The basic pieces of childrens' bedroom furniture. .
- The bed - The most important piece of kid furniture. Whether you get a bunk bed, headboard only or complete bed, it's the mattress that's the most important. This is the beginning of the life of your child's posture.
- Clothing storage - A closet organizer is really handy, but not necessary. At least hang a rod low enough for your kids to reach easily, and get them hangers sized for their clothes.
- A dresser is a pretty standard piece of kid furniture, for storing folded clothes, especially the small pieces. And if you're tight on money and/or space, if you get one low enough, you can use it next to the bed instead of a nightstand, or to hold a TV.
- Nightstand - It's always handy to have a piece of furniture next to the bed for a lamp. And if it has drawers and/or a cupboard, it's great to store the most favorite bedtime books and toys, and even a flashlight.
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Toy storage - Books, toys and games all need a place to be stored where kids can reach them, and easily put them away. A toy box can double as a writing surface and a sitting surface.
There are many different configurations of the popular shelf units with the colorful plastic bins for you to choose from. When the kids are young, it's nice to have storage that you can close to hide the mess, such as cupboards or drawers.
Personalize Your Kids Furniture:
Personalization is back, and for various reasons. One big reason, is it helps to stop the arguing amongst the kids as to what belongs to whom. Another reason is that is give the child more of a feeling of ownership when he sees his name or his picture on a piece of furniture of other decorative item.
Kids love to see their own pictures AND their own names. So add it to their furniture, especially if you are refinishing a piece.
Kid furniture pieces that would be nice to have, but they can live without . . .
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Mirror - Although not really a piece of kid furniture, and not really necessary if they have a bathroom handy, kids always like to look at themselves in the mirror. Especially when they are role playing, or playing dress-up.
And there are baby safe mirrors too that you can put low so your baby can see in it. - Desk & Chair - Again not an absolute necessity if you have another place in the house for doing homework, but it's nice for the kids to have in their own rooms.
- Art/play space - You can save room by combining the desk & chair with the art space. There are many pieces of multi-purpose furniture. But on the other hand, if you have the room, there are some really nice kid furniture sized play table and chair sets.
Nursery furniture - who are we decorating for?
Let's face it. The baby doesn't care about the nursery furniture. So in reality we are buying it for ourselves. The baby is more concerned with his/her comfort and where Mommy is.
If you have room, put a twin bed in there so you have a place to sleep and be comfortable on those all nighters. The bed also makes a handy place to change baby's diapers and clothes if you don't have a changing table.
Consider baby furniture needs, cost and how long you'll use it . . .
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The bed - This is a definite need. You can choose from cradles, bassinets, standard cribs or convertible cribs as well as a few other configurations. The cost here can range anywhere from roughly $40.00 for a moses basket to around $400.00 for a convertible crib in most nursery furniture stores.
How long will you use it? Baskets, cradles and bassinets won't be used long, babies grow fast. A standard crib will last until your baby's trying to climb out of it, and the convertible crib will convert to a toddler bed, so could last up to age 4 or 5. Even then, you can use it for the headboard and footboard on a full size bed, so it's a piece of nursery furniture who's use can continue. - Clothing storage - A closet organizer is really handy at this stage because baby's clothes are so small. And you can still use the closet rod if you get some baby sized hangers.
- A dresser is pretty standard nursery furniture for storing folded clothes, especially the small pieces. And if you're tight on money and/or space, if you get one low enough, you can use it next to the bed instead of a nightstand when the baby moves into a regular bed.
- Changing Table - This could be a dresser doubling as a changing table or an official changing table. Either way, be sure there are shelves and or drawers. You'll need the space to keep all those little odds and ends out of site. If you want to use a dresser, you can easily add a pad and safety straps.
- Toy storage - Isn't it amazing how quickly babies accumulate "stuff"? The popular items in kid furniture now seem to be the shelf units with the colorful plastic bins, but inexpensive open shelf units work as well. You can add your own bins, baskets or recycled boxes covered with fabric or adhesive backed papers. See kid storage for more on kid furniture. or Read More On The Baby's Nursery. . .
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Wood or Plastic Kid Furniture?
There are lots of childrens' bedfroom furniture made from plastic. They are durable, fairly inexpensive and easy to clean. But I still prefer wood.
The reason is that wood can be repaired and repainted. Good wood furnishings can be purchased for not too much more than the plastic. Especially if you purchase them unfinished and do your own paint job.
Older wood pieces are also a good buy. Even if it's not classified as an antique, it's most likely made better than a lot of what you can purchase today, for the same amount of money.
However! The only drawback I see with plastic kid furniture, is it tends to fade and crack. If you want to purchase the plastic items, they too can be repainted with the new paints made specifically for plastic, but patching the cracks is a little harder. AND you get can some great second hand deals!
Why Buy Unfinished Kids' Furniture?
Sometimes you just can't find the piece of furniture you need in the colors or design you want. And with unfinished furniture you:
- See What You Are Getting - When you buy a piece of unfinished kid furniture, you can see what you are getting. Does the wood have knots, discoloration, obvious weak points or other defects? With finished furniture you would not know until your new piece of furniture began to wear poorly. Unfinished manufacturers must use a higher-grade lumber in furniture production because they know they can not "hide" such defects under a finish.
- Save Money - Purchasing children's furniture and finishing it yourself is almost always less expensive than purchasing an already finished piece. However, as discussed above, paying less does not mean buying lower quality.
- Can Match Your Decor - The selection of stain and paint colors is almost limitless and is easily accessible. You will be able to select one at your local hardware store or paint center which will match your existing furniture and woodwork. You can finish your kids' furniture item in the exact hue to match drapery, carpet, or other furnishings.
- Get a Better Finish - The spraying process in the factory may have missed spots or been applied unevenly to finished furniture. This can begin to show up in a few months as poorly finished kid furniture begins to blister and peel. When you finish your own kid furniture you can be assured that the finish is applied evenly and thoroughly, for a durable, long life of use.
- Create an Heirloom - Finishing furniture is an enjoyable and relaxing hobby shared by millions of people (men and women). There is a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that comes from finishing your own furniture. When friends ask about it you can say, "I did that myself!". You can put to use all your creative ideas, from a simple stain and varnish finish to a more elaborate tole-painted or stenciled finish. Kid furniture, custom finished by you, is a family heirloom for future generations.