Affording Modern Baby
From Grassroots Modern:
We knew we had the choice of settling for something that was less than what we really wanted, or splurging and getting something beautiful that would hopefully hold up for a long time.
And boy are they right. Our son at ~11 weeks really needs a crib. Trips to Babies R Us and Baby Furniture Warehouse are disappointing. There are 1 or two styles that we find tolerable, and while the stuff at Baby Furniture Warehouse is good furniture, we’d spend hundreds of dollars on something we feel so-so about. Truthfully, every swoopy, curvy, or ornate nursery furniture item seems made for girls or parents who want a nice room in traditional style. There were a couple mission or shaker style items that featured cleaner lines, but didn’t thrill us.
We like modern stuff. Our home is full of IKEA. I was happy to see IKEA expanded the crib line since we were pregnant. There are now 5 models online. None seem so solid. So we look at sites like 2modern.com and moderntots.com and wonder where the affordable options are. Without a mainstream market, these niche products are priced out of reach.
Sahara crib - $685 + $198 for a toddler conversion kit. (Modern options don’t convert to twin beds like many we saw today do.)
Loom crib - $650 + $180 for a toddler conversion kit.
Neither of those include mattresses.
Grassroots Modern got it right:
Luckily for us, the folks at Nurseryworks were kind enough to help us out, and support Grassrootsmodern by sponsoring our nursery. We ended up getting the Aerial Crib with a diamond end panel, all white except for the light pine rails.
And we continue to ponder plunking down $1000 on crib + conversion kit + mattress for Jack.
creede said,
July 29, 2007 @ 7:45 pm
We felt super lucky that nurseryworks was kind enough to help us out. I know that $1,000 is a crazy amount of money to throw down on a crib, but we have been really impressed with the quality. I wouldn’t be surprised if we were still using this crib in 10 years for our next couple of kids. (not sure how many we want,but I am sure the crib will still be looking good for our last kid)
Mark Reeves said,
July 29, 2007 @ 8:09 pm
Thanks for the input! You’ve made it harder to say no, and easier to feel better if we say yes.
Wondering what the resale value will ultimately be…I can see a market that looks for bargains on used, high-end items that are quality. At the same time, a lot of the baby books recommend against used baby furniture.
Modern Homes New England » Affording Modern Baby followup : Prefab, Architecture, DIY, News, Referrals said,
August 7, 2007 @ 9:43 pm
[…] I had previously written about the hunt for a modern crib for our son Jack. We were in a crunch, finding nothing we liked in furniture stores, and daunted by the prices for the beautiful options we found online. […]