Awhile back, we were facing a nursery rocker dilemma. While completely a first world problem, I didn’t want us spending hard earned money on something that we weren’t 100% confident would be a good choice. If we couldn’t find anything, I simply wouldn’t have bought anything. It’s not easy to find a rocker for the nursery that works well for a small space and a small budget, and is a little on the modern side.
I had originally thought I would buy one of these Eames-style rockers. They’re affordable, minimal and I see them cropping up all over the ‘net. You can pick one up for around $100-$150 and in theory, they are great. I just worry about overall comfort and the fear of buying a chair neither one of us will want to sit in. And, since we’d have to order it online, there would be no test run to see if we liked it before buying.
I know the IKEA Poang chair is popular as well. It comes in a variety of different fabrics and ranges from $69-$299, depending on the fabric you choose (the version below is $99). It’s not 100% my style, but does fit overall with budget, size and comfort.
When shopping for other furniture online at CB2, I came across the Curtis rocker. I like its simple, clean lines. Now, we love CB2 in our house. I’d estimate about 75% of our furniture is from there, and we have no regrets about a single purchase. So, at $299 for this rocker, I thought it was a steal and couldn’t wait to set my pregnant behind in this chair. Mr. Hopscotch wasn’t with me on a recent trip to CB2 to test it out, but I didn’t need a second opinion to know that this was not the chair for us. It felt a little flimsy and while not necessarily uncomfortable, it definitely wasn’t what I’d called comfortable. And during a 3am feeding, I might enjoy a little comfort.
After leaving CB2, I wandered over to West Elm. I was looking for holiday decorations at the time, but then I saw the Ryder Rocking Chair and I swooned. Then, I sat down in it and I fell in love. While not over-the-top plush, for a non-armchair style of rocker, this chair offers definite comfort.
Unfortunately, I glanced down at the price tag, saw $599.00, and fell a little out of love. Sigh.
I’d been stalking the Ryder Rocker on West Elm’s web site for a month, hoping against hope that I’d see it go on sale. No luck. But Mr. Hopscotch and I started talking more seriously about what we wanted and what we were willing to spend, and we both agreed to stretch our budget a little.
So a couple weeks ago, we headed on over to our local West Elm to pick up the very last rocker they had in stock! Using a 10% off coupon West Elm sent us the previous week (score!) and saving on shipping costs by picking it up ourselves (vs. ordering online), we ended up spending around $590.00 for our rocker.
And… here she is, fitting perfectly in our cozy little nursery. Love.
Did you purchase a rocker or glider for your nursery? Where did you buy it?
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
Oooh! Love it!
We never got a rocker.
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
we got a monstrous glider from land of nod — it was so much bigger than I expected since we didn’t see it in person. but it has definitely been worth it through two kids and many sleepless nights. so comfy and big enough for me to sit in it with both kids at the same time!
honeydew / 7968 posts
i think i may want to invest in a rocker….. still haven’t started looking…
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@tequiero21: i think a rocker/glider is one of my must have nursery purchases.
cantaloupe / 6669 posts
What a pretty rocker! I think when it comes that time we’ll get an armchair style. I’m all comfort all the time, baby!
clementine / 958 posts
We initially planned to use a classic wooden rocking chair but ended up with an upholstered reclining glider. It was more than we wanted to spend, but it is so comfortable. I’m really glad we splurged on it – I’ve spent countless hours in it already.
guest
We have a glider that I plan on re-purposing for a nursery
nectarine / 2886 posts
We bought the babyletto nara glider but it hasn’t been delivered yet. So many people said it was worth it to splurge on a glider/rocker so we went for it!
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
It’s definitely pretty. I hope it works out for you! Ultimately, I found that I like to have a lot of room when I nurse, so I always end up using our guest bed.
blogger / apricot / 366 posts
I also have to note that we live in a very quirky, old house and the hallway to the nursery is VERY narrow. We barely got this rocker in (had to take it apart!) so I think if we had gone with an armchair-style rocker/glider, it probably would have gotten stuck and never made it into the nursery
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
@Mrs. Hopscotch: Understood … We went with Poang for similar space and aesthetic reasons. But to this day I take him into the next room at night. Fortunately he’s used to it, so it doesn’t really wake him up all that much. And I’m kinda glad I don’t have a super comfy glider … I probably would have started rocking him to sleep! Would have been nice in the early days, but I’m so glad he isn’t dependent on it now that he’s older.
grapefruit / 4049 posts
We totally splurged on our glider four years ago. Back then, it was about twice the price you paid… I just checked though and it’s three times as much now
…it was definitely a splurge but we love it and it’s held up so well all these years. It’s very comfortable too.
http://www.giggle.com/Adagio-Nursery-Glider-Recliner/304126,default,pd.html?start=9&cgid=nursery-decor-rockers-gliders
blogger / pomegranate / 3201 posts
Very stylish! I’m a little worried about this purchase, as well. It is so expensive and while I know we’ll get a ton of use out of it, I have a hard time bringing myself to spend that kind of money right now. I’ve been scouring craigslist daily for something more inexpensive that I can live with, but it doesn’t help that I’m super picky!
cherry / 146 posts
we just bought a dutalier glider. i think it was more for my husband than for me. ha.
oh, and we didn’t want to spend extra $ for the ottoman, but i find that my $20 exercise ball works just fine as a footrest.
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
We initially used Mr. Jacks’ family rocker (the one that he was rocked in!) I found it very forward leaning. We’ve been stalking a Stickley rocker for about a year and a half (talk about spendy!) Finally this November it went on sale (50% off) and we bit the bullet and bought it. Love doesn’t begin to describe my relationship with this chair… and it will always remind me of preparing for Jack Jack!
pomegranate / 3053 posts
I wanted something contemporary and simple in style and wasn’t really looking yet but then ran into a glider and ottoman combo at Costco for under $250. Yes, Costco. Thought about it and liked the simple style and price so got it. Shermag brand so can’t go wrong and it didn’t look like your traditional glider so I was done shopping. Almost 3 years later, it’s not the most comfortable glider or wide enough for a toddler and a big 31 weeks butt preggers mommy but we still fit. But I can’t fit anything bigger than that in the space available so it works. It’s also held up with stains pretty well too. No regrets but would love to have a “chair” kind of glider that’s cushion-y all over. Maybe it’s just my pregger butt talking and wanting a more comfortable glider to snuggle with my 2.5 year old when we read and sing before bedtime. Haha!
coffee bean / 32 posts
I like how “clean” it looks! We have a glider, but I end up nursing anywhere around the home. Sometimes I find my hubby asleep in it with baby awake in his arms.
cherry / 190 posts
I may have slightly fainted when I saw the price, wow! The good thing is I’m sure it will hold up over time, and see you through many late nights. We didn’t buy a rocker, we were lucky enough to inherit my husband’s grandmother’s rocker, who had brought home my MIL and hubs from the hospital. It was a very special moment to rock our baby girl in it as well. I did, however, spend about $50 on fabric to recover it, because 50’s twill is not quite in style these days
Now we’ve got some Amy Butler green dots making it pretty!
grape / 75 posts
I also intially wanted an Eames-style rocker, but DH voted no because it didn’t look comfy. We ended up finding a great deal online at WalMart (who would’ve guessed???) and ordered this:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Dorel-Rocking-Chair-Choose-your-Slipcover/13229908
It’s super comfortable, blends in nicely with the decor in my LO’s room, and has a matching ottoman. All for under $250!
nectarine / 2458 posts
LOVE THAT ROCKER!
We new we wanted a glider and finally decided on the Klaussner Lacey Glider (in slate). We actually used a 20% off coupon at Babies R Us so it only cost $320! I was pretty happy with that!
That’s actually the “corner” of the nursery that’s closest to being complete, so I can’t help but show it off, lol… http://pinterest.com/pin/139189444703214822/
clementine / 994 posts
I love the rocker you chose!
guest
Just came across this rocker, now on sale for $499 but started searching more on it as I’m wondering if it works well in a nursery. Do you like it now that you’ve used it or do you wish you had something with a higher back/somewhere to rest your head? Is it fairly roomy? I’m having twins. Thanks for any input!
blogger / apricot / 366 posts
@Lauren: In all (sad!) honesty, it’s not the best for a nursery. The positives of it: looks great and fits well in our small space. The negatives: because it’s a rocker it slides all over our carpet (we now have a million dents in our wall where it hits…but that would happen with any traditional rocker I assume) and it’s not terrible comfortable for nursing (the arms of it hit in a weird place, not the easiest to get comfortable).
On the up side, because it’s not terribly comfortable and doesn’t rock well on our carpet, Baby H isn’t used to being rocked to sleep which is great (in my book!). I don’t feel like I’m missing out by not having something to rest my head on because we don’t spend a lot of time in the chair other than nursing and reading a few stories.
I realize I’ve probably given a very mixed review
It’s a pretty chair that’s semi-comfortable and great if you have a small space and don’t feel like you’ll need to spend a lot of time in it. If you’re the type of person who might want to have a chair to cozy up in with your baby (babies!!) and rock them to sleep and snuggle, this is probably not the chair for you.
guest
Just read your latest comment on the slipping of the Ryder Rocking chair on carpet. How do you think it would on hard wood floors or a rug? And does it not rock back much because of the shape of the rocker or is it your space? I am really thinking about purchasing it soon. Spoke with a sales associate from WE and the rocker has been discontinued so awaiting another price drop.
blogger / apricot / 366 posts
@Julie: it might stay in place ok on hard wood (we haven’t had it on hard wood since we bought it which was a year ago!). My guess is it would still slip/move a bit on a rug. And I definitely feel like it doesn’t rock very much because of the shape/nature of it. When you sit it in, the way it is shaped, it doesn’t lend itself well for rocking. And it’s not necessarily UNCOMFORTABLE, but it’s definitely not comfy/cozy.
On the flip side, we have a (used) Dutalier glider in our bedroom. It’s more comfortable and I like the gliding motion, but the West Elm chair is so much prettier
We could have swapped the two chairs and put the glider in her nursery, but the West Elm rocker wasn’t a dealbreaker for us. It’s not perfect but it works.
guest
Thank you for the review! I saw this rocker on WestElm.com and wondered if it would work as a nursery rocker (I do not like the any of the gliders). Needless to say, after reading your post it’s now on it’s way to our home. We were able to use design dollars and they gave us a 15% new baby discount (who knew they had one?) – so we really got a good deal. I’ll let you know how it fits in. Thanks again!