furniture for baby's room

[Anonymous]

Can anyone suggest discount furniture stores (or any baby furniture stores) in the DC area for well-made baby furniture? We live in a row house, so we are looking for smaller sized pieces. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

It's not discount, but Great Beginnings in Gaithersburg has a great selection. Also, their salespeople don't work on commission and are very honest about their products. For example, one told us that all the cribs are the same from a safety-standpoint, so we should just buy the cheapest one we liked. Also, if you live in DC and have the furniture delivered, you don't have to pay tax.

[Anonymous]

You posed a good question that I don't have an answer too...I can tell you what we did. We ended up ordering a crib from Pottery Barn and a mattress/sheets through Target. Yes, Pottern Barn was expensive but I didn't like the quality of any of the cribs we saw in other local stores and it wasn't much more expensive than cribs at Buy Buy Baby/Babies R Us. We also bought a dresser/changing table from Ikea - dressers/changing tables are surprisingly expensive. DS is 15 months and it's held up pretty well. Spacious enough for his clothes to date although he outgre the changing table around 8-9 months (now we change him on our bed). We also bought a Grace pack-n-play w/changing table attachment from Target for the downstairs for naps and diaper changes. At first we tried to do without the crib and had the mini co-sleeper. I had thought we could transition him to the pack-n-play w/o the bassinet at that stage, but I realized that the mattress is really not the comfortable and it's not as big as a standard crib so I caved in and we bought the crib. The full size cribs do seem huge at first for a little baby but time will fly and he/she will quickly need the space.

It's tricky with a rowhouse (we live in one too and now have a second on the way and don't want to move!). I can tell you that the first 10-12 months it does get cluttered - before the baby is walking and "stations" to place the baby are needed. (we ended up with a activty mat, a jumperoo and a exersuacer plus a swing which took up basically our entire living/dining area). But, once DS was walking we were able to store away a lot and now our house is ours again (although lots of toys of course around, but these are easily tucked away in bins). So, it helps to know that the clutter can be temporary...atlhough you will have to expect it!

PS. Craigslist is a great source for barely used baby furniture too. The problem is that it is often already assembled so you either need someone handy in the family to take it apart and reasseemble back home, or access to a truck/u-haul to bring it home.

[Anonymous]

I bought the baby furniture at Bellini in Rockville...

[Anonymous]

right, not exactly discount! I'm looking to buy decent furniture for a decent price too...don't think I'll really succeed.

[Anonymous]

Okay, not a discount but iron cribs take up less space than wooden ones. We got one from Corsican, but Bratt Decor has them as well. Also, on the discount side, try normal furniture stores for a changing dresser/changing table. You'd surprised at the "normal" furniture designers that carry this item. To get it cheap call the discount warehouses in NC, they deliver and don't charge sales tax.

[Anonymous]

check out the outlets in leesburg. the pottery barn often has baby stuff that's been discounted. you can call them first too to save yourself a trip!

[Anonymous]

We got our crib at ikea. We were really surprised with the quality. And we only paid $130.

[Anonymous]

PP here. We also really like that the IKEA crib is narrow enough to fit through doorways assembled.

[Anonymous]

Have you read Baby Bargains? It gives great info on brands that hold up well but don't cost a fortune. It also tells you what brands are just junk. Maybe that could give you some ideas. My parents bought the crib they suggest for "grandma's house." I think it was a Delta Jenny Lind? It requires two hands to lower the side, but it is made well and it's quite sturdy - and it cost something like $150 or less.

[Anonymous]

We're in a rowhouse as well and got our crib on Overstock.com--great quality, great price, and shipping was free! Just make sure to read the reviews from other customers to get a better idea of quality/ease of assembly, because returning something that large will obviously be a hassle.

[Anonymous]

I have the Delta Luv/Jenny Lind crib that Baby Bargains gave a B+ to in its rankings. It's a white spindle crib that I swear looks like something out of Pottery Barn Kids. It's not something that might last 25 years, but it will last you through 2-3 kids. We used it for my son for 2 years and will use it again when the new baby comes this Spring.

It looks like this, but it could look even better with cuter bedding, and we don't have the casters on the feet (we didn't really need them).
http://www.dmart2000.com/deluvjeli3in.html?productid=deluvjeli3in&channelid=FROOG

It fit in our very small 1940s townhouse and it looked better dressed up with nicer crib linens. (Target has Dwellbaby now, too.) The crib was only $150 and we got a matching changing table for $60 and kept clothes in baskets underneath. We also fit a double bed in the room for nursing the first 6-8 months too, so it can be done. It's very sturdy and just survived a move across town. I'd say look at BBRUS and with a $100 new crib mattress, you can definitely furnish the baby's room for under $300.

I would say take some measurements and at least try one of the bigger stores like BBRUS or Buy Buy Baby and ask which of the cribs they have is the smallest. They have such a wide selection, something is bound to work. I second the IKEA thing for small scale and they have tons of kids stuff.

[Anonymous]

OP--Babycenter.com is having a sale right now on lots of stuff, including furniture. Most of what I saw was free shipping, so you may want to check it out.

[Anonymous]

A friend of mine bought a crib for $200+ but said the construction was so cheap that she didn't recommend trying to skimp too much in that area.

I have been recommended to buy a convertible crib (crib->toddler bed->full size bed) to grow with the child and have registered for one on Overstock. It's not super cheap ($260-ish), but it has good reviews and it will be nice to get cheap or free delivery and not need to buy another bed once the baby figures out how to climb out.

The back up plan is craigslist. I've already bought many big ticket items at discount and found an awesome crib combo, but wasn't ready to buy it so early in my pregnancy. Craigslist will only work if you have a big enough vehicle and have someone strong to help move furniture or are willing to hire someone to move it for you.

[Anonymous]

Great suggestions - thanks everyone!