White beds for boys--yea or nay?

[KpbS]

I am trying to decide about furniture for our kid's rooms. Right now, DS1 has a full-sized bed on a frame (no bed/headboard+footboard) and DS2 is about to move from the crib to a twin. I love the look of knock-off wood farmhouse twin bed http://ana-white.com/2010/12/kristines-twin-farmhouse-bed.html but since it would be made with pine it would need to be painted--not stained to look decent. Do you think a white bed is too feminine of a look for boy's rooms? Would you buy a white bed for your DS? Poll coming, hopefully.

[crl]

I do think white furniture is feminine looking. Could you paint it another color? Red or dark green or navy blue?

Catherine

[Indianamom2]

I don't think I would choose white for a boys room. It just seems too stereotypically girly to me.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but if you make the bed yourself, why couldn't you paint it blue or brown or red?

[artvandalay]

I wouldn't do white furniture for a boy

[KpbS]

Could you paint it another color? Red or dark green or navy blue? Catherine


Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but if you make the bed yourself, why couldn't you paint it blue or brown or red?

Yeah, I was thinking white would be more versatile in matching different bedding over the years. I don't think brown (painted vs. stained) would look good but maybe a navy would work. Black is just is just so stark so that's out. Thanks for your opinions!

[Fairy]

I think it depends. White bed maybe not. But white shelves like from LON or PBK could be fine. Totally depends on the style of the furniture.

[lhafer]

I probably wouldn't as it looks more feminie to me, and it would be harder IMO to do an older boy's decor with white furniture. If painting, I would probably find a bedding set I liked a lot and go from there and do navy, red, brown, or black.

Here are some examples though:

White:
http://www.potterybarnkids.com/room/rom/romboy/romboydrs/
http://www.potterybarnkids.com/room/rom/romboy/romboyhyd/

Navy:
http://www.potterybarnkids.com/room/rom/romboy/romboyhnr/
http://www.potterybarnkids.com/room/rom/romboy/romboyspi/
http://www.potterybarnkids.com/room/rom/romboy/romboyihw/
http://www.potterybarnkids.com/room/rom/romboy/romboykssp/

Red:
http://www.blavish.com/bratt-decor-the-perfect-luxury-furniture-for-infants-children/
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.thefurniture.com/store/Images/VGHN/228/228-255/PanelBed.jpg&imgrefurl=http://arhdecor.com/category/child-room/page/2/&usg=__QCCT20fSmwkjq4mqmYP0EB2WXy0=&h=479&w=600&sz=126&hl=en&start=17&zoom=1&tbnid=tevAenepV65UlM:&tbnh=147&tbnw=179&ei=HuhiTcClL9GjtgfuoJnPCw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dred%2Bbed%2Bfor%2Bchild%27s%2Broom%26 um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address%26rlz%3D1I7SNNT%26biw%3D1345%26bih%3D635%2 6tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=506&oei=p-diTf2MDcP_lgfctJX4Cw&page=2&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:17&tx=153&ty=80

[JBaxter]

I would no purchase/build one on purpose for a boy. If I had it and didnt have another option then that would be another story. I think white beds do look girly

[wencit]

Well, I will be the voice of dissent. In general, I think white beds are more feminine, but the one you linked to in your first post didn't absolutely scream "GIRL!!!!" to me. I mean, there were no spindles or sheer canopies or anything else that was overtly girlish. I think with very boy-ish bedding, wall colors, and window accessories, the bed in your OP could work for a boy as well. If I saw that bed in your son's room with some Star Wars themed bedding, for example, I personally wouldn't immediately pan your sense of design. But that's just me. :)

[hillview]

I think white is fine. Really you don't see so much of the bed it is the bedspread that you see so if that was something your DS liked it would be fine IMO.
/hillary

[MMEand1]

My son has a white captains bed from IKEA and it does not look feminine at all...I think it depends on the look of the bed, but the one you posted did not look girly to me, more gender neutral.

[kristac]

My boys have a white bunkbed. I don't feel it's girly. That said if I was building a bed and painting it myself I would probably go with navy, red, or chocolate brown.

[baileygirl]

If I had a bed that was white, I would be okay using it...but I agree with the pps that I would paint it another color (you could always paint it again later).

[SnuggleBuggles]

Not a fan of white at any rate because of the dirt factor (fingerprints, dust, smudges...) and not my taste for boy's furniture either.

Beth

[wimama]

We have white nursery furniture. But if we have another boy, I would replace the white furniture with a darker stained would or painted furniture when he got bigger. I personally like navy paint on a bed. There is a ton of boys bedding that would go with navy. But, red or brown paint would work too.

[Dcclerk]

I don't think brown (painted vs. stained) would look good but maybe a navy would work. !

My son's bed is navy (very similar to the Pottery Barn one posted), and I love it. It is a fantastic boy option IMHO. My friends have a taupey-gray color that I think is incredibly sophisticated in their boys' room. I think it is a trickier color, but if you find the right one, it is a great neutral.

[elektra]

Since my DS has almost all white furniture, i say, heck ya it's fine for a boy!
Modern, white furniture is unisex. If you are talking about more of a classic style or antique-y en yes, many of those styles in white can be girly.

[edurnemk]

It wouldn't be my first choice, but I have no problem with white furniture for boys. The design of the bed doesn't look girly at all, and that matters more than the color IMO. If the room is decorated in a boyish theme I think it would work.

When I read the title of your post, my first thought was "boys? white? Dirt!"

If you or your sons don't like it when they're older, you can always repaint it another color, right?

[HIU8]

Not for me. White is very girly. If I had to get that bed it would get painted a brown or blue or even a tan right away.

[katydid1971]

I think the bed you posted would look so good in navy. Very much like a PBK one. If I had to I would use white in a boys room but it wouldn't be my first choice.

[ncat]

I would also say no for a girl, though, too. I was traumatized by getting the "girly" white furniture as a little girl. I am not a fan.

[neeleymartin]

i chose 'other'.

we have/had a white crib for both boys. but as we look for a bedroom set we have decided to go with darker wood.

i think that white would be fine depending on the style and/or the bedding you choose. we are still going to stick with natural dark wood color.

[ast96]

I have three boys, all in white beds. All my playroom and nursery furniture is white too. It all looks and works great. I recently asked my oldest if he would like a dark wood bed, and he turned me down flat. He is turning nine this summer.

[ast96]

Also, I have had zero problems with dirt. Zero!

[newg]

One of my friends has white furniture in her boy's room. The theme is nautical and it looks super super cute with the blue, red and white bedding she picked out (I think from PBK)

[Neatfreak]

I haven't seen a piece of stained pine furniture that I thought looked bad. Could you try a dark brown stain on a piece of scrap lumber? Maybe it would look more decent than you think!

I love the farmhouse bed plan - please post photos when you're done!

[JTsMom]

I could go either way on the white. If you would prefer stain though, why not go with a different type of wood?

[TwinFoxes]

I voted other. I think it depends on the bed. The one you linked to doesn't look especially feminine, other than the butterfly duvet. I think if you use a dark blue duvet, or green, no one would think twice. As pp mentioned, a nautical themed room would look great with that white bed.

[happy2bamom]

DS has a white bed from Ikea and I don't think that it is feminine at all. It fits his room perfectly!

[MontrealMum]

I don't think white is necessarily girly at all. For us, it's just part of modern style, like Elektra said, and is more unisex. My DS' furniture is white for the most part (some is pine). The official name is "French vanilla" ;) His room is a nautical theme which we love, and which we chose since we live on the water. The light colored furniture hasn't gotten dirty at all, and I am by no means a finicky housekeeper.

[sophiesmom03]

I would not mind white for boys, but if you're hesitant, I do like the idea of another color. The first one I thought of was a bright grass green - different from navy or red, cheery, and something you could do to make it your own.

Love the site, btw - I bookmarked it for future! :)

[ciw]

I think white is fine for young boys and depending on the rest of the room's decor, can look really cute. I'm not sure most pre-teen or teenage boys are going to want white bedroom furniture but at that point you could paint it, have him paint it or buy something else. I also like the blue Pottery Barn furniture and thought this blue knock-off turned out great: http://ana-white.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/100_39531.jpg

All of that said, there is no reason you can't stain pine. My son has a Baby's Dream bed in his room and most of that furniture line is stained pine. You could do something like this: http://www.babysdream.com/ImageViewer.aspx?imid=145. I am pretty sure that is pine; I think they just used pine with limited knots so it's not as noticeable. (Just keep in mind that pine is a soft wood so if you stain, you may want a "harder" clear coat (polyurethane, varnish, etc.) to minimize dents and scratches.)
Also, if I were doing it, I would handpick my pine boards to weed out anything with really bad knots.

[Fairy]

One of my friends has white furniture in her boy's room. The theme is nautical and it looks super super cute with the blue, red and white bedding she picked out (I think from PBK)

I was also thinking nautical themes would be great for white furniture.

[hellokitty]

I would say no, unless you are doing a nautical theme. That is IMO one of the only, "themes" where white furniture would look OK.

[craftysierra]

I normally think Girly with white furniture, but the bed you posted is one of my few exceptions.
Sierra

[Babymakes3]

I am really digging white furniture at the moment so I say go for the white bed. I like the style and as long as you kept the decor, bedding and maybe wall color definitely boyish I see no problem with it!

[mom2binsd]

I will disagree with the "feminine" concept.

Here are pics of DS's room.

He has sports bedding, accessories, and some John Deere stuff too.

The crib converted to a double bed, the changing dresser is now a dresser. The rocker remains for now as he loves to sit in and read (he's almost 5). A desk will most likely go in the nook where the rocking chair is when we need a desk for him.

The walls are light blue, the carpet beige, curtains navy blue.

It's a personal preferance but I live white furniture and it is easy to buy pieces to match as white is white, whereas other colors are trickier to match.

[justlearning]

I wouldn't choose white for my boys. DS1 has an unfinished pine headboard and DS2 has a red PBK headboard (both bought off of craigslist).