You kids can have my Barber Osgerby Loop table when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.
Whether in the name of good design or in pursuit of celebrity babies (thanks for nothing, Jennifer Lopez), we cover a lot of pricey baby crap here on Droolicious; but at what point does the reality of living with kids trump the need to surround yourself with the aesthetic latest and greatest?
Jezebel points us to this article from the Independent that we'd swear was an April Fool's joke if it weren't stamped 3/30: "Design-freak-turned-new-mother" Fiona Rattray (perfect name, that) documents her slow, maddening descent from aesthete to realist, along the way encountering such dilemmas as how to accommodate a baby that's inevitably growing into ugly accessories:
"Harper is fast outgrowing the bathroom sink and our old, cast-iron bath is too deep, so it's back to Mothercare for a baby bath. Online, I was tempted by the practical white number that sits on top of your bath. Unfortunately, in the flesh the object in question has all the elegance of a plastic garden pond. I'm not paying £20 to ruin one of my favourite rooms, so it's back to the sink and hope she doesn't grow any more..."
But alas, the planets align in the end, and Rattray learns to stop worrying and love the Barber Osgerby Loop coffee table that's been scratched and dented by baby's fingers:
"I thought I would mind about this stuff, but I honestly don't. This is family life and I love it."
Cue violins.
Recession or not, the market for kids' luxury items is reportedly growing like mad among deep-pocketed parents. But what about for those of us on a smaller budget? You tell us: Can you balance good design with good parenting, and more importantly, when that stimulus check arrives this summer, will your first stop be Wal-Mart or Design Within Reach?
