Vitsoe: The Ultimate Home Office Shelving? A review of Vitsoe's pricing, ordering, and installation

[@OneTwo-3]

the re-enactment sold me. Oscars for best picture, best director and best actor

[@TheBigHeavy]

The way the Oscars are going, I think this dream could actually come true 🤪

[@whitemyer]

Thank you very much for an in depth review. It was a pleasure to watch. It would be great if you could include one minute video of the final result---the shelf installed on the wall.

[@TheBigHeavy]

Check out the office unveil video as that should have some addition shots of the completed shelving.

[@jimemmott9672]

Thanks for your video, I'm in the UK and would love one of these units. Dieter Rams is a creative genius and these are design classics. The story of Dieter and his work with Braun in post-war Germany is fascinating and makes sense now more than ever (his 10 principles of design below). Like Eames, they have a simple and transparent manufacture and distribution model. Don't accept any fakes folks, these are works of art that will serve and delight you for life. Is innovative Makes a product useful Is aesthetic Makes a product understandable Is unobtrusive Is honest Is long-lasting Is thorough down to the last detail Is environmentally friendly Involves as little design as possible

[@TheBigHeavy]

I hear they are cheaper in the UK so hopefully there's some Vitsoe in your future! Despite my tongue-in-cheek description they really are beautifully designed shelving. It's the perfect expression of the old bromide that "less is more."

[@jsneed7216]

Best video of the week. I am now a subscriber. Your wire rim segment was brilliant.

[@TheBigHeavy]

Welcome aboard! Come for the obscure information, stay for the low-grade nonsense!

[@Munchael05]

Thank you, there’s very few vitsoe review videos

[@TheBigHeavy]

I agree, and too few that bring my unique brand of low-grade nonsense to the design domain 😎 If only some other fancy design brands would send me stuff...

[@jandekker6008]

They actually *do* show what example layouts cost. (Also, pro tip for folks who want this but don't want it to cost a kidney: go for shelves rather than cabinets to keep the price down. Full transparency - I'm still considering cabinets).

[@TheBigHeavy]

Yes, there are some examples on the website, and they have a nice glossy magazine with layouts. I was hoping the designer would provide some "tweaked" examples based on what I told her I wanted to do, but perhaps I was expecting too much. You're right that the shelves are much cheaper, but the cabinets are really nice. It's one of those "forget about the purchase price but remember the quality" each time I use them, which is on a daily basis. It's still a total gut punch when you see the first quote.

[@jandekker6008]

@@TheBigHeavy I'd agree with nearly all that based on my experience so far. I'm looking at a two-wall setup in my home office and my guy has been good at suggesting various different layouts upfront. So the gut punch varies in intensity. He put cabinets in some of the layouts, which I thought was maybe sly upselling, but they do look sooo nice. I've been a fan for a long time, having got four wide shelves some years ago and always promised myself more. So I'm a pretty easy customer!

[@TheBigHeavy]

I realize I'm spending someone else's money by suggesting you consider the cabinets, so apologies for that and I'm just some dumb guy on the internet so factor that into the equation. That said, one of my favorite (that I show a bit of in the video) is the drop front cabinet, since you get a little bit of a "workspace" when the cab front is down. I wouldn't put a ton of stuff on there, but I have all my little camera and electronic knick knacks in there, and it's nice to drop the lid and have somewhere to empty out that various bins I keep in there, and assemble whatever adapters and little gadgets I need. A final pro tip is to get a buddy if you're going to get cabinets. Those suckers are heavy and it's easy to bang up your walls trying to install one by yourself.

[@jandekker6008]

@@TheBigHeavy Luckily I have a primary domestic stakeholder to help with heavy lifting. I've also been thinking of treating myself to Vitsoe's own installers, though feel I should really be able to do it myself. That spirit level is such a simple idea, yet such a lifesaver for the amateur DIYer.

[@TheBigHeavy]

I'd say if you can work a drill and tape measure, and do basic math you've got all the skills you need. I personally like this kind of stuff but found it very soothing to see the shelving come together. If you haven't already, check out their installation manual (I believe it's online) as it describes the process quite extensively.

[@themrgumbatron]

Nice in depth review

[@TheBigHeavy]

Thanks! 👍

[@jonnyhaw]

Great video - thank you! I'm desperate for one of these shelving systems, and this has provided a lot of useful tips. Thankfully it's quite a bit cheaper here in the UK - I'm guessing the shipping and taxes add quite a lot to the price.

[@TheBigHeavy]

Glad it was helpful! You’re lucky to have more reasonable pricing, although I can’t imagine this stuff is cheap to ship across the Atlantic. I wish they threw a Lion bar or two in the package since I can’t get those in the US easily!

[@davidphillips6543]

Hugely helpful review. Thank you. Could you tell us the dimensions of units you installed? It looks like you used two of the "wide" bays and one of the "narrow" bays. Is that right? What was the overall length, depth and height of the finished shelving? Thanks in advance.

[@TheBigHeavy]

I did indeed do two wide and one “standard.” I’m on an RV trip so don’t have the exact dimensions but they should be on the Vitsoe website.

[@ChristineGranley]

Hi! I'm thinking about buying a small Vitsoe bookshelf soon, but the space I am thinking of for the shelf does not have studs where the shelf would have to fit into the drywall. I'm hoping to put my vinyl records and player on the shelves along with books so I am trying to figure out it the Vitsoe shelving system is sturdy enough to. Did you find the studs in the wall you hung your shelves up on? Thank you.

[@TheBigHeavy]

No, no studs on any of my supports, it’s all using their drywall anchors. The shelves themselves are heavy, and I haven’t been shy about putting weighty stuff in there and it all seems solid after about 6 months. I was also worried about the ability of drywall to support any significant weight, but this is the wall system in most of the US, and I couldn’t find anyone who reported problems. Vitsoe is a bit cagey about their weight ratings, and to some extent I get it since they can’t control the quality of the drywall installation, but it seems pretty solid and the lack of failure reports has me cautiously optimistic.

[@ChristineGranley]

@@TheBigHeavyAwesome, that is very useful feedback! :) Thank you for the reply, I feel encouraged and I'm probably going to give it a shot!

[@jarisanders217]

Vitsœ was the last name of one of the founders of the company, it’s not a gimmick 😅

[@kentvonseverin1257]

Now you have a place to display your "vinyl's"...

[@TheBigHeavy]

I’m definitely not hip enough to be into record players!

[@bke08]

A little bitter toward the vitsoe employee

[@TheBigHeavy]

We all have our flaws. I’m probably just jealous since I have the design sensibility of a moldy cow pie.

[@DavidHicks-r1j]

My lk by

[@yvesteo1248]

I am disappointed with your video as it showed only few seconds of your final Vitsoe shelves. You should show your Vitsoe shelves at the end of video for at least few minutes for your follower to see it. This video doesn't serve the purpose after so much talking by you.

[@TheBigHeavy]

Office unveil is coming soon. Be well!