apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I am so excited to see some answers and get some suggestions. I have been searching for ages for well made furniture and am exhausted. This is awesome.

I'd just watch Craigslist for vintage or antique sets, personally. The picture attached to the question is pretty classic and simple--if that's what you want, I've seen lots of sets on Craigslist that might fit the bill, and in my area, at least, they're often pretty cheap!

We bought pretty high end new furniture for my daughter before she was born, and it's nice and fine and everything, but I think I would've been happier with a vintage set with more character.

Not all of Room and Board's furniture is modern. Here's 2 examples of more traditional furniture in solid walnut. However, the prices are steep for something comparable to your photo...upwards of $2200 for a 5 drawer dresser.

http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/product/detail.do?productGroup=19336&catalog=room&category=rm_bedrooms&subcategory=dresser

http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/product/detail.do?productGroup=2222&catalog=room&category=rm_bedrooms&subcategory=dresser

Try Pottery Barn and PBKIDS too. Some of their furniture is American made as well.

I agree with Hyzen with going vintage. Not sure about your market, but there are a lot of antique stores around here and on the Westside that have fantastic quality pieces for much less than new. You may be able to find a suite of 60's era as more and more of that time period is coming up in estate sales. Or mix and match with wood type.
My recommendation is examine the interior of the drawers to make sure the bottom won't pop out to easily. This is our number one issue with four kids and many many dressers. Many, many, many dressers...

try Muu--the furniture is incredibly solid and well-made, and all made in the US. It's mostly nursery furniture but they also have dressers and a twin bed. The Sam line is more modern, while the Ray line has a more traditional look and feel.

www.muukids.com

Not sure what area you live in, but I live in PA and we have several good Amish stores within an hour drive that sell traditional, all wood, beautiful furniture. I believe some Amish builders even sell their furniture online. A quick search found this website: http://www.amishdirectfurniture.com/
Good luck!

Regarding Pottery Barn and PBK, when I call and ask for more details about the materials used, often they'll say the frame is solid wood but the drawer fronts are MDF... I'm just so tired of spending money on this stuff.

I live in Austin, Tx and love vintage so will keep a look out for older pieces. I like that you know it's been around for 50 years already, so it'll probably last another 20 right? :)

Hi again, I"m the question answer. Thanks nellyb for the Muu tip. I hadn't heard of them and the stuff is really cute. Sarahez, I was thinking Amish too. I used to live in NYC but am now in Austin. But hey if they're selling online, maybe it's worth a try!

Ha, ok I'm going to blame my above poor grammar on the toddler and the fact that I'm due with another baby in a month! What I meant was that I was the original question asker!

Have you looked at Young America by Stanley Furniture? They are all made in the USA. The dressers I have in my daughter's room are actually my Stanley dressers from middle school. Very classic lines, medium-stained solid pine. They have held up very well.
http://www.youngamerica.com/
You'll have to see if what you like is all real wood, but I know mine are.

I used to live in NC, and we would go shopping in High Point and see it all the time. Def not modern, but classic. I am sure the prices are comparable with PB or even cheaper.

Look around for a local dealer but call Furnitureland South before you buy to see what kind of price they can give you with delivery.
http://www.furniturelandsouth.com/

We were recently in the market for "big boy furniture" that will last until age 18 as well. We settled on pieces by This End Up.

www.thisendup.com

We actually found a bed and dresser by this company used on craigslist for a very reasonable price and then bought some additional matching shelves from the website. The wood is pine however, not oak.

Has anyone had any experience with JC Penney? I'm looking to buy a big-girl bed that will last until age 18 as well. I've been looking at the ones from JC Penney, but I'm on the fence about actually buying one.

I recommend Newport Cottages (www.newportcottages.com). Their furniture is made in California of solid hardwoods. It comes in several different finishes.

I would highly recommend furniture made by borkholder. We have several pieces, and they are all solid wood and beautifully made in the USA. They have a website www.borkholder.com so you can check if it's sold locally to you.

One company I'm familiar with is College Woodwork (http://collegewoodwork.org/content/view/43/58/). Classic solid wood pieces of exceptional quality. It's not USA made, but if that is about working conditions/quality then Canada is a fine substitute, I'd say

for those of you in austin interested in vintage furniture, uptown modern is a great place to find high-quality mid-century pieces at a reasonable price (they're not cheap, but they're reasonable for what you get). we got a lovely piece for our living room there several months ago, and wish we still lived in texas so we could check out their inventory for our nursery! the owner is very helpful and friendly, too. http://www.uptownmodernaustin.com/

I'm personally using vintage wood furniture in my children's rooms. Reduce, re-use, recycle and all that. Plus, it was free (from my parents' basement). Can't beat that!

Amish is the way to go if you want classic, solid wood pieces that will last forever. Search for "Austin Texas Amish Furniture" and you will find lots of local options.

For anyone in the Philly area, we bought our son a big boy dresser and nightstand from Howard Hill Furniture in NJ last year. Most of the furniture is unfinished, but almost all the furniture they sell is all wood and made in the USA and pretty reasonably priced. We have been very happy with our purchase. We stained our furniture dark gray to match the rest of our son's room.

http://www.howardhillfurniture.com/

While possibly not the style you are looking for, I thought I'd mention Maine Cottage furniture. All solid wood and made in the USA. I love their stuff--especially for kids' rooms.
http://www.mainecottage.com/

We love our collection from Forever Cocoon and are planning to buy it again for the baby we're expecting in July. We're in Austin, too, and bought our furniture from USA Baby.