When you are expecting a new baby’s arrival, preparing a nursery is likely one of the top items on your to-do list. There’s a variety of furnishings your baby will need to be comfortable in their first days and years at home. However, like those cute little newborn outfits, your baby will soon outgrow these first furnishings, as well as the super sweet nursery décor you carefully picked out.

Don’t fret! There is an array of baby and youth furniture options that accommodate growing kiddos, including convertible cribs, so that you don’t have to purchase new furniture at each stage of their life. Additionally, its practical to choose high-quality and neutral furniture pieces that will stand up against normal wear and tear throughout their home-based years, and won’t go out of style as your child’s interests quickly change.

There is a variety of high-quality kids’ furniture available—including cute and practical convertible cribs and other youth beds, dressers, desks and playroom furniture—that you can be sure will last from diapers to sleepovers to high school exams. Choosing the right kids’ furniture shouldn’t be a challenge when you’re armed with the right information! Read on to learn how to select the perfect kids’ bedroom furniture for their current stage and all the upcoming ones.

Tips for Choosing Kids’ Furniture

Similar to choosing bedroom furniture for adults, there are many style and design options when it comes to kid’s bedroom furniture. Here are a few tips to follow in order to get the most out of your furniture investment, and keep your kid happy in their bedroom for years to come.

1. Keep it neutral – The first rule when choosing kids’ furniture that lasts is to select neutral furniture that you can be sure your child won’t age out of. As tempting as it might be to buy the youth bed with the princess or race car motif, you know you’ll have to upgrade once your child grows out of that particular phase. Choose classic, solid wood or wrought iron, and make it more kid-friendly with easy-to-exchange bedding and throw pillows featuring their favorite colors and patterns.

2. Choose furniture that can grow with your child – A good strategy when it comes to buying children’s bedroom furniture is to choose pieces that will suit multiple stages in their lives. Instead of spending a significant investment on nursery furniture that they will soon outgrow, you can choose convertible furniture that can grow with your kiddo. This strategy is also sustainable, as it keeps more pieces out of landfills over time.

Convertible Cribs — All the top kids’ furniture makers now offer what’s called the “convertible crib.” These adaptable sleep solutions start as an infant crib with three adjustable mattress heights to best suit your growing baby. They can then be changed to a toddler bed with the addition of a toddler guard rail, purchased separately, or a daybed. Convertible cribs can even be transitioned to a full-size bed with the correlating conversion kits, which suits many children through the teen years.

Dressers with Changing Station – Instead of a traditional changing table, which your baby will outgrow by the toddler years, it makes sense to invest in a youth dresser with a changing topper, sold separately. The topper can function fully as a changing station for the baby, with sections that allow a perfect spot for all the baby necessities. Once the baby outgrows diapers, the topper can be removed, and the dresser will continue to work for your growing child’s clothes and accessory storage.

3. Invest in quality construction – If you are strategically choosing pieces to convert and remain stylish throughout your youth’s childhood, it’s important to invest in pieces that will withstand normal wear and offer the appropriate longevity. While it will cost more upfront, high-quality youth bedroom furniture can save you money in replacements over the years. Signs of quality construction include solid wood construction, premium under-mount drawer glides, English dovetail drawer construction and more.

4. Find hidden storage solutions – We know better than anyone that kids have a whole lot of stuff! Make sure that you opt for youth bedroom furniture that’s heavy on the storage, such as youth beds with built-in drawers or complete youth bedroom packages that come with dressers, night stands and extra storage.

Big Challenges of Small Bedrooms

Kids' bedrooms. The possibilities are endless. The floor space, not so much! Many kid’s bedrooms are small rooms. In fact, a room can be considered a bedroom with as little as 70 to 80 square feet. That’s not a lot of space to work with when you consider everything a child needs in their room, as well as space to play and accomplish their tasks. Even larger bedrooms may seem small as you start moving in furniture; and finding a layout that will accommodate everything you need can be twice as hard when you have siblings sharing a bedroom.

A simple solution to the lack of floor space is to utilize your vertical space. Here are a few furniture solutions that can do just that.

1. Bunk beds – if you have two children sharing the same room, one of the best solutions is bunk beds. By using bunk beds, you can give each child a separate space to sleep—but only use the floor space required by one bed. Today’s bunk beds are available in a wide range of options, including twin over twin bunk beds, twin over full bunk beds, and full over full bunk beds to name a few. There’s also many design options that both boys and girls are sure to love.

2. Loft beds – A loft bed can make convenient use out of the available space by lifting your child’s bed off the floor and creating a space underneath that’s perfect for storage, a desk or a play area.

3. Vertical storage solutions – By choosing tall but narrow dressers and chests of drawers, you can fit more overall storage space into your child’s bedroom—even if you don’t have room for a large, horizontal dresser.

Take a seat

Your child is likely to spend a lot of time in their bedroom. Don’t forget seating options to accommodate their daily activities, and, in the case of the littlest ones, nightly activities as well. A swivel glider is a nursery must-have for those late-night feedings and cuddles with baby. When your child grows, a glider can still be used for story time and relaxation. However, you may choose to exchange a rocker for more kid-friendly seating items. A small desk chair is ideal for homework and hobbies, and a beanbag chair or pouf can work for their more casual lounging and entertaining.

Decorating a Kids’ Bedroom with Personalized Touches

Once you’ve nailed how to choose the right furniture for your kids’ room, it’s time to start thinking about décor! If you want to design a room that will last throughout all your youngster’s life stages, follow the same rules for décor as you would furniture. Keep it neutral! If your child is into a particular movie, TV show or character at the moment, weave those elements into the room with lamps, bedding and other non-permanent accents. In other words, resist the temptation to wallpaper in Nemo or Woody!

Don’t forget to add some personalized finishing touches with custom wall art spelling out your child’s name and plenty of framed photos and artwork. These items are easy and relatively inexpensive to change out as your child (or you!) are ready for a change.

Don’t forget the whimsy!

While these tips for choosing durable, neutral and—in some cases—convertible furniture can help you plan a bedroom that suits your child’s needs from infant to almost-adult, they are just guidelines. Childhood is a time for fun and whimsy! If you or your child really has your heart set on a specific bedroom theme, then go for it! That princess bed or tree house styled loft bed may be a priceless investment that will transform their bedroom into a magical space for them to imagine and enjoy. Of course, you can also bring in the whimsical items through smaller accent pieces and fun décor items as well.

Anchor & protect: two words key to childproofing furniture & TVs

No matter what type of furniture and décor you choose for your nursery or youth bedroom, there is one rule that must be followed. When it comes to designing a child’s room, safety is the first priority. As any parent knows, children like to climb. Children like to climb on furniture. For them, the home is a playground. As you childproof your home, don’t forget to consider safety requirements for your child’s bedroom, and all bedrooms in the house. To prevent a tip-over tragedy, make sure to use anti-tip kits. HOM Furniture provides life-saving anti-tip kits with all of our chests or dressers over 30" high. Install them immediately upon your furniture delivery. Need additional anti-tip kits for your home? We provide FREE anti-tip kits at all HOM Furniture showrooms. See guest services. Learn more here.