I am looking for a credenza/dresser/buffet type piece of furniture to go in my bedroom upon which will sit the 40" flatscreen television that we cannot seem to live without

Prior to the flatscreen we had a 1980s armoire type entertainment center which held not only our boxy old tv in the tv compartment but also my husband's socks and other items of clothing and stuff in the drawers beneath. With the coming of the flatscreen necessitating a new piece of furniture upon which to put it came his only request--drawers for socks and stuff.

Now I am 54 years old and until stumbling upon this forum have been terribly "furniture stupid." I am now kicking myself for some of my more recent purchases--having bought 2 Flexsteel sofas and a Hooker kitchen table and chairs this past summer. I will say that the sofas are extremely comfortable and my 3 year old grandson thinks they are great to jump on, and the Hooker kitchen table and chairs look great and get rave reviews from everyone who walks in my house, even though I am scared to death now that it is going to fall in at any moment. The good news is that now that I have really learned about furniture I realize that in the scheme of things it didn't cost very much and at least it is in the kitchen and I am not married to it. The thing I AM married to is an accountant and his...shall we say....."thriftiness" is why I have some of the stuff I have. BUT, bless his heart, after a recent disaster with cheap furniture (that thankfully went back to the store with a full refund) he and I are both interested in high quality MADE IN AMERICA furniture and are in the market for several pieces, but most importantly something to put the 40" flatscreen tv on because watching a TV that is sitting on the floor is more than a little bit disconcerting.

SO, today, the only day he has off between now and April 15th, we went furniture shopping together. The first time in 30 years. Anyhow, we visited a "higher end" store in a neighboring town and the saleslady showed us a Hekman entertainment console. The the I liked was the ipod docking station....anyhow, not what I was really looking for, I was thinking more of a dresser/credenza/buffet type look, but it was OK and the price was great. This is a snitzy store so I'm thinking that everything they sell must be pretty good. The saleslady assured us that this piece was made in the USA, and almost all solid wood except for a little bit of engineered wood for strength. We looked at several other pieces that I will post about elsewhere, and then decided to travel 30 miles to another nearby town where this same store has another, larger showroom. The saleslady at store #2 told us that saleslady #1 was just wrong and that all Hekman is imported from China and is not well made. Even though they sell it.....

Store #2 has a beautiful made-in-NC-by-small-company (I can't remember the name, it was not one I was familiar with) dresser with lots of drawers for socks that was absolutely beautiful. Cherry, dovetailed joinery, beautiful finish, dust thingies in the drawers, etc.... for around $1400. Opposed to $ 1350 for the Hekman. Both supposedly 1/2 price, or so they say.

DH, CPA is not convinced. He wanted me to ask Duane what he thought about Hekman in general. Bless the man, he spent most of his time in both stores watching football on tv in leather stressless recliners. I am just proud that he didn't have a stroke or a screaming fit at the prices, which believe could have happened. But we have both learned the hard way that sometimes what seems like a bargain is most definitely NOT!

So, Duane (and anybody else with an opinion), is Hekman good stuff or not? Is it just me or does "entertainment" furniture seem less furniture-like than "non-entertainment" furniture? (does that even make sense?)


Leslie