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• Who makes Mercury Row
• Is Mercury Row good quality?
• What goes wrong, and the warranty
• What a return costs
• Who should skip Mercury Row
• Where else to look
• Questions people ask

Who makes Mercury Row

Wayfair does. Mercury Row is one of Wayfair’s own house labels, so you buy it from Wayfair and you deal with Wayfair if anything goes wrong.

Wayfair chooses the pieces and puts the name on them, grouped by look and price, which is how a bed and a porch light end up on the same label. The Wayfair house brands guide covers the other labels.

Is Mercury Row good quality?

For the money, yes. These pieces look better in a room than the price suggests, and most of them go together without a fight.

But tops scratch, veneer looks thin under a bright lamp, and legs and drawer hardware work loose over time.

I would trust the Hegg bed and the Durand rug, because neither has a hard top to scratch.

All four furniture pieces here are partly or wholly manufactured wood (board made from wood fibers or particles pressed and glued together, with a thin veneer or print on top). A scratch in solid wood can be sanded out, but a chip in that top layer stays, so put a tray or coasters on every top from day one.

Best bed for a first grown-up bedroomHegg Tufted Upholstered Platform Bed

A tufted upholstered platform bed under $200, for a first grown-up bedroom or a teenager’s room.

• Wayfair about $195

Buy the Hegg, and tighten the legs again after a month.

This bed changes a room more than you would expect at this price. Swap out a tired old frame for it and, in one owner’s words, “it looks like I redecorated the entire room.” It is a good first grown-up bed, and it works just as well in a teenager’s room.

It is an easy build. The slats and headboard come in the box, and it needs no box spring, so your mattress goes straight onto the slats.

For some people the color comes out less vibrant than the photos, so if you fell for a bright shade on screen, it may look quieter in person. The headboard padding is thin, too. If you sit up in bed to read, you will feel it.

The legs can wobble and come loose over the months, and tightening them takes a minute with a wrench. Check them again when the seasons turn.

One owner’s extra-thick mattress would not slide all the way back under the headboard, so it stuck out past the edge of the frame. If your mattress is extra thick, yours may do the same.

Specs800 lb

Weight capacity

800 lb

Material

Steel, solid and manufactured wood, Manufactured wood slats

Details

Headboard included, No box spring required

Best porch light for a tired front porchAinsworth Dimmable Outdoor Wall Lantern

A dimmable glass and metal wall lantern under $125, for anyone who wants a tired front porch to look new.

• Wayfair about $125

Buy the Ainsworth unless you live near the coast.

Owners notice it from the street, and one owner’s porch went “from 90’s Tuscan to clean and pretty modern.”

It is also an easy install. The bracket, wire nuts and spare screws come in the box, so an electrician friend, or you with the breaker off, can hang it without a trip to the hardware store.

Some owners see rust, sometimes within months and sometimes after a couple of years outside, even though the listing calls it “Weather Resistant” and “Wet Location Rated.” Most owners never mention it, but rust is the complaint that comes up most from the unhappy ones.

Its outdoor warranty does not cover it within 10 miles of coastal waters. If you live near the coast, check the distance on a map before you order.

Specs17 x 6 x 7.5 in

Size

17 x 6 x 7.5 in

Material

Metal, glass and steel, Glass shade

Details

Dimmable, 7.15 lb, 1 year electrical, 2 year standard outdoor finish

Best rug for a room with a dog in itDurand Abstract Modern Machine Woven Area Rug

A thin, easy-to-clean area rug under $140, for a room with a dog in it.

• Wayfair about $145

Buy the Durand and buy a rug pad in the same order.

It hides stains, it vacuums clean, and dogs do not wreck it. One owner has two Labradors crossing it several times a day and still recommends it.

It is polypropylene, a plastic fiber, with a latex backing. That is why it cleans up so easily, and it is also why it is not soft underfoot.

It is also thin, and that is what disappointed buyers mention most. It is not plush, and in places you can see the backing. A pad fixes the feel and keeps it from sliding in a busy room.

It ships folded, so it turns up creased. Lay it out, weight the corners with books, and give it a few days before you judge it.

Most people find the color true to the photo. A few open the box to something grayer, so look at it in daylight before you decide to keep it.

SpecsPolypropylene plastic

Material

Polypropylene plastic

Warranty

No warranty

Details

Latex backing, Machine woven, 28.6 lb, Beige/Gray, 7’10” x 9’10”

Best nightstand to match a bed you already ownVansant 1-Drawer Nightstand

A nightstand you buy in pairs, at under $55 each, to match a bed you already own.

• Wayfair about $58

Buy two, and put a drop of wood glue on the drawer screws before you use it.

People buy it to match. Pick the finish that goes with your bed frame, buy two at this price, and the room looks put together on purpose.

One owner is 11 years old and still found it “very easy to put together.”

The frame is MDF (board pressed from fine wood fibers) with a manufactured wood top, and up close the finish shows the price. Under direct light some people see ripples in the veneer, and the color can come out darker than the first photo.

Specs19.7 in wide

Size

19.7 in wide

Material

MDF frame, Manufactured wood top, pine, Solid wood legs

Warranty

Limited warranty

Details

26 lb

Best coffee table for an awkward cornerHadley Coffee Table

A small walnut-finish coffee table under $160, for a tight or awkward spot.

• Wayfair about $155

Buy the Hadley for a tricky spot, and put a tray on it the day it arrives.

People buy this table for the awkward spot where nothing else fits, and one owner put it in a Lego room. The top is a curvy free-form shape on four angled legs, so it goes where a rectangle would not.

It is smaller than some people expect, 47 inches wide, 23 inches deep and 15 inches high, so it is a low table that takes up little room. Hold a tape measure over the spot before you order.

It is manufactured wood on top and solid wood underneath, rated to 50 lb, which makes it a table for cups and remotes rather than for someone sitting on it.

The top scratches under ordinary use, even from “some books on the table.” For some people, small chips start to show within months.

The legs loosen too. Some people could not get them fully tight out of the box, and others watched them work loose across a year. Tighten them the week it arrives, then again when you next vacuum under it.

Specs47 x 23 x 15 in

Material

Manufactured wood top

Base

Solid wood base, Walnut top and base

Size

47 x 23 x 15 in

Weight capacity

50 lb

Warranty

1 year limited warranty

Best when somebody actually has to sleep on itPerdue 81.5″ Velvet Square Arm Futon

A velvet futon under $390, for a guest room or a spare bed in an apartment.

• Wayfair about $395

Buy the Perdue if it is mostly a bed. Buy something else if it is mostly a sofa.

The people who love this one wanted a spare bed, for an apartment or for family who come to stay, and as a place to sleep it does the job.

The velvet comes out the color it looks online, too. Even the mustard gold, which one buyer worried would look too yellow, turned out right.

One person can put it together with their own tools. Expect about two hours alone, and get a second person if you can.

It is hard, and that is what unhappy owners bring up most. After a while of daily sitting, some people feel the springs through the cushions, and there is little support inside them. That makes it “a good price for what it is, but not the most comfortable for long term.”

For a guest room, a home office or a basement that needs a bed twice a year, that is fine and the price is very good.

Specs81.5 in wide

Size

81.5 in wide

Material

Velvet, Manufactured wood frame

Weight capacity

600 lb

Details

Converts to a bed, Square arms

What goes wrong, and the warranty

Some pieces arrive damaged, and the surfaces wear faster than you would like. The wear shows up months later, after the return window has closed.

So open every box before the packaging goes out, look each piece over, and photograph anything wrong before you build it. Then set a reminder for a month out and go around with a screwdriver and a wrench, because legs and drawer screws on these pieces work loose.

There is no single Mercury Row warranty. Each listing sets its own, and the Durand rug has none, so check the Warranty line on the listing before you count on one.

What a return costs

Keep every box flat behind a door for the first month. Wayfair takes most things back within 30 days of delivery, in their original condition, and a piece that came flat-packed has to go back flat-packed, even a bed you have already built.

You usually pay the return shipping, and it comes out of your refund, which stings most on the two big pieces, the bed and the futon. Dropping a return at a Wayfair store gets around that, and so does taking store credit if you are a Wayfair Rewards member or have a Wayfair credit card.

Clearance and Open Box pieces cannot go back at all, so check the listing for either label before you buy.

On the bed and the futon, also check the delivery line at checkout. Wayfair sometimes sets big items to its about $100 delivery, which brings the piece inside, builds it and takes the packaging away. You can downgrade to a basic drop-off at your front door.

Who should skip Mercury Row

• Skip it if you want solid wood you can sand and refinish. The bed, coffee table, nightstand and futon all use manufactured wood.
• Skip the Perdue if it will be the sofa your family sits on every night. It is hard, and the seat wears down where people sit.
• Skip the Hadley if a stack of books lives on your coffee table. The top scratches.
• Skip the Durand if you want a soft rug to sit or lie on. It is thin and not plush.
• Skip the whole label if nobody will have time to open the boxes and check each piece while it can still go back.

Where else to look

• For a shoe cabinet, a bathroom mirror or a sofa from Wayfair’s other brands, start at the Wayfair house brands guide.
• For a real sofa rather than a futon, read the Wade Logan Azriah review. Wade Logan is another Wayfair label.
• For a sofa the family sits on every night, if your budget stretches a long way further, read the Castlery review.
• For a solid wood bed you build without tools, and a bigger budget, read the Thuma bed review.

Questions people ask