We bought the furniture!

We finally found our nursery furniture. We have a membership at Direct Buy, so we headed there today to see if we could finally pick out a crib, armoire, and dresser. We brought our copy of "Baby Bargains" - a book that reviews all sort of items you might purchase when you have a baby, from cribs to diapers. It is an excellent book, and they wrote it to help you save money, giving tips on what is a waste of money, what is a good deal for a case of diapers, etc.

At the showroom, we went through all the various manufacturers' catalogs, looking to see how they were rated by Baby Bargains (BB), before pulling them off the shelf to browse. We've had a hard time finding a nursery set with white furniture, and in fact, some of the ones we saw in the catalogs looked great until we saw that their finishes were limited.

After looking at a few books, we finally decided on Capretti Home's Veneto collection. BB gave this manufacturer a straight A for its quality touches and customer service. The furniture is made from solid poplar construction, has dove-tail joints, and really nice sturdy hinges.

We picked a drop-side crib instead of a convertible crib (those are the kind that have one side higher than the other so you can turn it into a full size bed), partly for classic looks, and partly to take up less wall space in the nursery. Some of the nice features of this crib are its simple, curved lines, a secure drawer underneath, and the toddler bed rail so you can use the crib as a toddler bed. Although these photos show dark wood, we ordered the furniture in "rubbed snowdrift", which is their name for white.

We also picked out the armoire from this collection. I have been wanting an armoire because there is no closet in the nursery, and I want to be able to hang some of baby's clothes from hangers. This armoire includes the removable hanging bar and two adjustable shelves. Note all the rounded edges: nothing sharp to bang a small head against. This picture also shows the five-drawer dresser (which we didn't order) in the snowdrift color. Instead, we ordered something they call a "three-drawer cupboard". They had no picture of it in this style, so we bought it sight-unseen. It should have three drawers on the left side, with a taller attached "cupboard" on the right. The cupboard should include about three shelves. It is usually taller than the dresser portion, so we can put baby lotions, etc. on that part, and a changing pad on the lower dresser part. I've written to Capretti Home and asked them if they can send us a photograph.

Lastly, we placed an order for a Dutailier glider and ottoman. We chose the Comfort Plus nursery series with the "two post" classic style. This glider has a range of motions: it has several positions for the back, it glides, it reclines fully, and it swivels. We also ordered the matching gliding ottoman with a nursing stool that drops down so you can rest your feet in a more natural position for nursing. Both items are made of solid maple construction. We ordered them with the vintage finish (dark wood as shown in the picture) with sage green microfiber cushions.

After we got home from lunch, I compared the prices we spent with ones quoted online and we saved about 50% on the Veneto collection and 25% on the glider. We have to wait until November for the furniture to be delivered, but that should still work out fine. (As much as we want it in and set up already!!)