Carter's New Furniture?

I spent last night trying to figure out what to do for furniture for Carter's new room. I want to get him a crib that converts to a toddler bed, but I see us only using it for a year or year and a half. We could then convert the toddler bed into a full bed, but the room we're moving Carter into is long and I think a twin bed would fit better in the room. Besides, I can't imagine such a little kid in a big full bed. I just like twin beds better for when kids are young. So, I basically don't want to spend a lot on a crib and crib mattress.

So, if I get a cheaper crib, should I buy other "cheap" furniture to finish the room? Or go ahead and get a good dresser and bookcase that we can then match a twin bed frame to when we're ready? I think I'm leaning towards getting a "long-term" dresser and bookcase. I also need a place to still change Carter's diapers and store all that stuff. So I either need a basic changing table or a dresser that's low enough and long enough for a changing pad and a basket for diapers, wipes, etc.

This is the furniture I'm currently thinking of buying ...

Graco Lauren Classic Convertible Crib in Espresso:


(This crib is no longer sold with the dropside so it's safe!) Target has this crib on sale for $139.99 and they are throwing in a free mattress if you buy it online (a Kolcraft Pediatric 1000 Crib Mattress). And they have free shipping. The mattress isn't amazing (it only costs $40.99) but it has good reviews. I checked it out at Target yesterday and it is softer than Carter's current mattress, but we're not worried about a soft mattress and SIDS anymore. And I don't really want to spend $100-$150 on a mattress that we're not going to use for long. Besides, if Carter hates it, it's free and we can always get a new mattress without feeling like we wasted money. When I was at Babies R Us yesterday getting diapers, I checked out the crib and I like how it looks. It's not as heavy looking as a lot of their cribs (but a lot of their cribs cost $400+), but it doesn't look too basic or cheap either. The crib is made in other colors, but it costs about $20 more and doesn't come with a free mattress. I think I like the dark color and I think it looks good with the paint we picked out for Carter's room. I'm finding this deal hard to pass up!

Target makes the bookcase that we currently have in Carter's room in an espresso stain as well. It's held up well so far (we actually have a few more of the same style of bookcase in other rooms in the house and they all still look great too). Here's a picture of it:


It costs $69.99, but Target always puts these bookcases on sale so if we wait, we should be able to get it for about $54.99.

Now, my big dilemma ... the dresser. Right now, I'm leaning towards this Canopy dresser from Walmart (it also has wood knobs you can use instead of the silver):


I'm usually not a fan of Walmart furniture, but we have the console table from this collection in our office and it is really well made. The drawers are all wood instead of having those flimsy particle board bottoms. I also think the style matches the crib well. And it's big enough. We could use the extra drawers for blankets and other storage. This would be our "splurge" as it costs $299.96. I've seen some other dressers that aren't bad and in the $200-$300 range, but most are either too tall and/or too narrow to use as a changing table. I'm going to continue looking at dressers a little more before buying this one, but it's my favorite so far.

Does anyone see any flaws in my logic here? Any suggestions on what's best to do? I've looked a little and think we'll be able to find a twin bed frame in the espresso color to match the other furniture when we need it. I'm going to try to draw out the room and layout of the furniture in Visio today to make sure everything will fit as I think it should. I'll try to post that later if I'm able to do it.