Company & First Impressions
I spent a good deal of time looking for decent furniture to meet my home theater needs. For those of you familiar with my prior articles, you'll know I'm fond of lists. Well, here's a list of some of the things I was looking for in a home theater furniture system:
- Excellent build quality (i.e. having the capability to hold my 115 lb Sherbourn 7/2100 amplifier without any difficulties.)
- Nice wood finish, preferably in a cherry to match my speakers
- Adequate ventilation (sorry, Ethan Allen doesn't cut it in this department)
- Some kind of cable routing system
- Variable shelf height
- Options! I want to be able to order different sizes (heights and widths) down the road should I decide to make a change to my system configuration. In our world, this sometimes happens faster than normal.
The typical dead ends I ran into with other companies involved furniture that was too narrowly defined, allowing for only a particular configuration. Other difficulties involved finding the quality I was looking for: strong shelves, real wood facing, high capacity top and bottom shelves. Finally, after searching the net up and down and coming to the verge of constructing my own solution, I located a company that was right under my nose: BDI .
The Company
BDI's goal has always been to create innovative home furnishings that offer something more. Well designed pieces with a distinctive style that are within reach. Their team of designers shares a passion for creating timeless designs that are well made and of course functional. Even their packaging is thoughtfully designed to ensure that things get to you in the absolute best condition. All this is done with one thing in mind. Design. Designs that work, push the envelope, and challenge. And most importantly designs customers will enjoy for many years to come.
What Makes BDI Different?
In a word: LOTS. For one, I finally had the choices I had been so desperately lacking. The AXIS line in particular is composed of six (6) pieces, each of varying width and height to accommodate just about any need, from 27" televisions to some of the largest tabletop HDTVs. I especially appreciated the two tower choices: the 8022 which is 48.5" tall and the 8026 which comes in at just over 57". The Axis line, which I fell in love with, comes in three colors: Cherry Stained, Cognac & Black. The Cognac matches my Axiom Audio Epic 80 speakers very well and creates a seamless look for the living area.
First Impressions
At first I was surprised to find that I had to assemble the BDI furniture, not because I am an elitist snob or thought the furniture should have come assembled, but because it looks too good to have to be assembled. I wasn't aware furniture like this could look so good and yet break down into flat boxes for shipment from the factory. In fact, this is exactly the case. Each piece of BDI furniture is composed of two pieces of wood (the curved front face and back plate), and two C-shaped steel (yes, steel) support structures. The glass shelves are tempered and each are about 1/4" thick.
