Land of Nod vs. Ikea for DD's big girl room

[maylips]

So, we're moving DD into a big girl room which, as it currently stands, consists of an antique double bed and vanity that my grandmother had as a little girl and I also used as a little girl.

What we don't have is a bedside table and any kind of bookcase or dresser or anything that really stores much (the vanity has 6 drawers, but they are all tiny and will only be good for underwear, etc).

So, DH and I are disagreeing about what to do to supplement her furniture. I am leaning toward the LON Jenny Lind stuff (currently on sale, for a whopping $50 off per piece basically), which will compliment the spindles in her bed (although the antique furniture isn't painted and the LON will be painted). DH doesn't want to spend much and says we should just go to Ikea and get a couple of pieces that we wouldn't concern ourselves with if it got ruined.

What's your opinion? DD will probably use this furniture until she leaves home for college - do you think investment pieces are worth it, or should we not spend much so we're not worried if she messes them up? And is LON even *that* much better quality anyway?! We have Munire furniture in the nursery which we hope DS will use as he transitions (eventually) out of the crib into a double bed, so he should have fairly nice stuff. Not sure what direction we should go with this.

Thanks for your thoughts!

[kransden]

That so depends on your child and her friends. My child rarely does anything destructive - on purpose or otherwise. So I can get her nice things. Her friends, on the other hand, can be handfuls. I now tell my dd if they are doing something she has never done before to immediately come get me. :D Some friends have budding Picasos and they have drawn all over walls and furniture.

So ask yourself, how can a child destroy this, and will I be mad if they do? Then buy the furniture that works for you.

Edited (sp)

[MommyofAmaya]

We moved our dd to her big girl bed on her 2nd birthday. We got some really cute furniture:

http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1245767336/ref=sr_nr_i_0?ie=UTF8&rs=&keywords=powell%20sunday%20funnies&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Apowell%20sunday%20funnies%2Ci%3Ag arden

The bed developed a crack and we got another one under warranty (Powell customer service rocks btw). When we went to disassemble her bed we noticed that there were crayon, pen and pencil marks all over it. We decided to keep the new bed in the box for another year or so (she is 3 now), or until the old bed falls apart.

If it were me, I would probably do IKEA now and upgrade in a couple of years.

[mariza]

How about scouring Craigslist to see if you can find any pieces that will complement what you already have. I've bought some "temp" pieces for a steal on CL!

[pinkmomagain]

My girls have nice Ethan Allen furniture that they've had since they were little and will have until they are off to college. That said, they rarely have played in their rooms, since we have a family room and a basement. And food/drink rarely find their way upstairs to the bedrooms. There are also no art supplies (although the older girls keep pens/pencils in their rooms for homework or journal writing).

I think it depends on your child, how much time she spends in her room, and what she does in there.

[hardysmom]

I would get some inexpensive Ikea pieces and let her help decorate her own room in a few years. When she is 7ish it will be a lot of fun to do together. By then, you'll have a stronger idea of what kind of stuff she'll want to live with until going off to college.

All kids are different, but I am not sure that it is very realistic to think that how YOU decorate the room when she is 3 is how it will look when she is 9, not to mention 19.

Personally, I wouldn't have wanted Jenny Lind as a teenager, however cute and appropriate it may have been as a toddler.

If you can't help yourself, you could get the Jenny Lind stuff and consider passing it down to the younger sibling in a few years... You have a better chance of getting several years/kids out of the LON than of the IKEA, that is for sure.

The quality/longevity of LON is much better than Ikea... While not exactly heirloom, it is about the same as PBK, while IKEA is more like cool-looking, slightly-better-than Target.

Hope this helps,

Stephanie

[jemabelle]

i completely understand the desire to just invest in something nice. i also really, really dislike the look of ikea childrens furniture. however, just imagine your LON (and heirloom furniture) covered with stickers and anything else... my friends daughter is not even 5 and after she spent a boatload on gorgeous furniture (now sticker-covered), the little girl is envious of her friends with "the funner" ikea furniture... I am sure this attitude will pass before she is 18 and goes off to college - but just something to consider. After a couple years, ikea is easy to throw to the curb and you will feel great getting rid of it then and getting something you know will stay nice...

[copperheadjo]

I tend to think if you like the look of antique heirloom pieces you will get both your best price and best quality by shopping craigslist or secondhand/antique furniture shops. It might have a few scratches if it's secondhand, but you'll have the look you want while accepting that "investment" pieces can wait til she's older. Or truly invest in quality antique pieces--it's sure to hold its value better than even LON furniture. :)

This whole debate is why I tend to go for the white-painted shabby chic look. A little beating is part of the appeal, and if it gets too shabby, another coat of paint can be applied!

[WatchingThemGrow]

I really like the LON Jenny Lind collection. The nightstand is cute! I was going to suggest Isabella, Ma Marie or Caroline from Young America, but the LON stuff is sweet. I don't know about their construction, but I would play with it in the store before ordering. The PBK stuff we liked online had drawers that did not roll well. We got nice furniture b/c the ILs bought it for us, and we wanted something with all the safety aspects available. YA furniture is awesome as is their CS. I'm not really into IKEA since it sort of feels like disposable furniture in my mind. My DD took a red crayon to the side rails of her YA bed, but it wipes off. Stickers come off too.

ETA: YA now offers a huge array of finishes, so you could probably find something to match what you have since it sounds like your son's room will look "put together" as well.