It is a twin over full bunk bed.
I'm rethinking my decision on this purchase - - and all the associated linens I bought for a twin and full bed, yesterday. Today, I'm thinking that perhaps I should just buy William a twin. But soon, I'll need the extra space for Henry and I like the idea of a bunk, but maybe not now.
I just want the one purchase that I make now, to last for years and years - and not have to replace it down the road. My concerns with this bed is that:
1) It will be hard to make - especially the bottom if it is pushed in to a corner;
2) Fall factor. I know someone whose child broke their neck falling off a top bunk (my plan is to keep the ladder off until the kids are old enough to go up top >> ~6yo);
3) Space factor. I could split the bed in to a twin and full, but we really don't have a lot of room in this house. Especially since Henry is still in his crib.
The advantages:
1) It's very cool.
2) Space factor - we could fit all three kids in this spot.
3) There is more space in the full, if they boys ever want to sleep together.
This bed will last us for the next 15 years - or more - so I want to make the right choice.
The buzzing with all this indecision is making me dizzy. I have until 11:00 AM to make the call.
What would you do?
Could you buy it, but store the piece you don't need yet in the garage?
ReplyDeleteBobbie
I love it! My nephew started sleeping on a top bunk when he was four. My brother put a board across like this one has. Maybe they can both sleep on the bottom until William is ready to move up.
ReplyDeleteWe have converted our garage to a play area and don't want to start storing stuff out there. A mattress and frame will take up a lot of space. Plus there is the rat issue, if they ever come back...
ReplyDeleteI like it. Anything to get more space in the bedrooms. Maybe you could just rethink the linens. Jen, step away from The Pottery Barn. What if you just do a bottom sheet and a duvet? Then all you have to do daily is throw the duvet over the bed. The bed will be great later for sleep overs too. And how cool is it for making a fort under the twin?
ReplyDeleteMy youngest was 4 when she switched to the top bunk of our beds, and never had a problem. She's kinda clumsy and distractable, but never fell or slipped or tried anything goofy. The pediatrician recommended that age to us as a good starting point. We had a rule that only one person was allowed up there at a time, so no monkey business.
ReplyDeleteAs far as making the beds, we pulled the "headboard" side of the beds away from the wall just enough for me to fit in there to get to that back corner. It worked beautifully. The girls were great about getting up there to clear off stuffed animals and such before I took the sheets off.
I liked the versatility of a bunk bed because when we didn't have room for two beds, it was great, and yet they can be separated, as they were recently when my girls wanted their own rooms.
If you're worried about the falling factor, I really don't think removing the ladder will deter them. Just a concern I have. I am terrified of bunk beds.
ReplyDeleteI would definitely get that bed.
ReplyDeleteI did want to say, though, that if you think keeping the ladder off will keep children off of the top bunk... think again.
They /will/ climb it.
But you probably already knew that. :)
I have a twin over full from PB Kids for my two boys and I LOVE it.
ReplyDeleteMy older son is 4, and sleeps on the top bunk. (Has since he was 3 1/2.) My younger son, 2 1/2, sleeps on the bottom and has done that since he was 2. He's climbed up to the top bunk a couple times during the day but just isn't all that interested. Which is strange, because he climbs on everything else in the house.
I love the space this bed provides. Yes, it's a pain the arse to change the sheets. But I manage, just not as often as I'd like.
My older son can successfully get up and down during the night if he needs to visit the little boys room and has never fallen.
Go fot it!
I say "do it".
ReplyDelete1) it shouldn't be that much harder to make (maybe just a couple of more minutes).
2) ladder off solves that worry.
3) don't split it and leave it as is (girls already have their own bed). The boys can share once Henry is ready.
I agree:
very cool with lots of sleeping room.
It looks like a good, quality piece of furniture. You can always just sell it in 5 or 10 years if you don't think its working for you. You should be able to get good money back~ they have always been very popular!
We have the same type of bed and we love it for our boys. Our oldest started in there at 6 when his baby brother was born. Stephen on top Samantha on the bottom and then when Matthew left the crib he went to the bottom bunk and Samantha back to the girls room.
ReplyDeleteAs for making it I crawl on the bed and make the back corner first and then make the rest of the bed and it works fine.
keep it. It saves space and kids will love it. If you move to a bigger space, it will be good for the girls and slumber parties! if someone falls off of the top, chances are they will bounce off of the full and that will slow their fall a bit. (I hope that last part helps and doesn't just give you panic attacks about the visual I just created).
ReplyDeleteI say go for it!
ReplyDeleteMy mom's best friend had one of these in one of her son's room, and the option of that extra full bed when guests come to stay made it really worth it.
The stackability of a bunk-bed saves space in the overall room; so when its time for the boy's to share the bunks, they have playspace in their bedroom as well.
I think this is a great idea, do it! :-) It will last you for quite a few years because your kids are sooo young at the time you're buying this.
That bed scares me to death! My triplets turned 3 in June and my little one is 16 months old. I think they will be able to climb to the top even without the ladder in place. My biggest fears would be something being thrown from the top of it like a heavy toy and hitting someone in the head below or someone (most likely the pesky baby) being shoved and falling from the top. Just my thoughts!!
ReplyDeleteKristen
If you put the bunk bed a corner, it will be a pain in the tail to make. I know, because our bunk beds have to go in the corner - or the ceiling fan threatens to decapitate - and even with that my 12 yo still gets hit in the head by the fan about once a year. OK, I've even gotten whacked by the ceiling fan once or twice while making the bed.
ReplyDeleteHave you thought about the twin with the trundle?
ReplyDeleteI have two girls (3 & 4) and we have bunk beds. We originally set them up as bunk beds in the youngest one's room when she was two and a half. We put the ladder in the attic. We explained to the girls that the top bunk was simply the "roof" of Meggie's bed and no one was allowed on the roof. This worked really well. They never tried to climb onto the top bed. They did, however, put a little, pink, plastic chair on the toy box and then stood on that chair so that they could put their stuffed animals to sleep "on the roof!"
ReplyDeleteI love the beds. I say get them. Put the ladder away. Call the top the roof and forbid anyone from getting on it and then hide all little, pink, plastic chairs!
Trundle beds are great!! Costco has them from time to time. my twin sister and I shared a trundle bed all the way through high school. It was a great space saver. And worked well for us.Granted the boys might not want a trundle bed in high school. You have to tuck the comforter in on the bottom. But I do remember there were times I could shove the bed in without it being made:) You never know when you'll be in a pinch:)But there is the fact that you can whack your shin on the trundle bed. I did it a time or two when it wasn't put away. But definitely a space saver and would last at least until high school.
ReplyDeleteI say go for it! I bet that you'll end up liking it so much that you will wonder why you didn't do that sooner!
ReplyDeleteAll I can add about bunk beds is that my bil is an orthopedic surgeon and says that he would NEVER own bunk beds for kids due to the amt of accidents he takes care of due to them...and he also is strict with his own ones on slamming doors b/c he sees far too many cases of missing or hurt apendages as well. Those are his 2 big no nos.
ReplyDeleteI can see why you'd want the space saver though. Good luck on your decision.
Amy in OH
I have this bed for my boys. It works great- of course I don't stress about making it look perfect I throw up the covers and call it good (I do not mess with a top sheet).A sleeping bag works great on the top bunk. My boys mostly sleep together on the lower bed and hardly anyone sleeps on the upper. Until they were older I had a extra high bed rail I used on the top bunk as well just for another barrier to falling. No falls or broken bones yet.
ReplyDeleteI'm too late to sway your decision, but I think it's a great idea! I like that it would sleep three kids, and eventually your boys could either share the bottom bed, or have one on top and one on bottom. All bunk beds are a pain to make, but that is just their nature, I guess.
ReplyDeletei was thinking of making this same purchase for my little man, but reconsidered last minute and didn't end up getting it because ladder or no ladder they'd both find a way to get up there and fall and crack their heads open. i think later around 6 or 7 we will buy one then...until then we are sticking iwth mattresses on the floor.
ReplyDeletefor you i'd get it if you have a good deal and can keep the twin on the floor or in storage for a while. it's just too dangerous...
i know i am too late...but that is my opinion...
are you sore?!
I would say that unless you have the room to keep them separate right now, I wouldn't do it because they ARE going to climb it. We had bunks at the cottage we stayed at last week and they easily go up on the top without the ladder.
ReplyDeleteTwo of them slept up there and I wasn't freaked out about it though. Ours are bunks and I plan to put them together next year.
I love it! Could you just put the bottom bed out and leave the top in it's carton and possibly store it underneath the full bed until William is older? I think without the ladder, the kids would still climb up there and could fall off and get hurt...
ReplyDeleteI think you should make him wear a bike helmet to bed every night!
ReplyDeleteI would think that your kids would find a way up without the ladder:) I had a twin over twin and it was very hard to make. Couldn't they both sleep on the bottom?
ReplyDeleteWe have 3 boys sleeping in one room, with two of them in "perpendicular bunks" (you know, t-shaped). That bed is just too big -- and we have a pretty big bedroom. I think you're going to find the same thing with this. And, it really is a pain to change the sheets.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the second one of your kids is sick, you will regret having them sleep in the same bed. I'd recommend going with one of those simple bunk sets that can be made into two separate twins. When they start having sleepovers, kids like to sleep in sleeping bags, anyway.
Okay, so I'm too late now.
ReplyDeleteWhat did you decide?
Wow! You got alodda good answers! :D I enjoyed readin them.
ReplyDelete~Cindy! :)
P.S. Oh, if you want my vote, I'm afraida them. Too much chance of a child fallin and gettin hurt.
..
I know this is too late, but if you got it, I don't know that taking away the ladder is a good idea. The kids are likely to just find a riskier way to climb up to the top - like getting on top of the end of the bottom bunk and hoisting themselves up from there. And then there's no safe way to get down.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great bed - maybe just for older children?
My stepkids have a bunk bed and I'm terrified of when my now 15-month-old twins start to try to climb it.
I would get it. Course, I am also a big fan of pottery barn kids. We actually plan on getting the full over full for our boys. We have three boys but I think for future use with sleep overs and so on that this bed is worth the cost. I like the idea of having a duvet to place over it when need to bed made and prevent a lot of the making with sheets and so on. I know hoe it is when making decisions and stressing over what will be the best thing for a long term situation. Good luck and try not to go too crazy over it. OBTW, that is way neat that you do tri races. Good job. I just started up two months ago on running distance again. It's a mind thing I should have been doing it a long time ago. Hope all goes well there for you as well. Once again, Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteMom2many
I'm too late, I know, but my 3 year old figured out how to climb up to the top bunk (his 6yo brother's bed) even after I took the ladder away (I took it away because the little one kept going up top while the older one was trying to sleep).
ReplyDeleteI don't bother making the bunk beds. We just use a fitted sheet and a washable quilt. I have standard bunkable/unbunkable twins, not a twin-over-full. -Anita R.
I know that I am too late, however if you purchased the bunk bed let them store ALL of the extra stuffed animals up there and make the upper bunk with all of the blankets sitting around your house. If you leave the ladder off for now they will learn how to climb up the outside of it so I would put the ladder on the first time that they climb up there (it's a safer way to get up there) Personally I like bunk beds, they are fantastic for making forts during the day when you don't want the living room made over into fort land, they leave lots of floor space in the bedroom, and kids LOVE them. Plus there are so many things you can store on the top bunk when you are not using them.
ReplyDeleteYeah "GeologyChick", you are right...have the kids wear helmets to bed. Next on the list: Seat belts for the dining room chairs!
ReplyDeleteLOL
A.M.
I bought one of these 15 years ago when my three big girls were little and sharing a room. THey used it, loved it. We have since used it as a single, as a double, as a bunk. It's gone up and down from the attic as we've had different needs. It's been wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI hope you didn't get it. Bunk Beds are an incredible pain to make, they are dangerous (with or without the ladder, they can easily get up there), and teenagers hate bunk beds. They are too big to sit up and not hit their head if they are underneath, and by the time they are 13, the last thing they want to do is climb to the top. We bought bunk beds thinking all the same things you thought, and it was the worst purchase ever!
ReplyDeleteHey there,
ReplyDeleteMy in-laws have a trick they use to make making their own bed easier. They always use a sheet one sized smaller than the actual size of the bed (so a twin on the full I guess). That way they say you just pull it up and don't have to do any tucking. I guess there isn't anything smaller than the twin to put on the twin, but you could hem it 12 inches. I've never tried it because my husband is a sheet hog and I need every inch I can get, but they love it.
I know mine would climb it even without the ladder in place. My dad wants to give us bunk beds he has for their big girl room, but I just can't do it because I know they will climb.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't get it. i don't like bunk beds b/c of the fall factor. it is very cool, indeed, but not worth the risk, IMHO.
ReplyDeletei would get one twin bed for W and then get another, matching one for H when he outgrows his crib. Even if their room will look a little crowded...
GL making a decision.
It's too cool. We also bought a bunk set when my oldest moved into her big girl room. I would just put up the full-sized bed. Don't buy a twin mattress. Just store the twin frame wherever you can. Let William sleep on the bottom, and when Henry is big enough to move out of the crib, let them sleep together. Woman, we've been reading about your trips for years. You KNOW that if the top bunk is up, he will climb into it. I would actually be more concerned about him falling off the top bunk while playing during the day than while sleeping at night.
ReplyDeleteAs far as making the bed, Use a fitted sheet, and a throw-sized blanket, instead of a regular blanket. Then you don't have to worry about tucking sheets & blankets in.
Best of luck,
Sarah
I'm wondering what you decided!
ReplyDeleteLots of interesting comments about bunk beds. I don't know the height of these, but we had bunk beds in my college dorms. It was a great way to save space. The nice thing about having the beds unbunked was using them like couches for studying, reading, etc.
Having the full underneath rather than a twin might make for a shorter fall if someone fell off the top, but could also result in the lower sleeper getting stepped on during a hasty dismount.