A good solution for a nursery – a bunk bed

Recommendation points

• Buy or not buy
• Manufacturing material
• Dimensions
• Ladder – safety comes first
• Not only safe but also beautiful

Bunk beds are an incredibly successful invention that is deservedly popular with parents and simply delights children. Beautiful, bright, comfortable, multifunctional, such beds cannot but be pleasant and at the same time allow you to free up space in an often very small children’s room.

Today there is a huge selection of bunk beds that can confuse any buyer. How to choose not just a beautiful, but also a reliable, most comfortable, and most importantly, safe bunk bed for a nursery? What features of the furniture you like should pay special attention to?

Modern bunk beds are a real set of pieces of furniture that will allow you to create two full-fledged sleeping places in the nursery and leave enough space for games

Buy or not buy

Before you start looking for a suitable model of a bunk bed, you need to think – is it really necessary in your case? Perhaps you will be too worried about the child sleeping on the second floor, or are you afraid that young extreme sportsmen will use the high second tier for noisy games and skydiving? Or maybe your child himself does not want to sleep too high.?

To resolve all doubts, it is worth, firstly, asking the kids themselves (after all, bunk beds are most often purchased for two children) – would they like to sleep on the second floor? Of course, most often the eldest child takes the second tier, but most likely in the future they will have a desire to switch places. If the children cannot answer right away, go with them to friends and family who already have a bunk bed, or to a furniture store. Let them try to climb the second tier, lie there, go down the stairs several times. Only after that they will be able to confidently say – yes, we really liked it.!

It is much more difficult for parents to get rid of fears. Yes, the high second tier does not look safe enough and the concerns are well-founded. However, if you choose the right bed, you can be almost one hundred percent insured against falls and bruises. In addition, if the nursery is too small, the parents simply have no choice – otherwise the children will have to sleep on the same sofa, which is not very comfortable, and if the family has both a boy and a girl, it is completely out of the question..

And one more important point – it is the parents who know their baby best. If he walks in a dream, sleeps very restlessly, or, on the contrary, is too sound, which increases the risk of falling asleep, going down the stairs, then it is better to refuse a bunk bed. You should not purchase a bunk bed for too young children – the appropriate age for mastering the second tier is six, and preferably seven years.

Bright, created taking into account all safety requirements and the wishes of babies, bunk beds will not leave indifferent either children or their parents

Manufacturing material

The history of the emergence of bunk beds is very vague. It is believed that the ancestors of modern beds for children were sailors’ beds, which were located in two rows in cramped cabins. In prison cells that did not spoil their inhabitants with space, two-story bunks were also installed. By the way, in English, bunk beds are still called bunkbed, that is, “bunk bed”.

The most common materials for making bunk beds are natural wood and metal, often a combination of metal supports and wooden sides. Wood is very beautiful in itself and harmless for kids, and nothing is more reliable than steel in the field of furniture making..

In the past few years, cheaper beds made of fibreboard (fiberboard, chipboard), which are covered with films or veneer such as MDF or PVC, have gained popularity. Not a bad and affordable option, but in this case, the quality of the material will have to pay special attention.

Timeless classic – all-wood bed with drawers for linen and small items

The tree always looks advantageous and natural, such a bed will fit into any style of the interior of the nursery

This bed is made of metal, looks very simple, modern and reliable

In this case, a staircase, supports and legs of the lower bed are created from metal, all other parts are fiberboards

An elegant wrought-iron bunk bed looks retro, which means that all other furniture should look no less elegant. But remember – children usually do not suffer from nostalgia and prefer brighter and more modern pieces of furniture.

Experts call pine the best material for a baby bed – it is durable, beautiful and at the same time lightweight. An oak bed will be too heavy, and most parents do not want to overpay for rare wood species – all the same, kids will not appreciate such an exclusive and will gladly leave an “autograph” on the most expensive material.

Plastic, that is, solid polymers, looks too artificial and is not popular, although it is still used in the manufacture of individual parts of bunk beds.

As for mattresses, it is better to purchase them immediately with the bed, then their sizes will match perfectly. It is worth giving preference to orthopedic mattresses with natural fillers and linen or cotton cover.

Dimensions

When choosing a bunk bed, you need to pay attention to its size. There are very compact models with a berth of about 150 cm long and only 50-60 cm wide. But already for a ten-year-old child, such a crib will be small, and for adults, for example, a mother who lies next to the baby on the first floor, will have to sleep with her legs tucked in..

A very simple and compact model for younger students and preschoolers. You can’t fit together at the bottom, and the kids will outgrow their sleeping places pretty quickly

Another small crib for babies – in this case, even the first floor is fenced with bumpers on all sides, which turns it into a real playpen. An excellent option for the little ones, but when the children grow up, you will have to purchase a model for schoolchildren

It is better not to save on such a significant purchase and immediately purchase a fairly spacious bed – from 190 cm long and at least 90 cm wide.This is already a one-and-a-half bed, on which children can sleep until graduation, and the grandmother who came to visit will fit on the first floor together with the youngest child.

The height of bunk beds is usually about 150-180 cm. There are also so-called one-and-a-half-tier beds, when the upper tier is located at a height of 60-120 cm, and the lower storey simply “slides in” under the upper one for a day, leaving only a narrow gap for the height of the bed and pillows. At night, the lower tier “leaves” and turns into a sleeping place, forming a kind of cascade of beds.

The lower part of this bed, which has become part of a whole set of furniture for the nursery, “hides” under the upper floor during the day. Thanks to this, the second tier was lowered below the usual height of 150-180 cm

The ideal minimum height of the second tier is 150 cm. It is in this case that both children and adults can sit quietly on the first floor during the day without fear of hitting the upper tier with their heads. Otherwise, the functionality of the bed will obviously suffer and it will only “work” at night, serving only as a place to sleep.

Cascade beds can be triple beds – a great option for a family with three children and only one nursery. The manufacturer of this model is HOMES INDUSTRIE

In addition, there are models in which the lower tier is designed for two people and is distinguished by increased dimensions. That is, below there is a spacious double bed, above which there is a second tier of a standard size – from 60 to 90 cm.A great option for three babies or for a mother who plans to sleep with her youngest child in the near future.

In this case, the first floor is noticeably wider than the second tier and is designed for two people.

The second floor can be located either directly above the first tier, or be shifted to the right or left. Such beds can take up an entire wall and a small three-meter room will clearly not be enough to arrange such a model.

Siloma model. The second tier is not exactly above the first, but slightly to the right, making room for the lower cabinet. This design takes up a lot of space, but it is a comprehensive solution for furnishing a children’s room and offers many storage spaces. Increases bed length and module ladder

There are also so-called loft beds, which do not have a sleeping place on the lower tier, but a play area is located, there is a desk, a wardrobe, a computer, and so on. That is, this is a bed for one child, but raised to the second floor to make room for games or a work area.

Children’s loft bed Biancomo, the height of the second tier is only 125 cm, and below there is a play area – a cozy house behind curtains

Ladder – safety comes first

The most dangerous part of a bunk bed is the staircase. If the second tier is fenced off with a securely fixed side with a height of at least 30 cm, then the baby simply cannot fall in a dream – accidentally falling over such a high protective barrier is unrealistic.

But going down the stairs, you can, of course, stumble, so this particular part of the bed should be given special attention when choosing the right model.

There are three types of stairs for bunk beds:

1. Flat vertical. That is, an ordinary staircase of the Swedish wall type, straight, usually without railings. Most often it is made of metal, in which case there should be additional protection on the steps – relatively soft rubber or plastic, which will not allow the baby to slip on smooth metal. If the staircase is made of wood, then additional protection is usually not placed on the steps..
2. Flat inclined. Exactly the same ordinary staircase, but installed at an angle to the second floor, flatter, sometimes curved.
3. Module with architectural type steps, which is installed on the side of the bed. Often, these modules are a structure of spacious drawers for storage, which makes the bed multifunctional. However, the module, firstly, increases the cost of the bed, and secondly, it takes up additional space in the nursery.

Modular drawer design. Convenient, functional, most secure, but takes up a lot of space

Flat inclined staircase. In this case, it is installed on the side of the bed, but more often it takes place in front, slightly covering the lower tier. Bunk beds are always assembled on site, so that parents can often choose the location of the stairs themselves

The simplest option is a flat vertical staircase. In this case, the steps are metal, without an additional layer of plastic or rubber. Experts call this option the most dangerous. And the side on the second floor next to this bed is too low and does not cover the entire sleeping place, but only part of it

Not only safe but also beautiful

So, having studied all the possible options, we firmly decided that we choose, for example, a bed with a high side, made of chipboard, large enough, with a flat vertical staircase. In this case, only the most pleasant part remains – the choice of external parameters, bed design style.

Of course, if you have already decided on the interior design of the children’s room, then the bunk bed should be chosen in the same style. Do you have a bright and dynamic nursery with yellow walls and cartoon characters? This means that the bed should look no less cheerful and bright, fitting into the interior. Was the room designed for teenagers and has a laconic interior? Choose a bed without frills and too “childish” details and decorations.

It is worth remembering that a bunk bed itself is a fairly large and significant piece of furniture, occupying most of the bedroom. So it is the style of the bed that can set the tone for the design of the entire room..

And, of course, bunk beds for young princesses and real men are very different in style of decoration, so you can confidently divide the models into “girly” and more strict “boyish”.

This loft bed is a whole play and sports complex, bright and cheerful. A slide, a basketball hoop, a tent is a great place to play in a city apartment. But this option takes up a lot of space and is no longer suitable for older students.

Bright drawers, a pull-out table, a sofa bed on the ground floor – a universal option for both boys and girls

The delicate pink bedroom clearly belongs to two young ladies, so the appropriate bed was chosen – white, with flower handles and stylish linens

Manufacturers often offer ready-made sets of furniture for a children’s room, which include, in addition to a bunk bed and wardrobes, and a desk and chairs. In this case, all pieces of furniture are made in the same style and color scheme. Convenient and allows you to immediately completely furnish the nursery

An unusually cute one and a half bunk bed in a retro style. Natural wood does not need additional details and decorations. A lot of drawers with antique handles, a wardrobe and a wooden panel on the wall complement the image of solid and respectable furniture. Caroti model

A bunk bed can become the main piece of furniture in a nursery, solve the problem of too small a room, allowing you to organize comfortable sleeping places and leave space for games and study. Choose the right one, paying special attention to the safety of babies, and the bunk bed will delight with its functionality and beauty for many years.