Now that my oldest is an independent reader, she needs a space in her room where she can get super comfy and do some serious reading. I thought about getting her a bean bag chair, which in some ways just feels like a rite of passage for kids, right?

But then I thought about all that filling spilling out everywhere as it will eventually do, and decided that’s not really something I want to do.

Brentwood Home is a company that offers a really nice alternative to a bean bag chair, and they call it a Venice Lounger. We were sent a lounger and a pillow to test out, and as always, I’m giving you my honest opinions.

As far as how much my daughter likes it, I have to say this lounger gets very high marks. She enjoys doing cannonballs into it for fun, and I’m not the least bit worried that she will break it, because the internal stuffing is actually a pillow made out of memory foam. It feels great and won’t be exploding in the near future, which is a win for me.

I have also noticed that the outer covering, which is easy to remove and wash, is super soft and yet remarkably sturdy. I have picked the lounger up by he handle at the top and toted it up and down the stairs and all over the house and have never felt, seen or heard any evidence of strain from the fabric. We have already had decorative pieces that were connected to the zippers fall off, but I’m not too concerned because again, their purpose was nothing more than decorative.

We were also sent a child’s size pillow, called the Lilypad pillow, and Layah seems to enjoy it. The filling is a combination of latex and kapok. It is very soft like down, but doesn’t come with allergy concerns, so that’s a good thing for folks out there who need so be mindful of that. I appreciate the smaller sizing for her, but it isn’t so small that she’ll outgrow it in the next 2 years (which will be when it is time to replace the pillow, FYI).

Based on our experience, the quality of products from Brentwood Home is quite high. I will say, however, that the customer service experience was lacking. It took a little over a month for our shipment to arrive, and repeated requests for an update on the order were met with vague language about having production delays and the promise to let me know when the order would arrive. When I attempted to check the shipping status on my own, it seemed that I needed a password to get into my account that I don’t recall creating. No problem, since there was the ability to reset it via email. Only I never received any emails with links to reset the password (I attempted this route on two separate occasions with no luck).

Only by connecting with the media rep was I able to finally get any information about my order, but that is not an avenue available to the typical customer. If I had placed this order myself I would have been very unhappy with a month-long delay, and would have preferred to have just seen the item listed as out of stock, which would have been more accurate. I don’t like it when a company sells something that it does not have on hand to sell, and then doesn’t provide the customer with an opportunity to cancel the order but leaves them hanging for a month.

Brentwood Home is a company with other 30 years of business experience, and it has had online offerings since 2012. The product quality is quite good, and it just may be the case that I had unusually bad luck as a test customer. But I always tell you straight, so keep in mind before you order from them that based on my experience, the item might not actually be in stock and you may have to wait quite a while for your products.