FYI: Stanley, Young America’s parent company shut down their crib and juvenile furniture line in April 2014. For more information, check out our blog post here. Since the company is still cleaning out inventory on their web site as of this writing (December 2014), below is an archived review. 

Web: youngamerica.com

Adult furniture maker Stanley entered the juvenile market in 2003 with “Young America,” a collection of nursery furniture with a wide range of accessories.

This brand has gone through several changes over the years. It started out as a high-end brand that was made in the U.S. Then Stanley switched to imports from Asia to lower prices. In 2010, Stanley made the decision to bring production back to the U.S. and added an eco-focus (it is one of the few brands on the market to earn GREENGUARD certification).

Stanley’s mojo is their “built to grow” theme—cribs that can turn into full-size beds, added accessories like desks/study areas for older kids, trundle storage options and more. It’s the plethora of accessories that sets Stanley’s Young America apart from its competitors, where offering a matching nightstand is about as “built to grow” as they get.

Price-wise, Stanley is on the premium end of the market: a crib runs $700 to $900. A double dresser runs $1000 to $1500. Armoires are $1250 to $1700. Heck, a Young America nightstand can set you back $600. FYI: this brand is sold in specialty stores and chains like Buy Buy Baby, where it is known as Baby America.

So, is it worth it? Well, if you want made-in-the-U.S. nursery furniture that is GREENGUARD certified, then Stanley is your brand. Fans love the numerous finishes and accessory items—most crib styles can be purchased in over 30 color finishes. That’s right, when other brands limit you to three versions of brown, Stanley lets you customize to your heart’s content here.

Critics of this brand point out the plan vanilla styling makes it hard to justify the prices. Compare the styling here to Munire and Romina and you’ll see what we are referring to—Young America by Stanley needs a bit more zing to justify their $800 price tags.

Quality-wise, Young America doesn’t stack up well against competitors like Romina, which offers solid wood construction (Stanley’s dressers are more often veneers) and better drawer glides. Yes, Stanley offers felt-lined top drawers and dove-tail construction. That alone doesn’t justify these prices. If you want to charge folks a $1000 for dresser, we’d like to see self-closing glides and more solid wood construction. We are happy to see that in the past year, Stanley has tried to address the quality gap by adding touches like . . . self-closing drawer glides. Better late than never.

Shipping issues have dogged this brand in 2013—orders have been delayed, shipping times have lengthened, etc. One consumer complaint lodged with the Better Business Bureau claimed a furniture order took over four months to arrive, finally showing up some five weeks after their daughter was born. The initial quote when the order was placed? Eight weeks.

We spoke with David Peterson, Young America’s Vice President for Marketing & Brand Development, about these issues. Peterson said Young America was struggling to replace an aging enterprise computer system, which  was failing to keep with the volume of orders. These computer glitches caused the shipping delays. While Young America said it was working on solving the problems as we went to press, the shipping problems and delays are frustrating consumers and retailers alike. We’ve dropped Young America’s rating this year as a result.

On a positive note, Young America has started a quick ship program, with a limited number of styles in two finishes (white and cherry) that are available for shipment within three weeks.

Bottom line: it’s clear what you are paying for here is the made-in-the-U.S. label and numerous finish colors and accessories. If you care more about solid wood dresser construction or fancier styling, look elsewhere. Rating: B-