Pottery Barn Kids

Full review
I suffer from a serious condition of abnormally large eyes. Particularly, eyes too large for my husband’s wallet. If you, too, suffer from a similar condition, stay FAR away from potterybarnkids.com.

Overview
PBK offers home furnishings, bedding/bath textiles, décor, toys, and seasonal items for infants through preteens.

This online store is simply amazing. The majority of PBK’s products contain that rare combination of beauty and durability, and the online shopping experience is efficient and painless. Except for the price. That, unfortunately, registers on the pain scale somewhere between kidney stones and paper cuts on your tongue.

Quality and selection of products
I could spend hours browsing this site. In fact, I do spend hours browsing this site. It’s become my latest hobby. Assuming you have a real hobby or two, allow me to save you some shopping time by sharing the insight I’ve gleaned from my browsing experience.

Top ten nifty PBK items (in descending order):
10. farmhouse table and chairs—for me, truly a case of love at first sight. Solid pine in a classic New England design, hand-distressed, sanded, and painted. Almost too nice for the kids’ pizza or the notorious finger painting project.
9. bookcases—I’m particularly fond of the Avery collection. All of pbk’s furniture tends toward clean lines and simple styling, and these are no exception.
8. baskets—woven wood in a variety of colors and sizes, these are perfect counterparts for number 9, and do wonders for tastefully containing legos and the odd assortment of Potato Head parts.
7. window hardware—a considerable step above the selection at your local home improvement store, these range from whimsical fluted resin finials to retro toy hardware.
6. towels—especially the hooded bath wraps, resembling frogs, lions, giraffes, etc. in plush cotton terry.
5. chalkboard armoire—all right, to be totally honest, I do not own this, have never owned this, probably never will own this (unless I sell a whole lotta lemonade this summer). But it looks awfully fabulous on the website, with its pine, tongue-in-groove construction, and doors that open to reveal a chalkboard on one side, bulletin board on the other. I’ve added this number to my Christmas wish list, but at $1199 (+ tons of shipping), so far no one has taken me seriously…
4. wallies—adhesive wall décor (“pre-pasted, vinyl-coated cutouts”) in bright, fun shapes. Sold in themed sets of 50, these are waterproof, childproof, bulletproof (kidding) and perfect for the bedroom or bathroom.
3. chair-and-a-half—I have four young kids and only so much lap, so bedtime stories can be grounds for WWIII. But with this item, everyone gets a piece of chair and remains (relatively) at peace.
2. wall letters--(free tip: name your child something short—say, Ivy or Sam. This way you’ll only be out $30 to put his/her name above the bed, as opposed to those of us partial to Bartholomew and Madeleine).
1. quilts—these are gorgeous heirloom-quality pieces, ranging from bright appliqué styles to classic vintage quilts in muted hues.

Least favorite items:
2. vintage posters/art reproductions—okay, so these aren’t particularly hideous or anything, but they’re not exactly gorgeous either, and at $79-129 (albeit framed, but still), I feel morally obligated to steer you in a different direction.
1. wooden lamp bases—(not to be confused with the metal bases or lantern-style fisherman lamps, which are actually quite charming)—I’d use the wooden bases if someone gave them to me, but I wouldn’t pay actual money for them. Monopoly money, perhaps.

**notice that my non-nifty list is significantly scantier than the nifty version; this alone speaks volumes about the quality of PBK’s items. If we were to talk specifics, I’d have a lengthier list of unfavorites, but I chose to stick to standard items that are pretty much always on the website (as opposed to the one-time grinning electric pumpkin which you couldn’t pay me to take). (Okay, but it better be in $100 increments.)

Website design and ease of navigation
Website navigation is a lot like a road—if it facilitates smooth travel, I don’t notice it. Rarely do I cruise along the interstate thinking, This road is seamless! Whoever constructed it is a pavement genius! Mostly it only occurs to me to notice the road when it’s pocked with potholes or stretches of gravel or the occasional stiff raccoon.

So when I say I don’t think about ease of navigation on PBK’s site, know that this is a good thing. Truly.

If you’re like me (and let’s hope for your sake you’re really not), you’ve come to expect inconspicuous website navigation from any reputable retailer. But others have written quite comprehensive overviews of this topic; if you’re interested, I especially recommend the epinion by stlmom.

I’ll just say that aesthetically, the website’s design is much like its products: clean, classic, and tasteful. I am able to find everything with relative ease, and numerous photos of a single item in different room arrangements make decision-making as informed as it can be online.

Prices
I have no qualms about paying more for a quality item; I have serious qualms about paying for a brand name. In the case of PBK, generally the high price is merited. On the one occasion where my purchase did not meet my expectations, PBK was quick to rectify the matter (more on this below).

If you are able to afford these items at their regular prices, know that they are well constructed pieces likely to outlive the cheaper brands and end up being worth every quarter spent.

If the prices seem too high for you, browse the clearance section—even furniture items go on sale, and some products are discounted up to 75%.

Shipping
I include this section solely because of the drastic impact it can have on the overall value of your purchase.

Standard shipping charges (5-7 business days) are a little on the high side, IMO:

Up to $15: $4.95
$15.01 to $25: $6.00
$25.01 to $45: $8.00
$45.01 to $65: $11.00
$65.01 to $90: $14.00
$90.01 to $125: $17.00
$125.01 to $200: $21.00
$200.01 and over: 10%

But what can really sock you in the gut is the additional shipping charges (Delivery Surcharges) for larger pieces (namely furniture).

Consider the following scenario:
Berkely Changing Table--$549 (not cheap, but a nice table, worth the extra dough, you’re thinking). But then we’re talking $54.90 for shipping, plus a $150 delivery surcharge, not to mention tax. So the total ends up being well over (holy cucumbers!) $750. And this for a piece of wood on which I’ll change poop-filled nappies? Not quite the bargain we had in mind, ay?

Customer service
This component of PBK is what has suckered me into a lifetime love affair with the store. Two cases in point:

On one occasion, they failed to return an unused gift certificate to me, and when I called to inquire of its whereabouts, they added an additional credit to the card. Yippee! I’m rich! I’m rich! (Of course, I’ve since spent it, so I’m no longer rich. But I was for like five glorious minutes there.)

In a separate instance, two toys I had purchased as Christmas gifts for my children did not meet the quality level I’d expected. I emailed PBK, simply expressing my concern, but making it clear that I wasn’t asking for compensation since I couldn’t return the items (I wasn’t about to be the Evil Mom Lady and take away the gifts I had just bestowed). A customer service rep replied to my email within 24 hours and sent me a gift certificate for a considerable amount. Till death do us part.

Bottom Line
If you’re trying to scrimp and save, don’t visit this site. Heck, don’t even think about this site. Go hit a few yard sales instead. But if you’re in search of sturdy, classy décor for the kiddos, and don’t mind forming another addiction, PBK is truly the place for you.