Beyond Bunk Beds

Beyond Bunk Beds

Recently, I returned from a spring break trip to Disney World in Orlando with my eight year old son. What an adventure. We stayed at the impressive Animal Kingdom Resort. Our room had a “savannah view” where we could watch African vultures, kudu, and giraffe lazily wander around the savannah outside our balcony. Two Watusi cows and a bull with their enormous horns parked outside our windows for our entire stay. They were impressive to us and we see Longhorn cattle almost daily.

The one let down for our trip? We could not secure a bunk bed in our hotel room for our son. The folks at Disney know that a hotel room with a bunk bed would be the piece de resistance for any child’s visit and outfit many of their resorts with these childhood favorites. Bunk beds have come a long way from the rack and stack variety. Even so, the allure of bunk beds to little children, boys in particular, will never fade.

Makes sense

If you have a home that’s the gathering place for lots of friends and family, bunk beds are a great idea. Mostly, it’s because bunk beds take up less space. They allow you to fit more sleeping people into a room than traditional beds. They also create more floor space in the room. Privacy and better sleep is always a plus with bunk beds because someone won’t have to share a bed with anyone else’s sleeping habits.

Variety

Bunk beds can be made in a variety of styles. Many lodges and vacation rentals have bunk beds because you can get more people into fewer bedrooms. They also have that bunk bed appeal that makes for more vacation fun. More than just a rack, bunk beds can be made to fit into a variety of locations. One popular use of bunk beds is to place them under sloping ceilings on the sides of a room. Or, they can be tucked into dormers. Bunk beds can either be purchased or site built. Building them into the room is a popular choice because the beds can be outfitted with more personal style and features, such as lighting, bookshelves and ladders.

There are many websites that offer plans for building your own bunk beds. The Freewoodworking.com website has building plans for a variety of bunk bed styles. Even a quick image search on Google will turn up an astonishing array of bunk bed styles from simple and inexpensive metal varieties to upscale built-in bunks that would be the envy of every visiting child – and quite a few young at heart adults.

Safety first

No matter what style would work best in your bedroom, all bunk beds need to include safety features such as railings. Rails can be either full or partial. For younger children or children who move around a lot at night, a full rail would be best. A sturdy ladder is another important bunk bed feature. Some bunk beds can be purchased with a slide instead of a ladder. Bunk beds should also allow enough room for someone to sit up in bed and not hit their head on the ceiling, so plan accordingly.

Bunk beds aren’t what they used to be. They’ve been showing up in decorating magazines from Southern Living to Architectural Digest. They’ve gone upscale and have some real design appeal now. You could say that bunk beds have arrived. If you have lots of guests or want to entrance your children or grandchildren, get a bunk bed. You’ll bring out the best in kids and the kid in the adults.