Computer Armoire (2006-2009)

[tara]

I first saw this at AGPNY the day it came out. I liked it, but not enough to buy it then and there.

Five months or so later, I got it for my birthday. It was very well secured in thick Styrofoam so you don't need to worry about it getting broken.

The Books
It comes with 2 mini books. These are very cute and detailed. They are Room Crafts and Quiz Book 3. Your doll can actually take the quizzes and quite a few of the crafts can be adapted to dolly size.
Sub-Grade: A+

The Extras
It also comes with a star bookend/award and a little certificate in a frame. Both are plastic, but the bookend can be used as a trophy and you can write your doll's name on the certificate.
Sub-Grade: B for lack of play value

The Armoire
The actual armoire's grade depends a lot on what you like. I have heard a lot of people (not necessarily here) refer to it as cheap Barbie style. It isn't cheap--it's all wood except for the slide-out keyboard drawer and swirly handles. I was pleasantly (pun intended) surprised by that.

It isn't unstable unless you put it on the very edge of a shelf with a few dolls leaning on it. *groan* DO NOT do that.

I like the touch of the stickers, because you can make it me very girly or more 'basic' or just plain elegant. So my grade for the actual armoire is : A+.

Average grade: A.

Price: $75. Kind of high but IMHO it's worth it.

[rabluv]

Well, I bought this on sale, and it is well worth the $48. It's big, yes, but it does fit A LOT of stuff. I have Molly's percussion set in it, most of the Sleepover Foods and Funset, and for a while it held Mia's PJ's. It's not really for clothes more for accessories.

Only 2 things disappointed me: It's the computer armoir. If you put the computer in it like you would a regular computer(not with the slide out shelf out) you can't close the thing with the computer in it! So that seemed pointless. And again, being a computer storage place, it has no chair and the dolls have to be a ridiculous amount of space from the computer for them to sit at it.

But it is a good piece. So the benefits outweigh the negatives.
A

[EofA]

Large computer armoire is...large.

See what I mean? Look how tiny Kailey is in comparison. Please to ignore the Hospital gown...major floppy leg repair, and she was the nearest doll to the box of large.

So anyway, yes, this thing is very, very big. I thought it would be similar to the old Stars and Moon armoire but it is taller if not as deep. Make no mistake: this is not a trifling piece of furniture. It was big enough to arrive in its own cardboard box, securely packaged in full-body Styrofoam. I purchased it on sale on its way out for $28, tossed in a cheap book, and applied a $10 off code. That made it quite a deal, and I think it will fit in nicely with my daughter's school room/doll library. Since it is meant as a holiday gift, I took it out to inspect it but did not set it up. So what follows are admittedly not 'scene' photos, but should give you an idea of proportional size with a doll.

The doors are asymmetrical, which is pretty funky but does not seem to affect the stability of the unit. The whole piece is wooden, quite heavy, and the door hinges are quality metal. There's lots of room on the little shelves to add more personal items as well as the accessories that are included. The fabric and ribbon memo board is inset into the door on the right.

Desk pulled out. Shadow in right corner is the silica gel pack. (Kailey seems happy to see it, go figure). It should hold an AG computer unit; since this isn't set up for display I cannot tell for sure but I am not worried. However, as rabluv wrote above, the unit will not close with the desk extended, so computer storage might be a little bit of an issue. We'll see how that goes and update accordingly later.

This photo illustrates my big gripe with this unit. Where's the chair? Sure, I can use something else. But for the original list price of $75, I shouldn't have to. This piece should have had an accompanying desk chair of some sort. Even for the bargain price I paid and given the overall quality of the unit itself, I still feel cheated at not having a chair.

Photo shows how the accessories are packaged. They look cute enough. AG's mini books are always a delight, and the other little pieces seem fun and offer cute display value. Perhaps not all that playable except for the books, but we love the little books here so no complaints. I don't think we'll use the stickers, but we'll see.

I have to give this unit an overall grade of B. I like it plenty and am glad I picked it up. But the total lack of seating makes it an odd piece for most collections and pulls the grade down from an A. In and of itself, it's a quality piece of furniture, maybe not in a color that suits everyone, but hey, it's a child's toy so we'll live with the lavender. If this piece appeals to you, get it soon because it is on its way out. I don't regret getting it at all and think we'll have fun with it once we find a chair.

ETA interim chair and shelves with stuff:

[melancholywings]

We got this on sale and based on that price I think it's a B-, if I had paid full price I'd put it at a C-.

It's really large, and can hold various stuff but it has no chair. Like other reviewers that's my one big gripe. We don't have the computer so DD uses it to hold other stuff. And while she does like it - it hasn't seen a lot of play. I'm also really nit picky and I'm not a fan of having to put the stickers on yourself. There's no diagram showing you where to put them so I think if I were to purchase this in the secondary market I'd be concerned about the sticker placement.