Oeuf (literally, egg in French and pronounced like the “uff” in stuff) traces its roots to 2003, when French-American designers Sophie Demenge and Michael Ryan launched the company (and a family) in Brooklyn, New York. Their goal: pair eco-consciousness with modernist design elements. The result: the Oeuf Classic crib ($970, pictured), which takes its cues from minimalist Euro styling.
The Oeuf crib’s fixed side rails, headboard and footboard remove, converting the whole unit to a toddler bed. Like many modern cribs, the Oeuf Classic has a wood base (in this case, birch) and MDF panels covered in a white lacquer finish. A matching double dresser is $1390. Oeuf also sells a variety of other baby items, including mattresses, clothes and toys.
In recent years, Oeuf debuted a slightly less expensive grouping called the Sparrow. The crib is $820 and a three drawer dresser is $950. Sparrow features natural birch wood accents in three colors—there is no MDF in this crib (although the matching dresser is made of MDF with Baltic birch plywood drawer fronts).
The Rhea crib is like a mash up of the Classic crib’s base and the Sparrow’s side rails. The design is frameless, however which helps make it a bit less expensive than those other two cribs. It sells for $670 and a six-drawer dresser goes for $1350.
Finally, there is the Elephant crib ($720), a grey design which can be assembled in ten minutes without tools. Oeuf notes the Elephant is influenced by Spanish designer Carlos Tiscar, and is made with what Oeuf calls “eco-MDF.”
In the past few years, there hasn’t been much new to report here—yes, Oeuf added a couple limited edition colors for the Sparrow crib: slate (charcoal) and petal (pink). But many of Oeuf’s designs are now 10+ years old, with very few new furniture items being added to the line. The company seems to be emphasizing other areas for growth, most notably their baby clothing line.
So where does Oeuf fit in the modern furniture universe? Price-wise, Oeuf is on the more affordable end of the modern crib biz—especially the Elephant and Sparrow. With modern crib prices often topping $1000, it’s nice to have an option that doesn’t break the bank. On the other hand, Baby Mod (Million Dollar Baby) sells a similar crib without all the eco-goodness for under $300.
What’s disappointing with Oeuf is the quality of the dressers—we noticed the drawers lack corner blocks and had low-end metal glides. When you are paying $1300+ for a six drawer dresser, you are in the same price range as Romina and other better brands. Compared to the competition on dresser quality, Oeuf pales, in our opinion.
We understand the point here of all the eco-goodness, made-in-Europe pedigree and minimalist design aesthetic. And to its credit, Oeuf has good customer service, according to retailers we’ve interviewed. Whether the brand is worth the price tag compared to competitors that use more solid wood and better dresser construction is an open question. Rating: B +
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