Advice Needed for Toddler Bedroom Furniture

My son's desk is primarily used for storage. He does homework at the kitchen table or on the floor; maybe this will change in time. Shelving is very important--for books, trophies, art projects, photos, special knick knacks. There never seems to be enough space for the things they make, earn or otherwise accumulate. Whatever you end up with I would choose a style that she can grow into and something you can add to as her needs change. Personally, I would stay away from anything that is really "toddlerish" because they do grow quickly.

T.,

We got a small table that came with two chairs and it has had a TON of use. The kids sit there to read and play with their blocks, legos, tea set, etc. We try not to keep too many toys in the kids room, but if you don't have a playroom, a toy box would come in handy. We keep plastic containers of things under the kids beds and on shelves in the closets to avoid using a toy box. I like having a bookshelf in there so that the kids have a place to keep all their books. A bean bag is another nice idea for a reading corner.

My best advice is not to put a lot of money into furniture at this age. The kids are going to tear it up. It is just how kids are - they are hard on everything. We have picked up furniture from discount clearance places and I am SO glad. When they are older (preteen) we will buy them a nice furniture set, but for now it doesn't make sense. They only do a few minutes of homework a night and so that is done at the kitchen table.

In my girls' room, I bought a cheap white dresser and a cubicle storage/bookshelf and picked up wall stickers and decorated them with it. I also changed out the knobs for ones with butterflies, etc. It was a little over $100 for all of it and it holds all their clothes, books, puzzles and a few toys.

Good luck and congrats on #2,
S.

Honestly, I think it depends on your budget. I have a 4-year-old boy and a 2-year-old boy, and we're expecting #3, sex unknown, in a few weeks. I anticipate that eventually the boys will share a room, possibly all three of them (right now we have my older son in a bedroom that's really the size of a small study, but he doesn't mind). So I hesitate to invest in bedroom furniture, not knowing where they'll all be eventually. Will they all be in one room? Will bunk beds be a good choice? How much will space be an issue?

If you're fairly sure about where babies will be staying and what they're going to need, I'd say buy whatever you think you're going to need; and certainly at some point, a desk will be a good idea. But my oldest is in a twin bed we already had, and he uses the dresser that was mine when I was little. That's it, along with the ubiquitous toy storage. At some point, he'll need more grown-up furniture, and we'll get it for him, but I hesitate to invest in things that I don't know how they'll be used--or if they'll be used--in a few years.

Good luck, and congratulations on #2!

I would just stick with what you really need right now. You'll see over the next few years that wall space in her room with be hard to find with all of the doll houses, etc. Most open space means more room to keep toys in her room instead of your living room :o) I just bought all white furniture so I can add anything later and it will still match. Everything else (walls, bedding, etc.) is very colorful though :o)
Best Wishes,
J.
Mom to 4, going on 5.

First off I think that a desk rarely gets used as much as wish it would. I had one and never used it and my 7 year old has one and he never uses it. For my 4 year old we bought a bed with drawers underneath it and the tall and wide dressers being we have smaller closet spaces and for my 7 year old we inherited a bunk bed with the desk and dressers built in and a trundle bed underneath. Like I said he never uses the desk and when he gets older I want to see what he is doing on the computer so I really don't think it will get used much in the future either. When shopping around check out Coaster, they have nice stuff for a reasonable price.

My only child is 6.5 years old. She has a daybed with a trundle underneath for sleepovers and my dresser/desk from when I was a child. I never used the desk and now my daughter isn't using it either. So I don't think kids need desks. She does store a bunch of junk in it but so far it's been unused unnecessary. I may in the future replace it with a computer desk and get her a computer(not internet though). Otherwise she does ALL of her homework downstairs at the kitchen table. Shelves or storage is a good investment. Another thing is to consider what size bed to buy I'm seeing more and more kids start out in a full or queen size bed because they can use it for a guests and the child will beable to use it when they're older prehaps take it with them when they move out. I also recommend buying a taller dresser rather than a short wide dresser because they take up less space in a room yet hold the same amount of stuff.

We put a twin bed and dresser in my son's room, as well as some of those inexpensive storage cubes from Target--they make great bookshelves, nightstands, etc., and can easily be relegated into a closet, garage, pantry, etc. for storage if they are no longer needed in the kids' rooms.

Another thing we LOVE is the big bowl chairs (those Papa-San ones from Pier 1) in both my kids' rooms. They are great for family reading time, kids hanging out with a bunch of books, or cuddling with a sick kid in the middle of the night.

Lastly, we opted not to put a desk in yet, because I think when the time comes homework will probably be done at the kitchen table where the lighting (and supervision :)) is better, or at the computer in the family room.

Storage! I wish we had bought something to allow for more storage in addition to the dresser. It just seems like there ends up being so much stuff and no place to put it.

Hi! I don't really think a desk is necessary right now. A bed & dresser for sure. Storage units are so great, tidy & helpful! They have shelves with baskets or cloth ones & then you can seperate the stuff into categories. Depending on how much stuff she is keeping in his room, you could also take pictures of the stuff & label each bin so she can put away her own things. I am in the process of labeling & I think it's going to be great!

Another thing that if you bought now would get a lot of use for her room, is a table & chair set. I just looked at them at ikea.com -very reasonable prices, we have one in our family room & the kids love it. I'm looking at buying one for my sons room, to do puzzles on, color, read, etc. Let me know if you have need more info on any of the stuff I mentioned above, good luck!

we bought a captains bed at fleet farm (it has drawers underneath) it is great for extra sheets and toys. we also have a very nice (expensive) dresser that we bought for each of our kids. i would also suggest some type of storage unit and something for an adult to sit on. we have a very furry rug in her room and they love to play on it. we also currently use the changing table for storage. i bought buckets and baskets and can use those to store dolls, toys etc. it works for now.