Availability: Available online and in select stores.
Average Price: $499 white/$525 Mixed
Product Link: CUB Sleeper by NettoCollection
Rating:

When I first started looking at cribs I was horrified by how many cribs seemed to be really mediocre renditions of classic design from the Victorian era. On the other end of the spectrum were multi-thousand dollar cribs that were undeniably gorgeous and undeniably so far out of my price range that all I could do was stare at them longingly. The CUB Sleeper by NettoCollection is the first modern crib that I have come across at an affordable price point. Its closest competitors are still at a price point of $100-200 higher. I dug a little deeper and was pleased to find that in addition to being aesthetically appealing, the crib is also extremely safe with fixed rails, a very sturdy construction, and safe non-toxic finish. A winner all around.

DESIGN

The design of the CUB sleeper was the first thing that caught my attention. It is simple and modern and comes in an appealing all-white or mixed wood/white option. The contrast of the wood and white can best be described as “serene”. Just looking at the crib makes me relax. The rear railing of the CUB sleeper uses a cut-out design rather than having spindles in both the front and back. (see image to the right) There are no space-wasting decorative adornments and the sides are thick enough to be sturdy without wasting space. Great news to those who have siblings sharing a room, or that are living in smaller houses or apartments. It’s amazing how difficult it can be to get “simple” right, and now many designers try and fail to succeed. The CUB Sleeper hits exactly the right balance of simplicity and elegance.

SAFETY

The CUB sleeper meets and exceeds all CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) safety requirements, and NettoCollection is certified by the JPMA (Juvenile Product Manufacturers Association). It also follows some common-sense safety precautions that are not part of Federal Guidelines such as the use of non toxic non-VOC finishes and formaldehyde-free materials. I was shocked to find out how many cribs and crib mattresses on the market are full of these toxic chemicals that leech into the air surrounding our sleeping children. I have no such worries about the CUB Sleeper. This is very reassuring considering recent studies that link a higher incidence of SIDS to toxic chemicals emitted by crib mattresses.

The two most common deadly flaws of cribs are related to weak spindles that break or flex, and faulty drop-side hardware. The spindles of the CUB sleeper are very sturdy and will not break without substantial force. My oldest child (3 years old) did a monkey-in-a-zoo impersonation when I first set up the crib. (She grabbed the railings with her hands and hung from them as if they were monkey bars- a practice I quickly discouraged.) The railings didn’t flex or bend in the slightest, giving me confidence that they would withstand prolonged normal use and abuse very well. The spindles on this crib are much better made than on the crib that I used with my eldest. They also do not appear to come loose when twisted or rotate in place as if they were screwed down the way they did in my last crib.

The fixed sides are screwed down in multiple locations with very long screws and did not become loose even when I loosened and partially removed one and even two of the screws that hold things together. I have no worries about this crib coming apart accidentally.

QUALITY OF PARTS

The white and pine colored panels are made of formaldehyde-free E1 MDF, covered with New Zealand pine veneer. The pine veneer is beautiful and I mistook the side panels for solid pine at first. Especially upon sniffing them, they smell heavenly. (Another wonderful difference between the crib I used with my oldest child which had to be aired out for a week to get rid of the chemical smell.) The rails and mattress support are made of solid pine. This makes for a very sturdy and heavy construction. That, combined with the solid end panels (as opposed to “feet”) results in an extremely stable crib that doesn’t rock in place at all and that requires quite a bit of exertion to tip. The pine finish scuffs up easily but the scuffs disappear when you wipe the crib down with a wet cloth or with some wood soap. The finish on the white panels is virtually impossible to scratch- something that will come as a relief to any parent whose toddler has used crib rails to teeth on in the past. Tooth marks are a lot less visible when the finish doesn’t flake off as well.

ASSEMBLY

The CUB sleeper ships flat in two large/heavy boxes that are very well packed with dense styrofoam, and the parts are individually wrapped in a protective material to protect the finish. You’ll need a standard Phillips screwdriver, but the only other tool needed is the included hex wrench. (One note about the hex wrench is that it’s well made and both sides of it are usable, which makes it convenient to use the short end as the handle for turning when the parts are too close to the floor or a wall, and the long end as the handle when there’s enough clearance. The hex wrench that I used with my older daughter’s crib had a poorly cut end piece which meant I could only use it one way.) The parts needed for assembly are wrapped in heavy plastic that does not tear easily (I first tried to tear it open with my teeth and had to resort to using scissors. This is great as it reduces the risk of missing screws. The picture to the right shows the hardware (included to show you just how simple this crib is to assemble). The screws are on the top, the middle contains the posts for the mattress support, and the bottom has adhesive felt circles that I believe can be used on the bottom of the crib to protect the floor from scuff marks.

Assembly took just under an hour, and would have moved along much faster if I had taken the instructions to heart and had a two-person assembly crew instead of deciding to see if I could put it together myself using a creative system of board books to elevate certain parts. It probably would have also moved along faster if I didn’t have a toddler underfoot. However, single-person assembly is do-able which should be good news to single moms and women who are pregnant and need for their husbands to assemble it without help. A two-person team simplifies things, makes the process safer, and cuts back assembly time to something closer to 30-45 minutes. The decision to have fixed side rails instead of drop rails further simplifies the assembly process. The parts can only be screwed together in the way in which they were intended to be assembled, so you can rest assured that once the crib is together that it’s properly assembled, unlike other cribs on the market that have parts that can be installed upside down or backwards.

The only time I found myself slightly confused by the instructions were when I was installing the mattress support and couldn’t figure out which way was “up”. The screws only fit one way, so it was easy enough to figure out and only cost me a minute or so of confusion.

The instruction manual comes in a plastic sheath that is attached to the mattress platform and it is recommended that you leave the manual in place. This prevents lost manuals and makes it very easy to re-assemble the crib when you’ve had it in storage. I opted to rotate it around so that the manual hung under the mattress platform instead of sitting under the mattress. This helps keep it free from damage when you move the mattress around to put on sheets or mattress protectors.

USE

This crib is a pleasure to use. The mattress platform is easy to lower as your child grows, and there are no moving parts to worry about. I was a bit concerned about the fixed-side at first as I frequently used the drop-side with my previous crib. However, I quickly realized that the “convenience” of the drop side was actually an annoyance and a safety hazard. If you’re under about 5′3 or have shorter arms it may be harder to use this crib, but neither my husband nor I have any difficulty. (We are 5′11 and 5′5 respectively)

This crib is not a crib to use if you’re determined to use bumper pads (which goes against safety recommendations due to the suffocation hazard presented by bumpers) as the sides of this crib do not offer a gaps to securely tie down a bumper pad.

There is a large storage area under the crib that is tall enough to fit those cardboard filing boxes- which we’ve used to store baby clothes in the larger sizes.

ACCESSORIES

The CUB sleeper can be converted to a daybed with an add-on rail (sold for approximately $100-150), but unlike most toddler bed conversion rails this doesn’t provide you with a railing to prevent roll-outs. This, combined with the height of the mattress at its lowest position resulted in my decision to not use this crib as a convertible crib, and instead transition to a toddler bed when needed. It’s a nice option to have, but for a toddler bed I want my child to be a bit closer to the ground. Especially since “jumping on the couch” is something I have yet to successfully discourage.

THE STORY BEHIND THE $500 CRIB

Seeing how unique this crib is in the marketplace, and how different the price point is from the other items in the NettoCollection I wanted to find out more about it, so I contacted NettoCollection to learn more about the price point and the design.

Quote: “NettoCollection furniture is about design, finish, luxury, scale, heft–making the crib into an important piece of furniture with all the presence it can have.

The point was to do something lush and beautiful, and the price, while not crazy, is necessarily high for a product of that quality. We wanted to imagine if Hermes made baby furniture what it would look like.

The point of the CUB sleeper IS the price. I wanted to be the first to do a designed crib for under $500, which now there are starting to be a few of, but they look a little gimmicky to me…CUB takes honest materials and uses their natural beauty to advantage. It does everything the Netto furniture does, but it is for people with a second child, or a country house, or who want something smaller or more efficient but who still care about design. It is a beautiful design, elegant in its plainness–Mies said one of the hardest things to achieve is an interesting plainness–just not an expensive one.“

Reading that, I nodded along. Netto did all he set out to do, and then some. The CUB sleeper is unquestionably the centerpiece of the nursery. It is stunning in its simplicity and doesn’t fall prey to some of the downsides of most lower-cost items in a designer line. Netto took the high road and opted not to sacrifice in quality or take shortcuts in design. It hits a great sweet spot of form, function, and price and serves as an excellent addition to the NettoCollection line rather than as a low quality item that would dilute the brand.

CONCLUSION

The design of this crib fits in elegantly with any nursery decor, and the price point is very affordable compared to other cribs in its class. The sturdy design will withstand use across multiple years and multiple children, and the materials offer a non-toxic alternative to those used in other cribs. Between the safety factors and the design, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this crib to anyone.