What sets your beds apart from the competition? Are our beds right for you and your child? What materials do we use? Can you design bunk beds or loft beds? Can I pick up my order at your shop? Will your beds support an adult's weight? Can you design toddler beds for crib size mattresses? Why are some colors more expensive than others? Why do you brush paint instead of spraying or rolling it on? How long will my order take to produce? How do I know my bed model number? Will you ever offer free shipping?If you are concerned about jobs going overseas, you can have peace of mind when you buy our products that we use only raw materials sourced from the USA wherever possible. All of our products are also designed and manufactured in the USA. We do not mass produce our beds! Each of our products is carefully designed, constructed, painted, and packed individually by skilled craftsmen in our family-owned workshop to ensure that your bed gets the attention it deserves.
We do not use cheap decals that can peel off. Our designs rely on a tastefully achieved layered effect and different paint colors. Our designs require no decal application and minimal assembly so that you have less time building stuff and more time with your kids!
We avoid using plastic whenever possible. Although some plastics are generally deemed safe for use by children, the long-term health effects of plastics are a gray area that is constantly being explored. Many competitor's products make heavy use of plastics in their beds. We always strive to think of long-term safety with our products.
Safety is one of the reasons we third-party test our materials at nationally and federally recognized laboratories. It is also mandated by federal law that all children's products be certified free of lead through third-party testing. If you are thinking about buying a children's bed, make sure to ask the supplier if they test their materials.
We offer custom options such as color choice that many other competitors do not offer. Our products are not wider or longer than they have to be. Some molded plastic beds stick out farther than they need to and take up too much floor space. Our products acheive a tasteful three dimensional effect without ballooning outward. As parents, we understand that floor space is always at a premium in children's rooms.
Our beds are not intended for use by infants or small occupants who require a crib or crib-mattress toddler bed, but they are perfect for when you and your young driver are ready for the transition to a twin mattress or larger bed. As a parent, nobody knows their child better than you.
It is recommended that occupants of our beds weigh more than 50 lbs. This arises from the rules set forth by the CPSC (Consumer Products Safety Commission) that specify one of the criteria for a 'toddler bed' is a maximum weight of 50 lbs. Because our beds do not fit a crib mattress, they cannot meet all of the 'toddler bed' criteria specified in ASTM F1821 which involve specific crib mattress sizing. For this reason we specifically do not market our bed products as 'toddler beds'. We, and the CPSC, do not specify age requirements for bed types. This is because age versus weight is an extremely variable relationship. Of the two, weight is a better determination of overall size for entrapment hazards and related issues. Please be safe and ensure that your child meets the weight requirements.
A crib mattress limits the size of the bed, which can be rapidly outgrown. Crib mattress beds are limited by law to 50 lbs. maximum. This means that when your child passes 50 lbs., a 'toddler bed' which fits a crib mattress is no longer recommended or allowed by the manufacturer or the CPSC (as specified in 16 CFR [Code of Federal Regulations] 1217).
As parents, we also determined crib mattress beds to be extremely limiting when a child wanted a parent to temporarily occupy the bed with them, especially as the child grows older.
Please always be safe and read all of the warnings and cautions set forth in the product manual.
Safety is a large and very important part of our design. We do our best make sure that our materials from hardware to paint contain little-to-no toxic substances or heavy metals. The tempered hardboard we use is made of wood fibers, steam, and pressure; that's it. No toxic glues or binders. Our mattress support rails and mattress support bars are untreated wood. No plastic at all is used anywhere in the bed. We make sure that all of our paint is zero-VOC so that even after your bed is delivered, you can rest easy that no toxic paint fumes will be present.
Another facet of our materials is the structural integrity of the finished product. The panels must be a certain thickness or they will flex too much under pressure. Tempered hardboard is a durable material, and it can flex a little. A little is fine, but a lot will make the final product look weak as well as creating excess flexibility in the bed when it is finished. Although the bed would be structurally sound, neither of these traits is desirable for customer comfort. For these reasons we ensure that each design has a minimum finished panel thickness.
The core of our beds, which consists of the headboard/shelf and the mattress support system, is carefully designed to be lightweight and easy to assemble. Some of our beds include a shelf section integrated into the headboard. Children take stuff with them wherever they go, and bed is no exception. A perfect spot for stuffed animals, cars, dolls, or whatever gear the imagination requires, our shelf also provides a handy spot to drive cars or play (for safety, please prevent sitting or standing on the shelf).
Bunk beds and loft beds are covered by a section of laws specified by the Consumer Products Safety Commission that are different from other beds in many ways. We choose not to manufacture or design bunk beds because of the problems associated with maintaining different product specifications in our line of products. We try to keep our products and procedures simple, straightforward, and cost-effective. This ensures you get a quality product at a reasonable price.
At this time we do not allow local pickups due to liability and other issues. If you live close to us, you may fall into our local delivery bracket which is cheaper than standard shipping.
Our beds are designed and tested for a total occupant weight of up to 350 lbs.
Toddler beds with crib size mattresses are covered by a section of Federal regulations that require extensive investment for laboratory testing for every different model sold, even if a color changes. We specialize in custom beds at reasonable prices, so the mass production this sort of investment requires would not be able to keep costs and prices low for our customers.
A crib mattress also limits the size of the bed, which can be rapidly outgrown. As parents, we also determined crib mattress beds to be extremely limiting when a child wanted a parent to temporarily occupy the bed with them, especially as the child grows older.
For these reasons, we do not currently make beds to fit crib size mattresses.
There are several reasons why some colors cost more. We only stock a certain range of colors based on popularity and other factors to keep costs down, and so some colors have to be purchased special if ordered. In general it makes most of the colors less expensive, but we have to charge slightly more for colors that are outside this range.
Also some colors are harder to paint than others. They may require more coats, or they may require more time in general to apply.
We prefer the authentic look of detailed, hand-brushed painting. Each of our products is a unique piece of craftsmanship and artistry, especially the paint. Brushing also makes it easier for us to use the safer, more kid-friendly paints that parents prefer.
Generally an order will take about three to four weeks in our shop, from order until shipping. This does not include transit time during shipping. Transit times will vary from a day or two up to a week or more depending on how far you are located from us. Sometimes orders will take longer to make based on our current schedule or complexity. When a customer places an order, we typically try to give an estimate of how long it will take. If you want to know our current shop lead-time, please contact us.
On the rear of every headboard we typically place a tag that states the bed model number and the production date. If it is a highly customized bed model, the tag may be located elsewhere. Generally we try to place the tag in an unobtrusive location, but still readily available if needed.
The model number will help in the event you need to download a copy of your instruction manual from our website, or if you need to contact us in the future regarding your product.
We believe that the majority of customers want transparency in what they are paying for. Discerning buyers know that there is really no such thing as 'free' shipping. We separate the cost of shipping from the product price so that ultimately, the buyer sees the cost of the product which we receive, and the cost of shipping which goes right to the shipping firm and not us. In order to offer free shipping, we would have to lump it into our product price which on the surface is deceiving (since it isn't really 'free'), and also makes our actual profit look much larger. While some external websites force us to use 'free' shipping options, we believe that our site is best served by being honest and transparent. So as long as possible, we will continue to disclose our shipping costs as part of the cost. Our profit margins are just large enough to make money... we're in business to survive, not to gouge customers, and we want to make that clear.