Sure the kids want the plastic race car bed or the little princess headboard, but kids’ bedroom furniture should be more classic than that- you can either replace their beds and other items as their whims change or you can buy them classic, long lasting furniture that will take them from their crib all the way to the time they fly the nest. Well built, quality kids’ bedroom furniture will last for decades. Changing the bedding and the wall artwork as they enter and leave their many stages and phases is much cheaper than giving in to passing fancies that will have you buying new furniture in a year or worse, dealing with pouting children who are unhappy with their bedrooms.
Kids’ bedroom furniture is not as important to them unless they really love it or they really hate it. You give a kid an extreme and they will notice; otherwise, it is just the bed they go to when they are forced or when they are sick and a dresser that they cram all of their clothes into. Face it, your children’s furniture tastes are not going to be even remotely tolerable to you until they are older and may never be entirely right. But, even if that race car or princess or character bed lasts, their love for it will not. And, think of this: unless you are raising a potential basketball player, most kids can fit into a twin size bed up to college.
Another thing to keep in mind, especially if you are buying kids’ bedroom furniture for an older child: once they move out, that room can be made into a guest room with only a few minor updates and changes. Buying a lovely, bedroom suite that can go from preteen to teens to young adult and then to guest furniture is an investment and a wiser use of your furniture money that giving in to a trend that might not last longer than a few months.
Your child’s bedroom is his or her personal space, but it is still a part of your home. Even if no one else ever sees that room, you know that it is still there and you want it to look a certain way. Kids’ bedroom furniture has to both reflect your tastes and preferences, but it should also please them as well. Look for beds that will be big enough in the future but not so big as to be dangerous or uncomfortable to them. Look for dressers and other furniture that will be steady, sturdy and secure especially if they are still young or foolish enough to climb on furniture items. And, of course, make sure that you are looking for wood or metal kids’ bedroom furniture that can actually handle a kid. Everything should be tight and secure and should be able to put up with some rough handling from even the best mannered of children.
