Nursery furniture feedback please

[nextweek]

Hi, I've been looking at nursery furniture online and wondered if anyone had any feedback on the following brands: Ickle bubba (particularly the Grantham range), Obaby and Tutti Bambini? Are they good quality, sturdy etc? I would be buying a cot bed and changing unit.
Is Silver Cross worth the slightly higher price tag?
Thanks

Can't comment on any of the brands particularly, but just wanted to suggest that you skip the changing station.

A decent chest of drawers works better (imo) as it will last for years. We sometimes used a change mat on top of the drawers but usually just changed baby in the living room during the day (kept a mat under the sofa), and on our bed during the night.

By the time the baby went into their own room we didnt really need to do overnight changes any more.

I spent a small fortune on nursery furniture and it’s sitting gathering dust lol. I went for the silver cross and it’s very sturdy and beautiful to look at. My lo isn’t in his own room yet. But have a look at quirky bubba it’s an Australian site and very well made for the price! Wish I had saw it sooner x

I would advise also just getting a cot and then getting a chest of drawers to be a changing station, you don’t need a special changing bench thing

I can’t comment on the brands I’m afraid, I know that they are all much of a muchness.

I would get a cot and a regular chest of drawers, nursery ones seem overpriced. I do love my change table though! It’s the right size and big enough for a baby and fitted when dc1 was a small toddler too. Mine ha shelves underneath which I filled with storage baskets full of nappies, muslins, sleeping bags, sheets, wipes etc so i had everything to hand.

Lots of people on here say just change them on the floor/sofa but I actually found that more of an effort than just waking up the stairs. I had a cs too so wouldn’t have been able to kneel or bend over to change without the table to help.
It is worth looking second hand though, as it hardly gets used then there are loads in really good nick out there for a fraction of the price!

Meant to say as well, I wouldn’t bother with a wardrobe, as clothes are so tiny! I put up a little hanging rail above the chest of drawers and hung any dresses etc on that and almost everything else gets folded in drawers.

We bought a set from mamas and papas - one of their cheaper range and it’s been brilliant.

It has a cotbed, which was used for ds1, then as his bed until age 4 when we turned it back into a cot for ds2. It came with a really good size chest of drawers with a removable changing top, so can be used just as drawers afterwards. And the wardrobe is a really good size.
So we’ve so far had almost 7 years and 2 children’s use out of it and it’s still going strong. Really sturdy. I think I was only around £500 for the lot (but this was 7 years ago)

I agree with others about getting drawers.
We did get a really good set with changing top on last time but struggling to find one compact enough with plenty of drawers (most have a cupboard too which us rubbish long term) this time so going for a normal set of drawers instead. I hate the change them on the bed suggestion, ours often made a mess and changing ingredients the bed in the middle of the night is a nightmare, then the extra washing urgh.
Cot beds are the way to go, we had a sleigh bed for our twins which was used for both until they needed side off then we got a second toddler bed. They were often in the same bed though and we upgraded them to bottom of bunk beds at 5 years with their big sisters. Even the cheaper cotbeds are pretty sturdy, only thing I suggest is getting one where both ends go smaller. Our sleigh bed only went shorter at the foot end, the head if the bed being so tall meant it was quite wobbly once converted (very annoying).

I don't know how "ingredients" got in there lol

Oh and I still change ds2, age 2 on the changing top as I can’t bend down for too long and he’s still got loads of room on it.

We have tutti bambini (got it cheaper via Costco) very sturdy and looks great.

This is probably the closest equivalent in their current range

www.mamasandpapas.com/collections/baby-furniture-sets/products/atlas-range-raatr0501

Thank you all for the feedback, some things there I hadn't thought of. Maybe 'changing unit' wasn't the right description, I've been looking at the ones that are effectively a chest of drawers with a changing table on top that can be removed when not needed.
We don't need a wardrobe as there's a built in one in the room we'll be using as baby's room.
I've managed to pick up a few bits and pieces second hand which is great and has saved us a fortune, but still not seen second hand furniture that fits the bill.

I have an Obaby sleigh cot that converts into a cot bed. I got it last year for DD who is 1 now. It has a drawer underneath for storage which comes in really handy. I really like the cot, it’s really sturdy and I can see it lasting years. Whichever one you choose, I’d recommend you get a cot with storage underneath

We bought a set from mamas and papas - one of their cheaper range and it’s been brilliant.

It has a cotbed, which was used for ds1, then as his bed until age 4 when we turned it back into a cot for ds2. It came with a really good size chest of drawers with a removable changing top, so can be used just as drawers afterwards. And the wardrobe is a really good size.
So we’ve so far had almost 7 years and 2 children’s use out of it and it’s still going strong. Really sturdy. I think I was only around £500 for the lot (but this was 7 years ago)

We’ve got what sounds like the same sort of set from Mamas & Papas and it’s been great. It’s still in really good condition too so will probably sell on when we’re done with it.

@Koolandorthegang I had noticed some with storage drawers underneath and wondered if that would be useful, thanks!

I've seen a lot of people use the Ikea hemnes chest of drawers with a change mat on top, seems to work well. I got a cot bed, chest of drawers and wardrobe (which I actually use a lot for storing stuff she's not grown into yet on the rails, and keeping other baby guff in the bottom- you're lucky you have a closet!) for £500 from Argos. It's fine and was very good value compared to what you can pay for the big "nursery" brands.

In your shoes I would go down the hemnes route (potentially painting it and/or swapping the handles for something nice) and buy a cot like the mokee mini cot which are like £120- the side comes off so can still be used as a toddler bed. Then you can eventually spend the savings on a decent single they'll be in for years- at which stage if you go for no. 2 new baby will need the cot anyway.

We got a tutti bambini cot bed and matching changing unit/drawers. Got them from kiddies kingdom as they were on offer at the time. Really happy with the quality and look. We've taken the frame off the top of the changing unit now as baby is too big to use it, so now is just a chest of drawers which is really useful. Cot bed has been used since LO was 6 months old.

There wasn't a particular reason we went for this brand, but when we looked so much stuff was out of stock or part of the matching set was. This was available and I think we paid about £320 is for both.

We have the whole lot from IKEA - a wardrobe that will see her through to when she's a lot older and a changing unit that you can take the top off and it becomes a chest of drawers.
I was also advised not to get a changing unit but I'm REALLY glad I did - I love it being at a decent height, particularly as our nursery isn't very big and floor space is minimum, and I'm far too unfit to be getting down to the floor and back up every time we change her 😂