Design and Features
The IKEA STUVA kids' furniture range is modular, which means you configure it any way you like it. There's a table/toy box option, open or closed and tall or short bookcase options, tall or short wardrobe options and a tall or short set of drawers option.
You can also tailor your STUVA with feet, internal wire baskets and clothes hanging rails.
The body of the furniture is white, but you can choose blue, pink, green, white or birch finished drawer fronts & doors.
Performance and Drawbacks
Our test for assembly is 'if we can do it, anyone can' and STUVA passed the test. The instructions were clear and apart from the tall cupboards which needed two people to hold them together, one parent can do it all. STUVA gets the mum's thumbs up for easy assembly.
The quality of STUVA is pretty good considering it's a low cost kids furniture option. Everything fits together the way it should, it's solid and reasonably tough. Also you can keep it clean with a good wipe down.
One thing we really liked about the STUVA range was that it came packed in a minimum of recycled packing. The down side is that we had 2 pieces damaged, luckily for us it was really easy to replace the damaged pieces.
Once assembled you'll notice how kid friendly STUVA is. All the hinges are soft closing and gaps behind the doors mean little fingers don't get trapped or munched. The cut out handles are easy for little hands to grip & open and the heights are kid perfect.
One of the great advantages of STUVA over other children's furniture is its versatility. It's great to be able to get the most of your space by designing your furniture to fit. You can make use of unusual spaces such as corners & under windows.
Also the finish options mean you can mix & match with more expensive designer furniture for example, STUVA looks great with a Stokke cot or Oeuf Mini Library.
For safety, STUVA is made to be attached to the wall for stability. Because you need different screws for different walls they are not included and you'll have to pop down to the local hardware to finish your project off.
Conclusion
The IKEA STUVA range of children's furniture gets the big thumbs up from Best Buys for being one of the best furniture options for kids & for being a great budget buy.
About IKEA
IKEA is a Swedish furniture maker that specialises in making flat packed, low cost but interestingly designed furniture and home wares. They have a great selection of babies' and kids' gear.
