Bijou Sway

To be completely honest, Bijou build donated mainstay and swing arm to my family. My 6 year old little boy has neuroblastoma and has been fighting for over a year. I reached out to the company totally not expecting an actual response because I just couldn’t swing the investment right now with all of the other cancer related expenses and missing work so frequently. Bijou responded. They cared so much. I can’t think of an evening that we’ve been home since this arrived that we haven’t been on it. One of my favorite parts is that even when he doesn’t feel totally up for playing, he can still go outside and rest inside of the mainstay and get sunshine. Thank you for giving us this opportunity.

Originally posted at bijoubuild.com

Great for the whole family

Originally posted at bijoubuild.com

Our daughter is loving her new “clubhouse.” She hangs out in it almost every day after school and my husband and I enjoy spending time with her in it, too. It was trickier than expected to install (just took a lot longer and some steps/videos could have been more clear), but we’re super happy with how it turned out. We got the Mainstay with the upper level addition and she loves having 2 levels.

Originally posted at bijoubuild.com

So the swing is comfortable and good looking however there’s been way to many instances where the kids are falling out because there’s no real way to hold on while swinging. And the seat is deep so where their little legs fold it keeps them right on the edge. I’m starting to hate it. I will be buying a traditional swing to replace.

Originally posted at bijoubuild.com

I want to begin by saying we absolutely LOVE our Bijou Build — our backyard looks wonderful, and we inaugurated it at our kid’s birthday party with a lot of kids running around and loving it (and their parents too). Once it is up, it is gorgeous: whimsical but sturdy, aesthetic but functional!

The set-up process was feasible: I did a significant portion of it by myself, but with my husband to assist in critical moments (lifting the entire structure up, holding the ladder when I was attaching straps at the top, etc.) I will say that the instructions leave a lot to be desired, even with the videos — the straps are short (and they have to be for the panels to be taut), but the instructions for how to loop the straps is really vague. Detailed videos for each of these steps would be really helpful from Bijou Build to assist with every moment of the way. I understand the desire to market this as a Really Easy Process — and it could be, if there were clearer guidance.

The quality of everything, overall, is good: the canvas is sturdy, kids have been climbing and hanging off stuff with no issues. However, on a couple of spots (that seem to not be structurally a problem), the grommet for the straps that is hammered onto the canvas has caused the canvas to pull away and rip a little. Not great when the product is just out of the box. Thankfully this largely happened on grommets on the top of the structure so the unsightly stuff is hidden; it also didn’t worry me enough to bother sending it back for another product.

Finally, a quick comment on the design overall — I love the different panels, and the climbing panel in particular is super neat. That said, the fact that the panel with a window that includes a circular support is made of the same materials, same colors, same everything as the climbing panel *except* for the attachment (i.e., velcro) means that it is not for climbing. There is a sign on the panel that explicitly states that, but, I mean, this is a toy. The kids are going to stop playing, read the tiny sewed-on sign and say, “Ok, better not climb” (if they can read at all — lots of 2-4 year-olds were playing here). In future iterations, I would really encourage the design team at Bijou Build to rethink that panel so that it is obviously and clearly different from the climbing panel for parents’ and guardians’ peace of mind.

So, long review trying to be honest: I think this is a FANTASTIC product, with some aspects to be considered by the company. I would (and have) recommended it to many parents already, but wanted all these points to be visible to others, and especially to Bijou Build for future iterations.

Originally posted at bijoubuild.com

We enjoy it, unfortunately the solar lights stopped working the second day which is quite disappointing.

Originally posted at bijoubuild.com

We love our Bijou Build. Kids enjoy climbing on it and making believe. I enjoy relaxing on the swing listening to the birds being off the ground from the bugs and swaying in the trees, the bijou team was extremely responsive to my needs and concerns. They sent a replacement right away when a plastic piece broke. And there is so much creativity involved as input different components on as I choose. I even realized to add a few rope rings of my own as more footholds. And the lit up mainstays look beautiful in my backyard. I love how they enhance the natural look of my outdoor space. I’m happier having a temporary structure that will not leave rotting broken huge wood frames in my yard when the kids lose interest outgrow it. Instead I always have my nook now to escape to for a good read. Thank you Bijou team!

Originally posted at bijoubuild.com

We LOVE our mainstay. It is such a unique play set which invites imaginary and creative play. Easy to set up. Breaks the mold of traditional backyard play sets. We recently ordered the swing arm to expand our set. Very excited!

Originally posted at bijoubuild.com

Best play set ever, my husband was a fan of having a large play set in the yard that he couldn’t move and that we’d have to tear down once we move. Then I found this and although it is heave it is so nice to be able to build it and not worry about tearing it all apart just to move. It is also aesthetically pleasing and I love the solar lights. Because this can also expand and be added to I will definitely be purchasing more from this company once we move.

Originally posted at bijoubuild.com

My 3 abd 5 year old love the Bijou and swing. They play on it every day. The only issues we had were the communication process after purchase and the instructions were difficult for us to fully understand during set up.

Originally posted at bijoubuild.com

We purchased the single bijou structure for my 5yo for the holidays. It's only been up a few days but my initial thoughts are:

- We found the initial installation time to take a few hours, not the one hour that's started. It's not difficult, but did take awhile to attach all the panels.

- The design is beautiful! It looks so lovely in our urban farm of a backyard.

- Once it was up I realized there's only one panel that really facilitates movement and climbing. With that I now think of it as more of a play space than a play structure. I really hope they come out with more panel options that facilitate climbing and hanging and such with a single bijou.

- We live in the Pacific NW so I was/am curious about how it will hold up in our rainy season. In the time that we've had it up, we had one very rainy day followed by a clear, dry day. The material is durable but holds a good amount of water on its surface. I was surprised that it didn't dry out in that single dry day, but shaking the panel fabric helped.

All in all, we're happy with the purchase but I'm really crossing fingers that they come out with more panel options for active kiddos.

Originally posted at bijoubuild.com

We debated if this would be fun for our 10 year old because most of the kids shown are younger but he loves it and so do we. We have the mainstay duo with the swing and the bridge and all three of us can get out there and enjoy it together. Time to go read a book...

Originally posted at bijoubuild.com

Our twins love the bijou build! Such a fun way to play outside!

Originally posted at bijoubuild.com

Bought this swing to hang from the ceiling in our basement. It arrived quickly and was exactly what we expected. Hung up easily and the kids have loved playing with it!

Originally posted at bijoubuild.com

This is the perfect addition to an already fun set up. Both kids and parents can enjoy this comfortable swing. I was really impressed by how well made it is too!

Originally posted at bijoubuild.com

I live in an apartment and got this swing for my balcony. It was super easy to set up and has been a perfect, comfy hangout spot for my outdoor space. It’s lightweight and easy to collapse which is nice for when I have to bring it in to store during winter months or when I eventually relocate. Definitely worth the cost!

Originally posted at bijoubuild.com