I would think anything made of solid Oak would be good. IMO, Pottery Barn is way too expensive. I'd go to a furniture store and look at their beds and find out what type of wood it's made from. Plus, kids and teens jump on beds and just go nuts with their friends. lol. I bet you can find a nice one for a decent price in a furniture store.

One thing I've found to be extremely important on beds is the railing that holds the mattress. They don't make railings like they used to. Most seem made of metal that bends easily.

Have you considered an iron bed? I bought one for DD from Wesley Allen and it is built like a tank. I thought it was pretty reasonably priced but I have to admit I don't remember what I spent on it.

Maybe you could paint some solidly-built vintage case goods white? (They don't build 'em like they used to!) Even if you sent them to a refinisher to be painted, it would probably be a wash cost-wise. I am just so hesitant to buy new with so much being made overseas these days. To get decent quality, it seems like you really have to pay through the nose... Or just surrender and buy Ikea.

Thanks ladies! Furniture shopping has gotten so tough with so many stores closing lately. I'll have to check out the Wesley Allen bed. Not sure the iron would go with her decor though...hmmm? Giving it some more thought!

LOL on the Ikea comment!

PB Kids furniture is of lesser quality than Stanley, imho. I've also noticed that the Stanley pieces can vary greatly in quality depending on the line(we have several pieces in our house). I've heard good things about vermont precision and AP industries(although I wasn't that impressed by it when I saw it IRL.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vermont Precision Youth Furniture

Costco sells a PB lookalike/knock off set. I am trying to rmember the web site. Does anyone know what I am talking about? the only thing that kept me fom getting it was that the beds only were made for the top mattress only. The underneath bedsprings would not fit on it.

One of my boys has Stanley bedroom furniture, and we are happy with it (however it is 10 years old and was still made in America back then, don't know about now). Another son has PB furniture and it is junk. Luckily we bought it at the PB outlet and didn't pay a lot, but it seems no better quality than Target/Ikea furniture.

another site for beautiful & well made furniture

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Thanks for that link bellaflora! That looks like some really nice stuff. I see one style in there that might work and I love how you can customize it. Thanks for the craigslist tip too but I really want something new. I stink at refinishing stuff.

Everyone is confirming my thoughts on PB too. I really like a set I saw on Macy's website but I don't think it's very good quality. Hard to tell, they don't have it on the showroom floor to see it firsthand. Sigh!

Thanks all!

Lindy: My friend bought the Manning bed on sale at JcPenney and she said it's exactly the same as the one offered by Pottery Barn. At like 1/5 of the price.

My DD has a Lexington set that's been around for like 20 years and still in good condition (we bought it 4 years ago from a lady whose DD had used it from age 2-18. They sold it when she left for college).

SIL bought furniture for her kids from Kincaid and very happy w/ the quality.

Was just trying to recall the brand we bought for my younger daughter (who is now 23)when she was about 5. It was also Lexington and it has held up beautifully.[ Heavy as anything.as in ALMOST impossible to move. )
Very very well made and durable.

I bet both of those Lexington sets were made here though. 80% off all casegoods now come from China. Including most of the big names. They aren't the same as they were 20 years ago, that's for sure. I'll go check out Kincaid too...

THANKS for all your input!!

Ohhh...I just checked out Kincaid and didn't realize it was part of LazyBoy. It's made in NC and looks of very good quality from what I can tell on the site anyway.

Lindy: my SIL bought this bed which looks so beautiful in person.

{{!gwi}}

I love Durham bedroom furniture. It's hand made in Canada, solid wood and the finish work is excellent. My daughter has spilled water on it, that I didn't find for hours, and it cleaned up no problem. My set is from the Manhattan collection.

They have a few style twin and full beds that they will match to any stain in any of their collections. Many of their collections also have junior chest and smaller scale nights stands, that would fit nicely into a child's room.

Hey lindy! Long time, no see!! :) When we moved, I got dd2 a bedroom set from broyhill. Loved the style, but when we opened the crates, every joint was cracked and I'm really disappointed with the quality. DD1 got a set from American Drew. I think the quality is quite a bit better than DD2's set. She got an iron bed to go with the Camden Dark furniture. It's really stylish and I'm confident it will last her through college. They also have it in white.
P.S. It is slightly distressed.

Here is a link that might be useful: American Drew Light

Hi Lindy! Just thought I'd throw a couple additional ideas out there - I think someone already mentioned Costco, but we bought my 8-year-old daughter a white wood set there and have been really pleased with it. Also, there's a local furniture store in Beaverton, Bella Furnishings, that we were recommended and enjoyed working with - we have our dining room table on order with them, but they do all sorts of different furniture types, including kids' furniture. I linked their website below, or you could stop by their showroom to check it out.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bella Furnishings

When I was looking for "real" furniture for my DD's bedroom when she was around 4 or 5, a friend suggested that I go to this big baby-furniture store nearby. I thought she was nuts at first, but I went there, and in addition to the cribs and changing tables, they had a lot of twin beds, bureaus, armoires, nightstands, etc., in solid wood, good quality stuff. I ended up getting a bureau and a bookcase in maple with a cherry stain and three years later it all looks brand new, the drawers glide nicely (which is often a problem in the cheaper stuff), the finish is still perfect, etc. So you might try a store like that -- you might be as surprised as I was. Later, we got her an iron headboard online, and a desk from CL.

LOL Sue...that is exactly what I did. I went to Segals (a local baby store) and found the AP Industries stuff mentioned above. It seems pretty well made and you can custom order it in about 15 different finishes and choose your hardware. I think we will order it this weekend but I'm a little nervous about going with the dark wood. I have another thread started on the decorating aspect of this room...long story! LOL

snowy...how are you? I have ordered from Bella before. They are a great store. However, they do a lot of Stanley furniture for kids and I wasn't thrilled with the quality of the set I have.

superchick...yes, long time no see. Ohh...I like that Camden Dark set alot...hmmm? More thinking to do.

Thanks for everyone's help!

Lindy

Don't laugh, but I got both my children solid wood furniture from ikea. The series was Narvik (discontinued) and Hermes-something (still available). It is solid pine. But solid. The drawers all have glides and it lookes nice. No veneers or anything.

I also bought the matching night stand (not shown). I think I spent less than $600 for everything and 4 years later and one house move they look like new.

There are many brands of furniture that you can purchase. Most of the ones that are cheaper mainly require you to assemble the product once its delivered to your house. Now a bed for your 8 year old depends on how often she jumps on the bed. The main reason beds get broken, is because the child constantly jumps on the bed eventually breaking it quickly, usually within 2-3 years. If you dont want to spend an arm and a leg, then I would personally look around online if I were you, as you can get stuff way cheaper. Make sure you are also getting free shipping though, otherwise it will ramp up the price. Some places to look would be nextag.com, ebay.com, and like the previous post IKEA does have some cool furniture. I hope that helps ya!

Here is a link that might be useful: Children's Bedroom Furniture

DH & I were just discussing something similar this morning. I told him that I would like to invest in a 4 poster bed at some point but am fearful of inferior quality at a high price. He said that he tells everybody to go to estate sales if they have time to wait for the perfect piece or to have it custom made. He recently finished a bed for a lady that had it custom made in NC and the whole thing including finishing was about $3000. He told me that I can contact some manufacturers and they will send m templates then I can choose how to style the bed from that.

RE IKEA: I STILL use the bureaus that I got just after HS. They are now in my kids bedroom and still going strong!

dgmarie - I won't laugh because we did the exact same thing! We bought the Hemnes bed and dresser in black-brown and the Expedit 16 cube unit in black-brown with 8 baskets. Total was $750 for all of it and one move later it also still looks great. The bed and dresser are both solid wood, while the Expedit is MDF. I didn't want to spend a fortune on furniture that might get colored or painted on while my kids are so young. The bed really is VERY sturdy and the dresser drawers glide much better than the ones we have in our own room. The nice thing is that we can use it without a boxspring while DS is young and needs a low bed and then add a boxspring later.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

dgmarie- I have your son's dresser (in white) for myself! It's in the closet so nobody sees it, but I love that stupid dresser. It's super solid, glides so smoothly and was a cinch to put together. Anyone who scoffs because it comes from Ikea doesn't know what they are missing. It cost about a quarter the price of anything I looked at anywhere else. We're moving and it won't fit in the new closet and doesn't match our bedroom set, so I'm giving it to my nearly 2 year old daughter VERY reluctantly! I'm tempted to replace it with the same exact thing in black-brown so it will nearly match my espresso stained PB bed!

Did you ever find furniture? I posted a similar question on the Furniture Forum but did not get many responses. We are considering Pottery Barn Kids (Catalina bed), Land of Nod, Restoration hardware. AP or Stanley do not have the style I'm looking for.

My dd has that same Hemnes dresser, LOL!

We ended up with a set from Home Elegance. Maybe a little bit of a step down from the companies you've listed. But seriously, I'm impressed for how little I paid. $1300 for the bed, dresser, mirror and nightstand. It's a really beautiful finish and the drawer glides are very nice. She loves, loves her headboard. Here's the newest photos of her nearly finished room:

What a pretty room. I love the colors you chose for her, and the furniture will grow well with her, too. The chandelier is very charming:)