Crib Brand Review: ED by Ellen

Web: EDbyEllen.com

Crib Brand Review: ED by Ellen. When we learned that Ellen Degeneres was entering the nursery furniture arena with a line called ED by Ellen, we were skeptical. The category has been littered with celebrity-endorsed flops from the likes of Heidi Klum, Kathy Ireland and Jenny McCarthy. Design and quality of those efforts were typically mediocre. And what really made a Heidi Klum crib special, anyway?

Enter Ellen Degeneres. Already known for her distinctive style and home goods lines, the new ED by Ellen is impressive (we got a preview at an industry trade show). Yes, according to our industry sources,  Ellen is actually very involved in the designs. And Ellen has paired with Bivona, one of our highest rated crib makers as the licensee who is actually making the furniture.

So far, so good.

These cribs are made of solid poplar, acacia, oak, ash and polar pine (a harder pine than we usually see). And the styles mirror what’s currently hot in adult furniture: wire brush finishes and metal accents (tubular steel bases, non-removable brass upholstery tacks). The Forest Animal design pictured sports woodland animal silhouettes carved into the headboard (echoing Ellen’s passion for all things cute and fuzzy).

So what’s the catch? ED by Ellen is pricey. Cribs run $600 to $900; six drawer dressers $800 to $900. However, the quality touches justify the prices: custom drawer liners in the dressers and soft close drawer glides. As you’d expect at this price point, there is a wide variety of accessories: chiffarobes, nightstands, bookcases and armoires.

ED by Ellen is sold only in Buy Buy Baby at this time (it has an exclusive until January 2018). They also only have the Forest Animal and Oakdell designs available (Oakdale comes in two colors: sandstone and acorn). Look for other designs like the upholstered Wilshire or the rattan style Gentilly at specialty baby stores. Toddler rails ($100) and full size bed rails ($200) are sold separately on Buy Buy as are other accessories like changing table toppers, and ED by Ellen Naturpedic mattresses. It’s disappointing that the rails to convert the cribs into full-size beds run $200.

Because this line is so new we don’t have much feedback on it. We think the quality here is just as high but we’ll wait to give them our rating once we get more feedback from parents. Rating: Not Yet