“This cot bed has been designed to last” – we review the Tutti Bambini Modena cot bed

With a clean contemporary style, the Modena 3 in 1 cot bed from Tutti Bambini is designed for longevity. Available in Oak, Oak and White and Grey Ash and White, these three neutral colourways are sure to to complement any nursery aesthetic.

Converting from cot to toddler bed and into a sofa/day bed, you can be sure your little one will be able to use this bed beyond babyhood. Crafted with care and attention to detail, the Modena cot bed features 3 adjustable mattress positions, teething rails and non-toxic finishes, ensuring a safe sleep environment for your little one.

Here's what Mother&Baby Hub Editor Stephanie Spencer thought of the Modena cot bed when she tried it out for herself...

Testing the Tutti Bambini Modena 3 in 1 Cot Bed

I'm currently pregnant with my first, while we have a bedside crib already I was keen to also have a cot in baby's nursery. For me, a cot bed seemed like the most cost-effective solution as it can last into toddlerhood. Something that was also important to me was having different mattress heights, to make it easier when putting baby in their cot.

The Tutti Bambini Modena Cot Bed arrives in two boxes, something which confused me at first as they arrived in different deliveries, but it made sense when I unboxed them! Box one was larger and contained the two longer sides and the mattress base, box two had the two ends, the instructions and fixings needed to assemble the cot. It was well packaged, everything was padded in nicely, there was no wiggle room and nothing arrived damaged.

All in all it arrives in 5 pieces, with all the bolts you need plus an allen key - so you don't need any tools to put it together. I'd recently helped my husband put together the wardrobe for the nursery, so had braced myself for a complicated set up, but when I read through the instructions for the cot bed I was pleasantly surprised that it seemed a simple process.

Each step was well explained and clear from the diagrams. I did slightly change how I did step one from the instructions because I was assembling it on my own and the cot pieces were quite heavy, so I lay the base on the floor while leaning the back panel against the wall - but if you had two people this wouldn't have been an issue. The bolts do take a bit of encouragement to fit at first, they get a little stuck and you have to give them a push to get them to align properly with the holes because of the slats of the sides, but since it's very sturdily made I could give the bolts a bit of a push without worrying about damaging anything.

Once the back was attached to both ends the frame was already pretty solid. I was pleasantly surprised by how simple the cot base fastenings were to put in (as pictured below).

They have holes ready so tools or drilling required, you just push the attachment in to secure it and once all four are in place the cot base can be lined up so there's no trying to balance the cot base while attaching it or anything like that. Once that's all on and aligned there are more bolts to secure it in place and it's done. You can see that clearly the designers of this product knew what they were doing here, as the mattress is designed to be attached at different heights, so they've made it as easy as possible for parents to be able to alter this without too much hassle, while ensuring a safe sleeping environment for your child.

At this stage I had one panel left, which attached easier than the back as everything was already standing so I wasn't trying to balance or lift any panels to make them line up. I assembled it as a cot on the highest mattress setting, but if you did want to assemble as a toddler bed or as a sofa it's really clear what to do. I've kept the instructions and the additional little panels for the toddler bed/sofa configuration safe under the bed so I know where they are when the time comes that I need to adjust it.

The bolts are a bit of a faff to tighten, just because of trying to get your hands to the bolt with the allen key with the slats in the way. I did as much as I could with my fingers and then used the allen key to tighten off the last little bit, and this worked best. Once tightened up the bolts fit in nice and flush so there's no risk of anything getting caught on them.

Total time to assemble the cot bed was about an hour, which I thought was pretty good considering I did it by myself at about 7 months pregnant! If you had another pair of hands I'm sure it would have been up in half the time - on the Tutti Bambini website they advise that assembly time is 30 minutes approximately with 2 adults (which seems perfectly accurate to me having done solo assembly).

As soon as it was fully assembled I was so chuffed with how sturdy it felt, it's clear this product has been designed to last. I can see that this cot bed would definitely last well into toddlerhood, and could even be used for multiple children. It's a high quality product, the design and assembly has been really well thought out. I love the light oak finish and it's actually ended up being a perfect match for the wardrobe I bought separately. All the finishes are neutral enough that they'd work in any nursery.

I bought the cot bed mattress seperately but these are also available to purchase from Tutti Bambini - I was very pleased that the one I had was a perfect fit. There's also space beneath for storage which is very handy. It would perhaps be good if there was a matching under bed drawer available - I couldn't see one on the Tutti Bambini website, so I've used some spare fabric boxes I had. It's very handy to have this storage space under the bed for spare sheets and baby sleeping bags.

Overall I think this is a brilliant cot bed and well worth the price tag considering the quality of the product and that it's made for longevity. The Modena comes with a three year warranty but honestly after putting this together and feeling the sturdiness of it, I have no doubts it will last a lot longer than that. I can't think of any improvements beyond having an under bed drawer available in the range, so this product has earned a five star rating from me.