Daily Dose Blogger Bios
Crib Notes
I recently met a very nice and very preggers gal named Rita (no, not ours) and she just sent me all sorts of great finds for her nursery. Fave among them is the BabyMod collection from, of all places, Wal-Mart:
This 3-drawer changer table -- 36" high if you can't tell -- is so simple and only $249.98. Now I'm no expert on baby furniture, but this looks suspiciously like David Netto's eponymous collection of mod baby cuteness, still the gold standard in my opinion:
Apparently I'm not the first to notice. Blog daddytypes.com (typing that makes me giggle) called BabyMod's first collection "Netto in a fog" and pointed out similarities of their newer 'Olivia' crib to one made by Oeuf (what a charmingly bougey name ... French for egg! ... you see, babies are made when ... oh you get it ). Sure, the Wal-Mart crib is about a third of the price and you'll ditch it in three years, but what if you end up having more than one little tricylcle motor around the house? Any parents out there have thoughts on cheap vs. expensive baby gear? Does quality count all that much?
I was desperado for the (original)oeuf crib but could not justify paying $900 for it so my husband decided to take a stab at making one. It's pretty much identical except for the legs, which are wood instead of metal. The whole thing cost less than $100 for materials. (Will I go to jail for admitting this?!) Anyway, my point is, as long as it's built to code and is safe and you love the way it looks, it's smart to save money. You'll need it for the million other things the baby needs.
giggit--my husband has contemplated making a version of the Oeuf crib, too! We've also considered the DwellStudio for Target stuff: http://www.target.com/b/ref=in_se_pagelist/601-6386738-2786535?ie=UTF8&itemsPerPage=74&node=400542011&pricerange=&index=tgt-mf-mv&field-browse=400542011&rank=pmrank&viewID=leaf&field-pricebin=&store=&size=74&rh=&page=1&fromBrowse=1
Another option is IKEA. Cute, modern, sturdy enough. And yes, a college fund is more important to us. Not knocking people who can afford both, though--wish it was me.
-Kate
http://web.mac.com/kmthomas74/Kates_World/Nursery.html
forgive me for posting on an unrelated topic, but wasn't sure how else to ask a question! nick: my fiance and i have a great overstuffed, goose-down sofa and loveseat handed down to us by his father. they're super comfortable and way nicer than we could ever afford to purchase on our own. only problem? they're red and tan plaid. is there somewhere in the nyc area i can buy a slipcover or have one made for a decent price? i'd love to recover them so our apartment doesn't resemble a log cabin anymore! any help is much appreciated!!
Let's see, my pregnant 22 year daughter who makes $14/hour cannot afford $1890 for a changing table, whether or not it is the gold standard for chic baby stuff.
Kate -- I went to your site. Your house is so cute!! I love it! If your husband has the time and the inclination I think it would totally be worth it to make the crib himself. My husband is so proud of it and I think it's even cuter because he made it. Once he made the jig for the rails, it went pretty smoothly. It was time consuming to sand, but that was really the only tedious part. And the thing is SOLID. Let me know if you want to see a picture!
-- Jen
My husband and I are trying to decide between the Wal-mart modern crib or the Loom crib from Nurseryworks, which is twice as much. I think a Wal-mart crib isn't a bad idea, unless you're planning on having four kids all using that crib. However, I wouldn't buy the dresser--you want a dresser to last. A changing table, sure, they have a limited life span.
I've heard very good things about the Wal-mart Baby Mod line over on Ohdeedoh, but bad things about the modern Target line from Dwell. It's supposed to be cheaply made and with terrible off-gassing.
first, i am so impressed with the make-your-own crib idea. here i thought i was a DIY-extremist! if i had a little nick jr. on the way (like that pregnant asian tranny man) i think i'd go cheap on the crib and splurge on their first bed and make it at least a full size, space permitting.
tribecagirl, the upholsterers i know charge almost as much as a new sofa to make custom slipcovers, but i just got an email from this company called SureFit that makes covers for overstuffed sofas in all sorts of colors and patterns. check 'em out at www.surefit.net. sift through the fugly ones and i bet you'll find a winner!
I just wanted to say that I purchased this changing table (and the coordinating crib) from Wal-Mart when my daughter was born in February. It's great. (Not sure how hard it was to put together, Daddy did that for us while I was still in the hospital - a little "labor" in return for another "labor"). We love it. It looks great in the room, and feels very sturdy. The finish is very nice and the drawers have a nice, smooth roll. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.
giggit, you're too kind. If you could send pics, that would be awesome. My husband's a big DIY freak. In between putting in new bamboo flooring and building a bed, he's thinking about the crib. You know, um, if we can, um, build someone to put in it. (kmthomas74 at mac dot com)
Nick, I was laughing at your comment about DIY extreme. And I found the same thing with getting quotes for recovering furniture. It was almost as much as just buying new. And I am not handy enough with my sewing machine to whip one out.