Kids Haven
Address: 25 Playfair Rd, Singapore 367990
Opening Hours: 11am to 6pm daily, closed on Wednesdays
Mobile: 8820 8604
We all want our children to have the best childhood ever. And one of the ways to do that is to provide their own spaces, decked with furniture that are both inspiring, functional, and most importantly, safe.
There is no better way than to ask professionals who have gone through the process with flying colours.
We chatted with siblings Vivien and Jeremy Teo, the founders of children’s furniture boutique Kids Haven, about the business of children’s furniture and how to pick the best ones for our kids.
Vivien & Jeremy Teo, founders of Kids Haven children’s furniture
What inspired Kids Haven?
Vivien: Kids Haven was first conceived when I needed children’s furniture for my two young kids but could not find any good option locally.
When holidaying overseas during my maternity leave, I saw some furniture that I liked and wanted to ship them back, only to realise that shipping them had many constraints.
So, I organised a group buy through the motherhood forum. It was a challenging and uphill learning experience for me as I had no prior experience managing a business, not to mention fixing any furniture.
Thankfully, I had my husband, my father, and my father-in-law’s help. We had one goal at that time, which remains the same today: to provide affordable children’s furniture for a dream kids’ bedroom. In fact, our logo is inspired by a slight twist to “Jack climbing up the beanstalk” to find a haven full of fun and creative furniture, an idea given to us by our mum.
Jeremy: Today, Kids Haven, to us, is more than just about selling furniture. The company’s vision is to create safe havens and spaces for all children, regardless of their physical abilities, family background, and living conditions.
What has the growth been like?
Vivien: Kids Haven was established in 2011. I worked on it part-time and only went full-time in 2013 when it was registered as a private limited company.
In the early years, the showroom was basically my own kid’s bedroom, and the warehouse was my own living room. Now we have a 7,000 sq ft warehouse and a 4,500 sq ft showroom.
Jeremy: I joined Vivien in 2014 to help build the brand and the company together as a family business. Since then, we have added more than 10 brands from all over the world.
Our gradual and steady growth suits us better, given the labour-intensive nature of the furniture industry.
Children grow up so quickly – should parents buy children’s furniture?
Jeremy: As parents ourselves, we can understand such concerns. This is why we usually advise our customers to consider getting a standard single or super single bed, even for toddlers, as that size will be suitable all the way into their teens.
We would also recommend higher quality materials, as these can last longer and would have more resale value in the future. Parents can also consider reasonably-priced modular beds that can transform as the child grows up. Having said that, we should still let kids be kids.
Since they grow up so quickly, they are only kids for that short time. While parents should not splurge unnecessarily on children’s furniture, they should still take time to doll up the room in a fun and creative way within their budget.
We firmly believe that building a conducive environment for sleep and study goes a long way in the child’s overall development.
Vivien: I completely agree with Jeremy. We should not allow practicality to deprive kids of an imaginative childhood. My own kids had princess carriage and racing car beds when they were toddlers.
As they grew, we changed them to themed bunk and loft beds to balance between meeting their need for a study space while not taking away the child-like elements of a kid’s bedroom.
Today, they are entering their teens, and once again, we have recently revamped their bedrooms to clean and basic designs yet maintaining their functionality and purpose.
What are some of the essentials when putting together a child’s room?
Vivien & Jeremy: The items you need would change as your child grows up. For newborns, you would minimally need a baby cot and a dresser.
For the cot, getting the right mattress is important for the baby. We recommend using Sofzsleep latex mattresses and baby pillows.
To decorate the nursery, you can consider putting up wallpaper or wall frames and adding crochet toys or name pillows to create some texture in the room. Some parents might consider a changing table too.
By the time the baby reaches six months, you would need a soft floor mat, high chair, and possibly a play yard or playpen as the infant starts crawling, sitting and standing.
At age 1 to 2, play tables, small bookshelves and toy storage are essential, as they will learn to read and play, and having these will keep things organised in your home. From age 3, you can consider getting standard single-sized beds, ergonomic kids’ study desks, wardrobes, and so on.
What are some important factors to consider in buying children’s furniture?
Vivien & Jeremy: Safety is the number one priority. Consider the safety features of the furniture. If you are getting a bunk bed, make sure that the overall height is safe, that your kid can climb up safely, and that the bed rail is high enough to prevent them from falling over.
If you are getting a dresser or bookcase, make sure that it is sturdy and has a broad base so that it would not tip over. Also, look out for kid-safe finishing and materials.
Next is function – why do you need this furniture? This would largely depend on the age of your child. The child’s needs would be different at a certain age.
A young child might want more play elements such as slides, tunnels to squirm through, and loud and colourful patterns. As they grow, their needs would be more for chillax zones, shelves for books or other accessories, a study corner, and cleaner and more basic designs.
Then, you should consider the theme and aesthetics. Children’s furniture is essentially an expensive present that we give our children. Hence, we always encourage parents to involve their children in the process.
Here is also where you can consider various accessories such as bedding, lampshades, rugs or wallpaper to create the desired theme.
Next is dimensions. You may like a bed with a slide, but you must ensure it can fit in your room. Also, you might want to consider getting a low bunk bed instead of a regular bunk if you have young children. This is also important in planning the size of the essential items for the room: bed, wardrobe, and study desk.
Finally, you need to consider quality versus price versus warranty period. These three factors go hand in hand. The higher the quality, the higher the price and the longer the warranty period. This would also depend on your budget. You can easily compare online prices between children’s furniture shops in Singapore but do also visit the showrooms to touch and feel the product.
How have your own kids informed your brand choices for Kids Haven?
Vivien: Over the years, Kids Haven’s offerings revolve around them. When I first started Kids Haven, they were still young and in the fantasy stage. Hence, we were selling more kiddish, loud and colourful products, targeting parents with children between ages 3 to 9.
As my kids grew older, we introduced other brands with simpler designs for older kids, such as Maxtrix and Oslo Beds. We later introduced Cilek from Turkey, which has a wide range of bedroom sets that cater to kids of all ages, even teenagers.
Jeremy: Vivien and I have three children each. Our kids are 13, 11, 9, 5, 3, and one month old. The wide age range is great in keeping us in tune with the children’s needs across toddlers, tweens and teens.
We love involving the kids as guinea pigs for new products we intend to carry. Recently, the children were involved as models in a photoshoot that we did for a new brand.