Keep or donate kids’ furniture?

[Anonymous]

We are preparing for a move and I am trying to decide if we should keep or donate two bedroom sets of kids’ furniture. It’s decent wooden furniture and not kid-themed beyond being a bit smaller than normal bedroom furniture. I think that we bought it at Land of Nod, which I am not even sure is a store anymore!

The youngest of our three kids will leave for college this fall. We are moving from a 4-bedroom house into another 4-bedroom house. So if we donate it, we’d have to buy bedroom furniture for the new house. The two sets also each have two twin beds (bunk beds and a trundle bed) and having more beds seems like it could be a good thing.

On the other hand, it seems weird to have furniture designed for kids in our house when we don’t have kids at home anymore. We’d still be able to have one guest room with a queen, but if we have multiple adult guests, some would be in the ‘kid’ rooms.

Suggestions? What did other people do?

[Anonymous]

Ask your kids if they would like it in their first homes.

At my first apartment, I had a twin bed that came from home.

Wood and build quality keep getting worse.

The problem is that bunk beds are unsuitable for adult guests who were not your kids.

But kids won't mind sleeping in them for the nostalgia. And if their partners visit, it's an easy way to cram your own kids into fewer rooms and give the guest their own space.

I've heard all the arguments about letting unmarried couples stay together at parents' houses. But I think it's still nice to give a new to the family boyfriend or girlfriend a completely private retreat from all members of the family including their SO.

[Anonymous]

Ask the kids if they want it, and if they want it in the new home. Depending on their age, they may still need a bedroom in your home. I'd get rid of them if kids are ok with it and get queen size beds for everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are preparing for a move and I am trying to decide if we should keep or donate two bedroom sets of kids’ furniture. It’s decent wooden furniture and not kid-themed beyond being a bit smaller than normal bedroom furniture. I think that we bought it at Land of Nod, which I am not even sure is a store anymore!

The youngest of our three kids will leave for college this fall. We are moving from a 4-bedroom house into another 4-bedroom house. So if we donate it, we’d have to buy bedroom furniture for the new house. The two sets also each have two twin beds (bunk beds and a trundle bed) and having more beds seems like it could be a good thing.

On the other hand, it seems weird to have furniture designed for kids in our house when we don’t have kids at home anymore. We’d still be able to have one guest room with a queen, but if we have multiple adult guests, some would be in the ‘kid’ rooms.

Suggestions? What did other people do?

If it is quality furniture you keep it. Silly to throw it out and then have to buy new, and probably more cheaply made and overpriced furniture.

You might have grandkids in a few years and bunk beds will come in handy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ask your kids if they would like it in their first homes.

At my first apartment, I had a twin bed that came from home.

Wood and build quality keep getting worse.

The problem is that bunk beds are unsuitable for adult guests who were not your kids.

But kids won't mind sleeping in them for the nostalgia. And if their partners visit, it's an easy way to cram your own kids into fewer rooms and give the guest their own space.

I've heard all the arguments about letting unmarried couples stay together at parents' houses. But I think it's still nice to give a new to the family boyfriend or girlfriend a completely private retreat from all members of the family including their SO.

PP. Forgot to mention...my aunt has a really big house and is an empty nester. She kept the Ethan Allen high twin with floor trundle.

I don't love trundles but when the house is full for Christmas at least it's a real bed vs. a cot. This is a big 4 bedroom where the 3 secondary bedrooms are 1) two twins in guestroom - usually hosting a couple, 2) a queen canopy bed - usually hosting a couple with younger kids, and 3) twin with trundle...often hosting a couple but sometimes siblings. And then other people are sleeping on hideabed couches.

At my mom's house, also 4 BR, there are two bedrooms with two twins apiece, and the third bedroom is a full bed. The full bed and one twin were inherited and added to the house to increase grandchildren sleeping capacity.

Obviously separate beds give more flexibility and couples don't mind twins. The bunk format is the issue with yours. Can they be unbunked?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Can they be unbunked?

Most all of them can be and that would certainly be an easy option, to simply set them side by side and put a king size mattress over them. That works quite well, and still have the space saving option for bunks.

[Anonymous]

I brought furniture from home to my first apartment. It had been stored in the attic so I wasn't disrupting my parents' home. I'm glad I was able to do this. I still use my childhood night stand.

Later on, I brought two pieces of my childhood furniture to my own home to use for my kids.
My parents had bought me nice furniture for my childhood from Lane Furniture so it's still better quality than most items I've bought for my own home due to quality suffering these days.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for all of this feedback! Keeping it definitely sounds like the right decision (and yes, I think we can de-bunk the beds). Now only 999 more decisions to make before we move!

[Anonymous]

Are you planning on having grandkids?

My wives her kids bedroom still set up. My three kids slept in it all the time when visiting from 0-23, now we dont stay over much but her greatgrand kids use it

She is in her house 60 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ask the kids if they want it, and if they want it in the new home. Depending on their age, they may still need a bedroom in your home. I'd get rid of them if kids are ok with it and get queen size beds for everywhere.

This. My parents have an unhealthy attachment to me and my sibs childhood furniture. None of us wanted it and there was only 1 grandchild who grew up far away. It's gathering dust and getting damp in their basement and 1 guest room looks like a 9 year's old's fairy princess dreams. By the time I was 12-13 I hated my room, pink walls, lace and whatnot. My poor mom nearly had a breakdown when I removed the canopy from my bed and asked for a simpler, more sophisticted bedspread. Awhile back I watched a designer's interview. She had 3 kids under 10. She said kids are little for a short period of time. Their rooms looked nicer than most adults, but with a few kid touches that are easily changeable as they get older.

[Anonymous]

Donate it is always a good idea

[Anonymous]

Land of Nod is good quality. It was part of Crate & Barrel and is now called Crate & Kids I believe.

I would keep the furniture and see how it goes in the new place, obviously having the beds unbunked would be best. I think 2 twins is a nice flexible option for a guest room also and lends itself to a variety of guests/relationships.