Beanbag chairs

[NYEmomma]

Thinking about getting DD one for Christmas but I'm wondering: is it worth it to buy the expensive $80-$100 ones from Pottery Barn, Lillian Vernon, etc. or are the cheap ones from Walmart & Target just as good?

 

[Ginny Favers]

It's funny you should say this, because my niece was desperate for a zebra-print beanbag chair. I was prepared to buy her one from Lillian Vernon as I have of of those for my daughter, but they did not have the zebra-print. So I bought this one for $35 on Amazon and crossed my fingers: http://www.amazon.com/Big-Joe-98-In...45562776&sr=8-3&keywords=zebra+bean+bag+chair

I have to say that when it arrived, it smelled awful. We aired it out, and then it was great. It was very well-made. Had a nice handle to move it from place to place. No, it is not plush and soft like the Lillian Vernon ones, but it seems to hold the shape much better. My niece squealed and plopped right down in it and has not gotten out of it since.

BTW, my niece is age 8. I know your daughter is younger...the Lilian Vernon/Pottery Barn ones are HUGE for them.... my DD5 and DD3 fit on it together, but like I said, it's kind of shapeless and doesn't offer a huge amount of support.

 

[rainynight]

This one is really nice, much better quality than I was expecting. It sits up as a chair or you can lay it flat to lay on it. My 3 year old loves it and there's enough room for me or daddy to lay or sit on it with him.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/The-Original-Big-Joe-Bean-Bag/15914188

 

[AllesonWonderland]

My daughter got 3 from Walmart a few years back. They were brightly colored to match her bedroom decor. This year, she went with a different theme. I know she still liked the beanbags though, so while she was away at camp I got some coordinating material from Hobby Lobby and made covers for them. They turned out great, and she was so surprised when she returned! And, since the beanbags were pretty inexpensive to begin with, we're still not in them for too much extra. (Though I do hope she keeps her current room theme for a little while! )

 

[luvmy3]

I purchased them from Lillan Vernon for my kids, and they held up great, stayed "puffy" much longer than the cheapy ones they had when they were smaller. I got denim cover and I was surprised by the quality, because I wasn't expecting it to be great.

This is a PSA for anyone getting a Bean Bag chair. The "beans" are like little styrofoam balls and after being sat on they will break apart and make a "dust". When taking off the denim cover of ours the inside was covered with this dust, which means it was most likely coming through the denim cover too. I threw the out after that since I wasn't comfortable with my kids breathing that stuff.
I'm sure there are some kind of allergy cover you could get just in case.
This is from the ones I bought from Lillian Vernon, I'm sure there are different ones with different materials.
Just wanted to put that out there.

 

[ceecee]

I got DD one at Target and she's had it for years. Doesn't use it much. During a sleep-over one of the girls jumped off the bed onto the beanbag and it had a 2" rip, we ducted taped the rip (same color tape) and it's been fine ever since. I can't see spending a lot when the Target one has held up great. You can also buy covers for them at Bed Bath & Beyond, we were going to do that if the duct tape didn't work.

 

[NYEmomma]

My daughter got 3 from Walmart a few years back. They were brightly colored to match her bedroom decor. This year, she went with a different theme. I know she still liked the beanbags though, so while she was away at camp I got some coordinating material from Hobby Lobby and made covers for them. They turned out great, and she was so surprised when she returned! And, since the beanbags were pretty inexpensive to begin with, we're still not in them for too much extra. (Though I do hope she keeps her current room theme for a little while! )

I had actually thought about making my own. Lillian Vernon sells replacement bags for $40 and I've got a 20% off coupon code so that would put it at $32. I could just get fabric and sew up the cover myself... would be easy, just a lot of fabric to work with (compared to what I usually sew). But then I figured, after I bought 6 or 8 yards of fabric, would I really be saving THAT much money?? It always figures that the fabric I like the best at Joanns is the most expensive, even with a 40% off coupon.

 

[melancholywings]

We got one from Fred Meyers...but instead of using 'beans'. We stuffed it with her stuffed animals. So that it doubles as storage.

 

[AllesonWonderland]

I had actually thought about making my own. Lillian Vernon sells replacement bags for $40 and I've got a 20% off coupon code so that would put it at $32. I could just get fabric and sew up the cover myself... would be easy, just a lot of fabric to work with (compared to what I usually sew). But then I figured, after I bought 6 or 8 yards of fabric, would I really be saving THAT much money?? It always figures that the fabric I like the best at Joanns is the most expensive, even with a 40% off coupon.

Yeah, I picked a plainish-satin that was 6.99 a yard, and with the pattern I made I was able to get all the sections I needed on only a few yards of material. I did them one at a time (wanted to make sure I could actually do it before I bought all the fabric--LOL) so it took multiple trips to the store, but I did all 3 for under 30 bucks. Since the original beanbags were gifts, that was a good deal for me.

 

[leight]

I got two of the cheapie ones at walmart last year when I redid our loft. I wanted to make it more teen-friendly- so redecorated it in black and white with red accents. (Taupe walls) This is the hang out room for my daughters and their friends when they are on the computer- we don't want them behind closed doors on the internet. I have a dark red papasan chair and bought two black bean bag chairs for extra seating. They kids love them and they are holding up fine- although I have had to scold dd#2 for jumping on them- they don't need to rough em up that much. I didn't want to spend too much and the ones from walmart worked find for our needs.

 

[amyngary]

I searched and searched last year for our DDs (age 11 and 6 at the time). One really wanted the fuzzy type and the other wanted a purple one. Both are not easy to find in the cheaper options.

We ended up buying them from Pottery Barn, which was too much to spend. However, they LOVE them and have used them DAILY for the past 8 months, so I feel much better about the purchase.

Good luck.

 

[XYSRUS]

I got ours from Pier 1 Imports. It was about $60 after specials but it was worth it. We've had it now close to 3 years with 4 boys and no rips/tears. It's soft and fuzzy and huge. All the kids fight over it!