Pottery Barn’s Kendall Convertible Crib is Greenguard Gold Certified, Fair Trade Certified™ and ranges in price from around $568-$599, although I’ve seen it on sale recently for less than $400. This is a Craftsman-style crib made with solid poplar wood, which is harder and heavier than pine. Mortise and tenon joints and tongue and groove joinery are used to put this crib together, which minimizes the need for glue and makes for a more robust crib.
Pottery Barn Kids Kendall Convertible Crib
Highlights: Craftsman-style crib made with solid poplar wood, which is harder and heavier than pine. Greenguard Gold Certified and Fair Trade Certified™. Has three adjustable mattress positions and can be converted into a toddler bed.
Pottery Barn Kids Kendall Convertible Crib at a glance:
| Country of Origin: | Unclear (but Fair Trade Certified™) |
| Materials: | Poplar, metal mattress support and plastic teething rails |
| Certifications: | Greenguard Gold Fair Trade Certified™ Meets ASTM international and U.S. CPSC safety standards |
Table of Contents
Overview
This crib is made in a Fair Trade Certified™ factory, has three adjustable mattress positions, and can be converted into a toddler bed (you’ll have to buy a separate conversion kit). For around the same price, Pottery Barn make a Low Profile version of the Kendall Crib that is four inches shorter, making it much easier for folks like me to pick up an infant from the crib. From the floor to the teething rail, the low profile Kendall measures just 35” (the same as the Babyletto Lolly). The three adjustable mattress settings are at 21″, 16″, and 11″ from the floor, meaning less than a 14” ‘dip’ to retrieve your infant on the highest setting. The mattress platform is 52.75″ wide x 28″ deep, so buy your crib mattress to those specifications for a snug fit.
The Kendall gets an 87/100 from Consumer Reports and is CR Recommended with an overall Excellent rating. It is also recommended by Wirecutter and by many other online reviewers.
Aside from the cost of this crib, the one big downside to the Kendall is that, unlike most other cribs on the market, this crib has built-in plastic teeth guards. Pottery Barn don’t list plastic in their materials, however, so don’t be caught out by this, because you can’t remove the teething rails and replace them with a padded guard.
Because the Kendall is made with poplar, a heavier and stronger softwood than pine, it looks and feels more robust and durable than the DaVinci Kalani and the Bayletto Lolly, as well as many other models. It is also handsome and a real statement piece, if that’s what you’re looking for. And, as much as I wish they weren’t plastic, those teething guards do help keep the crib looking pristine, instead of looking like the rails have been attacked by a beaver (hey, I’m Canadian). The Kendall collection also features a dresser, extra-wide dresser, nightstand, desk and hutch, and toppers for the dressers to fit change pads. You can also match the crib with bunk beds that convert to twin size beds.
The Kendall comes in a white, gray, or chocolate brown finish, has big sturdy feet, and is heavier at around 59 pounds, compared to 56 for the Kalani and just 50 pounds for the Babyletto Lolly. Obviously these are a lot lighter than any hardwood crib, which can easily be three times the weight of a softwood crib. The rounded mattress supports are also easier to level than on the Lolly or Kalani, and pretty much invisible underneath a mattress (with other cribs it’s common to be able to see the mattress supports).
Because Pottery Barn Kids only sell through their own store and select retailers, these cribs are a little harder to track down sometimes. Standard shipping of around $50 applies in most cases, and Pottery Barn Kids offer a white glove service for home delivery and assembly for around $99, which can take their professionals just 30 minutes or so. The Wirecutter team put this one together in just 23 minutes, which is impressive!
The Pottery Barn Kids Kendall Crib only comes with a rather stingy 30-day warranty, so it’s best to set this one up as soon as it arrives and make sure all the pieces are present and correct.
As with the Kalani and the Lolly, the Kendal is made with a metal mattress support, rather than wooden slats, which could pose some problems for sagging if your child is especially heavy or if you reuse the crib for several babies. However, the crib seems to be well made, so sagging may not be an issue.
Pottery Barn Kids vs. DaVinci, Babyletto, and Ikea
Even when on sale, the Kendall Crib costs almost twice as much as the DaVinci Kalani (View Price on Walmart) and nearly three times as much as the Ikea Sniglar (my top budget pick). Poplar is a more expensive softwood, however, and is both heavier and more robust than the pine used to make the Babyletto Lolly (View Price on Walmart), and the Kalani and Sniglar. The Kendall also has Fair Trade Certification™, which neither the Kalani nor the Lolly have (nor the Sniglar).
Like the Kalani and Lolly, the Kendall is Greenguard Gold Certified and can be converted into a toddler bed. It doesn’t convert to a full-size bed, however, and the conversion rail for the toddler bed costs extra, making this much more expensive than most other softwood cribs.
The Kendall also only has three adjustable mattress positions, compared to the Lolly and Kalani’s four. Realistically though, you’re unlikely to make use of all four positions.
The big difference between the Kendall and the Kalani, Lolly, and Sniglar, is that the Pottery Barn Kids crib features a plastic teething rail that’s incorporated into the crib. That means it can’t be removed. Personally, I’d much rather have no plastic components to the crib, especially the parts a toddler might chew, and instead opt for a fabric rail cover to deter chewing, or, ideally, have an unfinished hardwood crib that’s more resistant to tiny teeth.
If you’re particularly petite or have difficulty reaching low into a crib, you’ll be happy to know that the Kendall low profile crib has a much smaller overall distance from the top rail to the mattress on the highest crib setting compared to the Lolly, Kalani, and Sniglar.
In terms of design, the Kendall is an imposing piece of nursery furniture. I’m a big fan of the more minimalist Lolly aesthetic, and even the DaVinci Kalani feels less intimidating. So, if you’re going for a big impact, heavier, more robust crib and want both Greenguard Gold Certification and a crib made in a Fair Trade Certified™ facility, the Pottery Barn Kids Kendall might be the one for you.
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