Budget and Pottery Barn - Ugh

[sookie]

Ok,
I really really really really am about 2 fingerclicks away from getting my daughter a PB Teen loft bed. Her room is so small, her furniture is old and falling apart, and honestly - she needs a new bedroom set.
Two questions:
What is the best way to do this if I do go through PB for this set? How can I get a better deal?
Are there any comparable loft beds out there? I have looked and can't find any.

 

[sookie]

next question is the PB credit card - looks like i can get 10% back on everything. has anyone used this and does it work well? i always pay off my cards each month, but i'd hate to open a new one - but I do buy stuff (backpacks - they are great quality, for example) for the kids.

 

[aaarcher86]

I don't know if it is feasible for you... but this website www.knock-offwood.com gives very easy instructions for building your own pottery barn look alike furniture for a fraction of the cost.

 

[superminnie]

Well I know this doesn't exactly address your questions except for the money part but check out www.knock-offwood.com. If you are willing to put a little work into saving money you can find awesome plans to build pottery barn furniture on her site. It is super easy, I honestly never touched a tool before I found her blog. Just take a minute to look though her plans and check out the brag board of what her readers build, and the cool part is that 90% of all the building is by women only, some have their hubbies help them though. She has several storage bed plans and just recently posted a loft bed, although I think it was ikea inspired instead of pottery barn on the loft bed though. If you can use a drill you can build furniture. I just recently bough myself a saw but before that for my first few projects I had the guys at home depot or lowes cut my wood to the sizes I needed so all I had to do was basically assemble and paint the first few pieces. But if you decide to give it a try and want them to cut your wood for you just make sure you double check their measurements because its easy to be off if they get in a hurry.

LOL I noticed that while I was typing my long winded response that someone beat me to mentioning knock off wood .

 

[mamaLori05]

I am a HUGE potter barn/pottery barn kids fan!!! My kids room are all decorated with pottery barn kids bedding, curtains, wall dec, etc... With that said, I would never buy their furniture. It looks high quality, but it's cheaply made and won't last long. I read an article on it once and after reading that, I could never buy any furniture from pottery barn. They use a lot of particle board and cheaper woods (which is shocking considering the pricing), it's not a solid wood as it appears. If you are looking for a high quality bed (without the high quality price) that looks a lot like the pottery barn beds check out a barewood furniture store if you have one near you. They carry all solid wood unfinished pieces that you can stain or paint yourself and save a ton. If you aren't handy doing that, they can stain/paint if for you for an additional fee. I don't know if you have a PM Bedroom gallery store near you (which is a very high quality hand crafted furniture store), but the furniture at the barewood places is similar in quality without the high price tag. Hope that helps!!!

 

[mamaLori05]

Also wanted to add, I don't know if you've seen the Pottery barn kids furniture in person, but it knicks and chips very easily. Take a look at it if you have a store near you, the display's always look pretty beat up, and not in a distressed on purpose look either.

 

[lucky1]

I am a HUGE potter barn/pottery barn kids fan!!! My kids room are all decorated with pottery barn kids bedding, curtains, wall dec, etc... With that said, I would never buy their furniture. It looks high quality, but it's cheaply made and won't last long. I read an article on it once and after reading that, I could never buy any furniture from pottery barn. They use a lot of particle board and cheaper woods (which is shocking considering the pricing), it's not a solid wood as it appears. If you are looking for a high quality bed (without the high quality price) that looks a lot like the pottery barn beds check out a barewood furniture store if you have one near you. They carry all solid wood unfinished pieces that you can stain or paint yourself and save a ton. If you aren't handy doing that, they can stain/paint if for you for an additional fee. I don't know if you have a PM Bedroom gallery store near you (which is a very high quality hand crafted furniture store), but the furniture at the barewood places is similar in quality without the high price tag. Hope that helps!!!

Actually I found the 4 pieces of PB furniture to be well made and not of Pressed board. Both pieces have held up well. Now we have only purchased pieces when they are clearance or close out.

 

[sookie]

thank you for the website links!
I have seen some of the demos! Some of them do not hold up well! I agree. However, my mom did buy my daughter (for her house) a bedroom set when she moved in to her new home. She spoils my girl... and she has her own room at my mom's. The set is from pottery barn kids and it actually has held up really well and it is extremely stable. A tall dresser, headboard footboard, and night stand. That set seems to be pretty well made.
I wish I could find a comparable design to the loft beds someplace else. For cheaper.
And I wish my HUSBAND was the crafty / woodbuilding type. Instead I had to get the writer out of the bunch... LOL

 

[Hannathy]

If you are near an IKEA they have some very affordable loft beds and their stuff holds up very well.

 

[sookie]

No IKEA. but have heard good things.
I went on the website and they didn't seem to have anything like what I am looking for.

this is the set I am looking at.

http://www.pbteen.com/products/chelsea-vanity-loft-bed/?pkey=x|4|1||6|chelsea||0&cm_src=SCH

or

http://www.pbteen.com/products/girl...y=x|4|1||6|sleep and study loft||0&cm_src=SCH

 

[soccerchick]

Have you looked on Craigs List? There's always lots on our local one.

 

[Aggiegrl]

No IKEA. but have heard good things.
I went on the website and they didn't seem to have anything like what I am looking for.

this is the set I am looking at.

http://www.pbteen.com/products/chelsea-vanity-loft-bed/?pkey=x|4|1||6|chelsea||0&cm_src=SCH

or

http://www.pbteen.com/products/girl...y=x|4|1||6|sleep and study loft||0&cm_src=SCH

Yikes. I would have a hard time spending close to $2K (w/ shipping and such) on a bed for a teenager. Especially with PB stuff. Some PB furniture is okay quality (still not high quality IMHO), other stuff is terrible. We visit the PB outlet frequently and it is really telling.

I would ask myself if having a certain style or look is really "worth" $1500. Maybe it is for you, its your money. If it were me, I'd pick up a cheaper white metal/wood loft loft bed ($150-250) with less features and spend more on accessorizing the room.

Have you talked to some local woodworkers? I'm fairly certain you can find someone locally to make a copycat bed out of solid wood for cheaper.

 

[Spacepest]

For the posters that recommended the Knockoffwood.com website...thank you!

My husband is a handyman and I'd like some new furniture to replace some old, worn out pieces. He's been toying with the idea to make it himself, this will certainly help get him started.

 

[Hannathy]

How old is your DD? That set is very pretty but having an 18 yr old DD I know she wouldn't have liked that from about 14 on. It is too formal/feminine for most of the older teen girls I know. They seem to like the more dormy stuff that is why I suggested Ikea. (at least all the ones I know your mileage may vary)

 

[sookie]

she's nine. we've been looking at the set for about 6 months now. we need some sort of solution for her stuff - and her small room. we've gotten rid of a LOT since we moved. however, we have a hard time fitting in a dresser, bed, nightstand, bookshelf, toy box, and amoire (it is used for a TV) in her room. she needs a desk.
i think it would last through her teen years, i agree - but young adult this is not a set for!
i wish i could get it for ikea prices. am i missing an ikea loft bed? i looked and did not see one. i'm not stuck on the PB brand, but i really want the features of having the desk and built in bookshelves etc.

 

[mrsklamc]

And I wish my HUSBAND was the crafty / woodbuilding type. Instead I had to get the writer out of the bunch... LOL

Who says men have to be the furniture builders? the knockoff wood blog is written by a woman.

 

[branv]

While I get paying more to get the style you want with furniture, in your daughters case she might age out of this type of bed pretty quickly (teen girls aren't too big on the bunk/loft bed thing). So if you want that function for sure, I would settle for something that's cheaper and maybe give up a little of the exact fashion you want. Add to that, I agree that PB isn't the quality you would expect...I have a few pieces (some whole wood, some veneer) that dent and ding ridiculously easy. We also have a PB outlet near us, so I get to see a lot of damaged furniture which shows what they're made of under that pretty exterior.

But, that being said, I see this style of bed set ALL over the place, from lower end to higher end furniture stores. PB is certainly not the only place that does it.

For instance:

http://www.roomstogokids.com/index....esults&freeText=CSN-shopall-Bunk_Beds&ViewAll

http://www.costco.com/Common/Catego...av=&cat=2214&eCat=BC|93|56265|2214&lang=en-US

http://www.walmart.com/browse/Kids-...473621&tab_value=Online&catNavId=92352&depts=

 

[penn19]

Have lots of Pottery Barn furniture in my house. Holds up very well. Is it cheap? Nope, but I have had some very good deals on it that makes it about the same as another store and not as nice. Very happy with my purchases.

 

[kelly1218]

We have the older version of this bed

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S99872895

and while it was GREAT for my DDs (now 14 and 11) After about 3 years they got REALLY tired of having to climb UP to bed.

We have flipped over DD14's so it's now basically sitting on the floor. (DH had to do some adjustments to accomplish that)

As soon as DD11 figures out what color she wants her room painted....we will be flipping her bed over too.

The IKEA bed IS very sturdy...it's a metal frame... my 26yo brother(6.5 foot tall...not a skinny boy) tested it in store. In fact 3 other customers were so impressed with the sturdiness, they bought one on the spot too :lol:

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

We just went through the search for a loft for DD11. She wanted the Sleep and Study loft at PB Teen, but it was crazy expensive and also full-sized - she has a small room and really needs a twin bed. We considered the loft beds at Costco since they got good reviews, but she really wanted a white bed. We ended up getting a loft from collegebedlofts.com and painting it white. It was pretty easy to assemble and it is very sturdy. It's not finished as well as the PB Teen beds - no turned posts or pull out drawers, but she has a desk area as well as some shelves, and it was less than $700 delivered. We bought the quilt she wanted from PB Teen, some of the twisted sheer PB Teen curtains, and some paper lanterns at Ikea (much cheaper than the PB Teen lanterns). We added a rug from Target, and her room looks awesome for under $1000 total.

We have bunk beds from PB Kids that have held up well, and the kids each have dressers from Pottery Barn (not kids) that are close to ten years old and look great. We also have a couple of nightstands that still look nice.

You might find some coupons for sale on ebay. We were fortunate to know someone working at Williams-Sonoma when we bought the bunk beds - she used her 40% discount for us and saved us several hundred dollars.