The thing to know before you buy any wall unit is that the wall matters more than the unit does. Studs, not just drywall anchors, especially once you start stacking cabinets with books or a television on top. I learned this the hard way with a floating cabinet that stayed level for exactly eleven months before it started leaning forward like it was tired of holding my vinyl collection. Find your studs first, then shop for something whose mounting holes actually line up with reality, not the other way around.
When you're looking at one in a shop, or standing in your front hall the day it arrives, check the back panel before anything else, that's where cheap ones fall apart, literally, usually within a year of being opened and closed. Push on the shelves a little, see if they flex. Open every door and drawer, because a sticky one in the shop will still be sticky in your house, it doesn't fix itself on the drive home. For sizing, measure the full width and height of the wall you're using, not just the furniture gap, and leave room for light switches, outlets, and any trim or baseboard that juts out more than you'd think. The mistake I made in our dining room was measuring the wall and forgetting the radiator cover stuck out four inches, so the unit sat crooked for two months until Mike finally just moved it eight inches left and never mentioned it again. Go a little smaller than the wall allows rather than wall to wall, it reads intentional instead of like you were trying to hide something.
In an ordinary room, a wall unit does best when it's not trying to be the main event. Ours sits across from a plain sofa and a rug that doesn't compete with it, and it holds books, a few plants, and one framed photo my mother insists on straightening every time she visits. Mixed open shelving and closed cabinets works better in a lived in house than something fully open, because closed doors hide the stuff you don't want narrated out loud to guests. It also holds up well through a move, ours came apart into four manageable pieces and went back together with the same screws, which is more than I can say for the flat pack dresser that didn't survive the trip from our old apartment.
Measure twice, but also measure the doorway and stairwell it has to travel through before it ever gets near the wall.
Aisha's pickWhite Wall Units That Look Better in Real Life
Aisha's pickWood Kitchen Wall Cabinets Picked From the Stores We Trust
Aisha's pickOur Shortlist of Bathroom Wall Cabinets
Aisha's pickCompact Wall Units That Won’t Date in a Year
Aisha's pickKitchen Wall Cabinets for Homes With Too Much Stuff
Aisha's pickKitchen Wall Cabinets with Doors We’d Buy Again
Aisha's pickKitchen Wall Units That Keep Surfaces Clear
Aisha's pickLarge Wall Units for People Who Know What They Like
Aisha's pickModular Wall Units That Swallow the ClutterAlso worth a lookStorage CabinetsThe hallway closet in my first apartment had exactly one shelf and a bar for coats, and every…See the collections →
Aisha's pickSmall Wall Units That Visitors Always Ask About
Aisha's pickWall Units That Make Tidying Up Quicker
