabinet, but at more than double this price, I just couldn't justify the extra cost since they look practically the same on the inside. The big difference is the front fascia and size. A good friend has the C&B cabinet; granted it is a tad larger, but I still don't think that justifies the cost. Also, the C&B cabinet has the "squares" design on the front of it, which is nice, but yet again, still does not justify the cost. Plus- the design of this cabinet's front fascia is just as classy, only in a different style.
From what I can see, the Crosley bar cabinets are all the same, but the difference in the names reference the different style of feet. Here are my opinions and notes from start (ordering & delivery) to finish (setup & filling with items) with a few tips thrown in:
ORDERING - Easy to order. From my research, there is technically only one cabinet body style, while the legs are what is different in each of the different product names.
DELIVERY - Fast shipping to my house. I ordered on Saturday and received on a Wednesday. The boxes (3) were left on my door step and I did not have to sign for it. Two of the boxes were heavy! The third box contained only the feet, so it wasn't as bad. One of the other boxes was very heavy, and I had to get a neighbor to help me carry it up 1 flight of stairs. Mind you, I am typically able to carry heavy items by myself, but this box was too heavy and also awkwardly large to carry alone. The other heavy box was just a tad bit lighter and smaller enough for me to carry by myself. There were some damage to the shipping boxes, but upon opening and inspection, all was fine.
UNPACKING - There were lots of pieces, from structure to trim and also hardware. You will only need a Phillips head screwdriver and the supplied Allen wrench for installation (and maybe a drill, but that will be addressed in the Installation section). All of the pieces were there, but there were no extra hardware, so work carefully to not lose or break anything. Also, most of the pieces were carefully and correctly labeled, but some of the pieces were not labeled at all. However, it was fairly simple to tell which ones were being addressed from the diagrams. TIP: Make sure you find screwdriver bits/heads that fit the screws and cam nuts correctly; otherwise, you might frustrate yourself with stripped bits, screws, cam nuts, and cam bolts. ANOTHER TIP: This thing is heavy before assembly, and is heavier after assembly. It might seem obvious, but make sure you perform he installation close to the location where you plan on keeping it. Otherwise, the move to the final location afterwards might be a pain.
INSTALLATION - Took me about 4 - 4.5 hours by myself, including unpacking, sorting and organizing the pieces, and cleaning up the packaging material (which was a lot). I have put together various dressers, tables, TV stands, and other furniture from the likes of Ikea, Target, Amazon, etc., so I knew what I was getting into. This was really no different than any of that. The installation was pretty straightforward, and the guide had a diagram. If I had to rate it, it would be an easiness level of 7, with 10 being easiest. The only issue I had was that one of the pieces of the cabinet did not have predrilled holes on one side. I had to drill three holes on my own to fit the cam bolts. This was my only gripe with the installation.
TIP: When screwing in the cam bolts, don't over-tighten them too deep. If you do, then when you try to fit the adjacent piece with the actual cam nut, the nut won't turn properly and you can easily break/strip it with too much pressure. If it doesn't seem like it fits or is turning, do not force. Take a step back and reassess.
ANOTHER TIP: The installation guide instructs you to basically put together all of the secondary pieces on to the main (structural) pieces first and screw in all cam bolts and screws beforehand. This is fine, but towards the end, when I got to fitting the top piece with the wineglass-rack pieces (Parts B & C, I think) on, I was not able to tighten the pieces together because the wineglass-rack pieces were in the way. So basically, I recommend not screwing in parts Bs & Cs into the cabinet top, until after you put the top onto the cabinet body (which I closer to the end) and secure the cam bolts with the nuts.
ONE MORE INTSTALLATION TIP: When assembling the door parts, make sure you pay close attention to the alignment and position of the front of the door onto the door frame. Since the holes for the handle are pre-drilled, there is only one direction that the front of the door should go on the door frame. If you miss that detail (like I did), you'll just have to unscrew the cam nuts and flip the door front around. Not a show-stopper, but one of the oh-darn-I'm-so-close moments).
SETUP AND FILLING WITH ITEMS - This wine cabinet has a lot of usable space. The only gripe is that the wineglass-racks were not able to fit glasses with larger bases. Also, one of the door had a weak magnet and does not stay shut. However, we keep the cabinet open so it's not an issue.
OVERALL, this is a nice piece that will definitely add class and style to your room. It does not look cheap and definitely does not feel cheap. It is heavy and solid. I would give it a 5/5 stars, but the fact that I had to drill a few of my own holes was a bummer.

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