Need suggestions for baby/kid friendly furniture & decorating...

[etwahl]

I guess this is coming at a good time, since we can make everything babyproof and kid friendly to the new house instead of having to retrofit this one!

We are in need of furniture for the new dining room, living room, and kitchen (our kitchen table has been in need of replacement for a while, but wanted to wait until the move).

My questions are:

- any brand of sofas which are sturdy and kid proof you recommend? My neighbor recommended La-z-boy

- regarding kitchen and dining furniture, what should we look for as far as finishes on the top (so they don't get ruined completely by glasses left on them). I assume since the dining table won't be used as much, it's not as important as the kitchen

- should we get all wood chairs? would we be stupid to consider upholstered chairs in the least?

- any suggestions on coffee tables, and other decorating pieces normally found in a living room?

thanks so much! hey, things MUST be getting better with Lauren since I'm posting more about furniture than problems with her :)

Tammy,
Mom to Lauren Genevieve
03/12/2003
www.evantammy.com

[MartiesMom2B]

Tammy:

You could always be like my grandma and keep plastic on everything. ;) Seriously we purchased a Broyhill sofas recently and they are supposed to be easy to clean. I did get spit up off the sofa with success. You might also want to pay the extra money to have the sofas scotchguarded too.

We have hand me down tables, but if I could do it over again I would buy an oval coffee table or one that at least has rounded edges. We're probably going to have to buy those corner things for the table.

Have fun with all of your shopping. I'm glad that Lauren is giving Mom & Dad an easier time!

Sonia
Proud Mommy to Martie 4/6/03
http://www.mcdyer.com/MartieSurasky.htm

[Momof3Labs]

I'd skip the coffee table and instead get a sofa table - it is a tall, narrow table that sits behind your sofa. You can still use it as a place to park drinks, food, whatever, but it isn't as much of a hazard to a mobile baby.

Also, I'd minimize the number of lamps that you buy. They are easy to pull off of a table and mean more cords laying around. If you can, use a ceiling fixture instead.

Aren't there wonderful furniture outlets in North Carolina? I would definitely suggest hitting those - when you get a great deal on a piece of furniture, you don't worry nearly as much about something happening to it! A lot of our furniture is from Walter E Smith (expensive custom stuff) but was purchased at their outlet for a fraction of the retail price; it is a great way to go!

[etwahl]

I was actually wondering about getting one of those ottomans that can be used as a "coffee" table. Not your standard ottoman, but one that is more flexible. We can always put a tray on it to make it sturdy when we want to put drinks on it, but I was thinking the padding might be nicer for kid friendly!

Tammy,
Mom to Lauren Genevieve
03/12/2003
www.evantammy.com

[lukkykatt]

We bought almost all of our furniture before we had any children, so I can tell you what NOT to buy, so you can avoid all of my mistakes. We bought a wooden coffee table with a metal shelf and legs - that had to be moved to the living room from the family room for fear someone was going to get seriously hurt.

I got an entertainment center to hide/protect the tv, which I bought before DS was mobile. It has two big doors, so when they are open all of the interior drawers/shelves are visible. If I could do it again, I would buy one with two sets of doors - top and bottom. That way, when you watch tv, all of the drawers with your DVD's/videos are not exposed and, subsequently thrown around the room. Or at least, get one where the space for the VCR/DVD player and its storage are at the top, and not at the bottom (like mine).

Our dining room set is all wood, and that has been fine. But the chairs have tall backs and are easy to tip over.

Our sofa in the family room has two unattached cushions for the back. They are now getting mishappen. I would definitely avoid that type, and get attached cushions. My friend has the same type of sofa, and the same thing happened - she had to get hers restuffed. My living room sofa is some sort of faux suede (it's not cheesey like it sounds) and that has actually held up really well BUT the cushions are not fully covered on the underside. Definitely look to make sure both sides are covered. I'm always afraid something will spill one day and I can't pull the old flip over the cushion trick.

Hope to save you some aggravation by hearing about my mistakes. Glad to hear Lauren is doing so much better! Let us know what you get.

[Andrea S]

I wish we had an ottoman instead of coffee table we can not put drinks on table right now b/c Andre can reach them.

Andrea
mom to Andrew 8/14/02

[Andrea S]

Where is their outlet? I love their stuff.

Andrea
mom to Andrew 8/14/02

[Momof3Labs]

Andrea, it is in Itasca IL and is just known as the Furniture Outlet there. You don't find out that it is Walter E Smith until you go to pay! Here's there full info:

931 Irving Park Rd, Itasca IL 60143 630-285-6345

Another thing - they say that you have to take home your purchases that day, but I have had stuff delivered. We bought two couches, a table, a doubler rocker, a filing cabinet and a leather recliner and paid a flat $50 delivery charge! Whattadeal!

(Edited to add: you may have seen their commercials - "Itasca, Itasca, rhymes with Alaska")

[Andrea S]

I have seen their commercials I will have to check it out. We do not need any furniture, but I can alway replace what I have.

Andrea
mom to Andrew 8/14/02

[Melanie]

Make sure nothing has sharp corners or else you'll have to 'uglify' it with cushions and whatnot. No glass. If you had room, I would get a sofa table for things you want up and a coffee table b/c it is nice for them to have a surface at their height.

[August Mom]

We had to replace our loveseat and sofa and were in baby-planning mode. We splurged for leather and now that DS is here it is SO nice. Spit up and other messes simply wipe off. We love it!

[AndrewsMommy]

I second the leather idea! We have a leather sectional in our family room and it's great! We also have a leather couch in our living room as well. We LOVE leather. It's so easy to clean! We have another leather sectional in our basement too. We've had lots of parties down there and it's always easy to wipe up spills.

We have a glass and metal coffee table in our family room that's going to have to go when Andrew is mobile. It's NOT safe at all! We'll probably move an ottoman that we have in that area.

Have fun shopping.

Tina
Mom to Andrew 3/31/03

[mama2be]

Tammy my house is so not "kid proof" I don't know what I am going to do. About a year ago (before Tristan was even a thought) a neighbor brought her like 2 year old over and i have decorative ottomans under a writing desk (totally for show neither are used) BUT this gals child proceeds to pull at trying to get these ottomons out to sit on...mind you I have chairs everyewhere you turn in my home...and the mom actually tried to help him!!!!

So it was then that I realized I do not have a kid frendly home...so this is a good thread. I don't want to go changing things too much in my home though. My mom just had the whole house off limits to all of us when I look back on it and that was no fun as a child either... :)...

Thanks for asking this!!!

[C99]

lori -- evil girl! i was going out to oakbrook to look at couches today but will now have to swing up that way!

[Momof3Labs]

Wanna hear about my living room couch from this place? $2600 marked down to $395 - because one of the back legs came off and they had to reattach it slightly off from where it should be. Ahhh, I love bargains!

Anyway, they are hit or miss - some days they have tons of couches and other days only a couple dozen or so. But it is a fun place with those great prices on such high quality stuff!

[SASM]

Hi Tammy,

I also second the leather suggestion. You would want a good leather, top grain, preferably analine-dyed. AD is a process that dyes the entire piece of leather so if there is a scratch you can literally rub it out and blend it in. Some leathers are REALLY cheap and so not worth the "investment" so do your research (Mitchell Gold has some useful info on their site). We bought a leather chair and people thought that we were insane because we have a cat that is only declawed in the front. It has been the BEST investment ~ Simon cannot destroy this chair. Vomit (baby and cat) and food wipe right off. Oh...Keep leather out of direct sunlight.

Also, another sofa option is slipcovers. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND these for ease of use. And the industry is completely revolutionizing slipcovers ~ they are no longer the slumpy, messy look of yesterday. A slipcover can be made specifically for a piece and you would NEVER know that it was a slipcover ~ so tailored with clean lines. I have 4 slipcovers for my sofa (I know it seems excessive but I got a GREAT deal) and we *used to* change them with the season ~ totally changes the look of the room. I cannot even tell you how many times we have changed them since Ian's arrival thanks to spit up and vomit (again, baby and cat). One thing...when you clean them (washing machine or dry clean) do the ENTIRE piece (all cushions and body) and not just the cushion slipcover with the stain because that one slipcover could change colors from the rest of the piece. Some slipcovers can be machine washed but I HIGHLY RECOMMEND having them professionally cleaned.

I also second your thoughts of using an ottoman for a coffee table. It is so practical ~ more seating and a little unexpected :-) There are also a lot of great cube ottomans on the market right now. Buy two or three. They come in leathers, upholstered or slipcovered...lots of fun options. This is a great way to add a little touch of leather if you like the look but not the expense.

One tip for a dining/kitchen table. If you like the "rustic" look, with subtle cracking, make sure that your house has a steady humidity and the piece is treated. Again, do research. I cannot tell you how many times someone would come into my store complaining because their children kept stuffing Cherrios in the wood crevases on their dining/kitchen table. They didn't chose the right type of wood for their family and didn't keep and eye on the humidity, which is so important with wood furniture.

You are moving to a wonderful area!! There are a TON of warehouses in NC, Highpoint and Taylorsville to name two. A HUGE percentage of US furniture manufacturers are in NC. Do an internet search to see which ones are in your area. Some have sales on an annual basis, some twice a year, while others are year-round :-) Good stuff!!

Good luck!! HTH!

[Rachels]

Just wanted to briefly express my jealousy at the fact that you get to start out with your new house babyproofed! I swear, I think it would have been easier to move than to babyproof ours. :)

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[etwahl]

Ah yes, but I haven't even begun to think about what this will involve in the big picture. yikes! I won't even know where to start. Actually, where should we start? Is there a good book?

Tammy,
Mom to Lauren Genevieve
03/12/2003
www.evantammy.com

[C99]

I went -- but didn't find anything usable this trip. Def. will be back w/ the husband though!

[TLC1994]

One thing...when you clean them
>(washing machine or dry clean) do the ENTIRE piece (all
>cushions and body) and not just the cushion slipcover with the
>stain because that one slipcover could change colors from the
>rest of the piece. Some slipcovers can be machine washed but
>I HIGHLY RECOMMEND having them professionally cleaned.


Just wondering what brand of slipcovers you have. It almost sounds like the cushions are covered separately from the rest of the sofa. Or is all one piece? I've tried the 1-piece kind before and it seemed like it was always coming undone and looking very messy. If I could find slipcovers where the cushions are covered individually, that would be ideal.

Thanks!