Tuesday, February 8, 2011

bunk beds alternatives?

Since I'd like to move the Princess in with the boys, I need to do some furniture rearranging.  While the boys' room is spacious, I still need to get three beds, three dressers, a bookshelf, a rocking chair and hopefully a desk in there.  So....I'm looking at bunk beds.

The boys are five and three.  Bunk beds aren't recommended until your kids are six and over.  I am kind of uncomfortable with Greg being in a top bunk, because he gets up at least twice a night.

Two years ago, before we decided to put our three bedroom house on the market, I had planned to move the boys in together in preparation for the Princess's arrival.  That bedroom was very small, maybe 10x10, with oddly placed radiators and inconveniently placed doors, and I had the same problem of trying to cram too much furniture into a very small space.

When looking for bed solutions, I came across a great low loft, L-shaped bunk bed.  The top bunk was about 36 inches off the ground, so only a little higher than a regular bed, and then the bottom bunk was only about 6 inches off the ground, and the end tucked under the top bunk like an L.  I bookmarked it, but then we moved, and that was three computers ago, and now I can't find anything remotely similar in my searching on the internet. Has anyone seen something similar?

Since I can't find it, I'm wondering if I could hack something similar.

I could get this, and cut about eighteen inches off the legs, and put Peter's mattress on the floor underneath one end, so its an L-shape.

If that won't work, I am thinking of possibly using the Ikea Kura bed since its pretty low:
I am not the biggest fan of the blue, but it can be painted.  (See here for an example.) Peter's mattress would go on the floor on the inside, and Greg would have the top.  I could also get a canopy top (in that ugly blue, sigh) to further ensure that Greg doesn't fall out of bed.

Anyone know of any great low loft/bunk beds?  Other suggestions?

5 comments:

  1. We had that IKEA bed and it worked out well. The other side of the blue panels are white, if that makes a difference. I've seen them painted with chalkboard paint, which helps when space is tight! And, the top bunk is very deep, and we just had a thin mattress - which made it almost impossible to fall out - they're almost in a box ;)

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  2. I Googled 'low bunk beds' and saw this one on Amazon marketplace: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FN9TR2/ref=asc_df_B000FN9TR21419589?smid=A1T6VNFP0TYFJM&tag=pgmp-616-95-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395105&creativeASIN=B000FN9TR2

    and this one on Matrix:
    http://www.maxtrixonline.com/Maxtrix-Mash-L-Shape-Parallel-Bunk-Bed-w-ang-lad-p/mash.htm
    I can't vouch personally for any of them but hope it helps.

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  3. Oh, but I just noticed...where is the ladder for the Amazon bed?! And the wide open slats on the Matrix bed would scare me. I like your first choice, that dark wood.

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  4. I was going to suggest a lower 'bunk' bed with a trundle underneath. Your ideas are good!

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  5. The Idea bed is the same height as the whistler bed. I was set on the idea until I saw the whistler. I just ordered the whistler in white because it doesn't have those rails on the floor. That makes it more versatile as we're not sure if will L shape or throw a mattress on the floor to make it a bunk. My kids are 5 and 2 and I think this is going to work out very well. I will post pictures when I get them set up...probably some time next week. Now I need to find a canopy like the kura, but in something "princessy".

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