Kids furniture ... MM decision?

[greekypie]

Do I buy the solid hardwood, made in USA set that I love ($$$): bunk beds, night stand, dresser .... on the grounds that he'll have it / use it for 16 years (he is 2 now), and we can use the bunk for a future sibling



OR

Go far less expensive (used furniture, or Ikea-esque) because he's just a kiddo, doesn't care, and may do crazy things to it (e.g., etch his name into it with a steak knife ) at some point?

BTW, my brother did the steak knife thing, so I'm not being totally sarcastic.

What says MM? I really want to get him the nicer set. But I have $$$ taste so I need perspective on this one!

[dr.girlfriend]

I would go cheaper. That set looks a little juvenile to me, I don't see it lasting through the teen years. If you want solid wood, find something on CL.

[yellowbrkrd]

I say buy the nicer set. My aunt and uncle bought a very nice bunk bed set for their son, then passed it down to my brothers and now we have the beds in our home for guest rooms. They've held up amazingly well.

[pierogigirl]

I recognize the catalog that comes from I'd probably buy the nicer, new furniture if it would not break the budget.

ETA: I'm not a fan of bunk beds, but I did spend a fair amount of money on two solid maple twin bedroom sets at an estate sale. I just make sure he doesn't have stickers and other art supplies in his room. Hopefully, he won't destroy his furniture when he's young.

[greekypie]

Aug 26, 2012 21:33:28 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

I would go cheaper. That set looks a little juvenile to me, I don't see it lasting through the teen years. If you want solid wood, find something on CL.

Well I might get a darker stain, and forego the dino sheets but I see what you mean about it coming across as juvenile. They also sell a twin-over-full which I think would translate more into the teen years (de-bunk them).

[noodleoo]

I'd buy a cheaper set now and buy a nicer expensive set when he's older that he can use into early adult life. It will get ruined when he's young. My parents bout me a nice new set when I was in like 4th grade and I took it when I moved into my first apartment. I still have it, at age 33. The set was a nice dresser, mirror and nightstand. He won't want bunk beds when he's a teenager.

[Deleted]

What if the future sibling is a girl - will bunkbeds be a waste of money then?

[greekypie]

Aug 26, 2012 21:42:32 GMT -5 @libgrl said:

What if the future sibling is a girl - will bunkbeds be a waste of money then?

No, if they don't want to share a room we will de-bunk them.

We'll likely de-bunk them anyway when they get old enough to hate each other.

[Deleted]

I had no idea that bunkbeds can de-bunk, lol.

[fakejew]

we went with the nice set. It's even more juvenile looking than what you have pictured but we wanted something that would last and would work for multiple kids.

[yellowbrkrd]

Aug 26, 2012 21:45:44 GMT -5 @libgrl said:

I had no idea that bunkbeds can de-bunk, lol.

LOL, yes they do. I certainly don't have my guest beds set up like bunk beds.

[Deleted]

We bought good quality stuff. But it will last until they leave the house, so I wanted good quality. If they damage it, then they are the ones who have to live with it. They can buy their own when they're out if the house. They are still kids and can decorate in other ways when they are teens.

[statlerwaldorf]

I would go with the nice set. I had a bunk bed even though I didn't share it with a sibling. It was really nice when I had friends over. It was originally my cousin's and hand me down through me and then my younger brothers. It's outlived a few mattresses and still in a good condition.

[Deleted]

My son is 2 and we will definitely go cheaper when we get him new furniture. That way I won't be upset when he does stupid kid stuff to it like draw on it with magic marker or break something by falling on it it or whatever. Plus a kid doesn't care if his furniture is from Ikea, so it just seems to make more sense to put the money elsewhere.

[sillygoosegirl]

Of those choices, I'd try to find something quality used. By the time he is old enough to remember, it'll be damaged either way. Though what we actually plan for ourselves is to build furniture like what we had in college: modular twin beds that can be bunked, lofted over a desk the size of a twin bed, or a large number of other configurations... We all loved that furniture so much, and found so many ways to put it together...

[isabel]

We don't have kids yet, but DH wants to get a convertible crib that turns into a bed with rails and then into a full size bed with headboard/footboard. He's convinced this will last 18+ years for the kid. I like the idea, but I'm not quite so naive. Regardless, those beds can be found for $500, solid wood, and you just add rails later. We'll do that and if it gets ruined at some point down the line, I won't feel terrible about it. If it does last, then great.

Personally, my preference would probably be to buy the more expensive furniture, but know that it needs to be a lasting style and that you might have to sand and stain it at some point if it gets colored on, gouged, etc.

[Deleted]

I would buy more expensive furniture but not bunk beds. I don't know of too many 16 yo that want to sleep in a bunk bed -- unless you can make them single beds on the floor also I would stick to something different.

[anna7602]

Do you already have a second child? If not, hold off on the investment.

We got DD an IKEA "big girl" bed when she turned 2. At the time, we had no idea if we'd have a second kid, if that kid would share a room with her, if we'd even be in the same space, etc.

I figure I can still get a nicer set if it makes sense in a few years.

[downtoearth]

Cheaper set IMO. Kids are hard on furniture - solid wood or not. Plus those ones you pictured are pretty "little kid" so I don't see any 16 yr old using them later. Instead, I would just be selling them on Craigslist in 7 years for like $60, since people can buy new sets for $100 for cheap and then buying all new furniture - I only know that b/c we got a used bunk bed set that was about 7 years old and solid wood on craigslist for our boys for around $60 and they were like $400 new.

[zarapipe]

Think it depends on your financial situation. If you could afford it I would get the nicer set, but wouldn't be upset if I couldn't and would get the cheaper set. Definately go with the full on the bottom though.

[oukapu]

I wouldn't spend 1500 for that.

[6fsn]

We went for the real stuff.

[mrssandro]

We are getting DD the Kura Ikea bed. We plan to do something girlie like this:

www.ikeahackers.net/2012/01/girly-kura-bed-hack.html

That said we browsed getting her a expensive bed and we really where not satisfied with the quality. I rather get the Ikea bed and let her pick something out when she is older.

[Deleted]

I would go for the nicer stuff. My DS is 3.5 and has had nicer furniture since we transitioned him from the crib and nothing has happened to it.

[CloudBee]

I would get it, but in a darker wood. I would also avoid a full sized lower bunk unless your child is taller than average. It will be annoying if you end up with 2 boys, and one has a full and the other does not.

To everyone above - I've never heard of wooden bunks that couldn't be separated.

[ejpint]

My parents bought me nice, solid wood, Canadian made furniture when I was about 8. I still trashed it with spilled nail polish, scratches on the finish, stickers on the mirror, etc. I actually used it until I was 27 (the desk and dresser), but it looked pretty awful.

I'm in the same decision making situation with nursery furniture - I'm leaning toward cheap and cheerful, and we'll buy nice stuff when they're old enough to take care of it.

[wedbliss5]

FWIW - I got the expensive convertible crib that everyone said I would NEVER convert ... its been a toddler bed for a while and we'll be transitioning to the full bed next month. I'm very happy I went with the expensive set I wanted. So I say do what feels BEST so you're not kicking yourself in the future.

[liveintheville]

Aug 27, 2012 3:52:16 GMT -5 anna7602 said:

Do you already have a second child? If not, hold off on the investment.

We got DD an IKEA "big girl" bed when she turned 2. At the time, we had no idea if we'd have a second kid, if that kid would share a room with her, if we'd even be in the same space, etc.

I figure I can still get a nicer set if it makes sense in a few years.

This is where we're at. Kid 1 is on a twin mattress on the floor and Kid 2 is in a Kritter Ikea Toddler Bed.

We won't be doing bunk beds until we're sure Kid 2 won't voluntarily jump from the top bunk. He's 2 now and can go up and down a ladder just fine, but would not understand that 5' is too high to jump from.