If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
junior loft beds
"Karen G" wrote in message
... Has anybody looked at these? We have two girls sharing a 10x10 room. We don't plan to add on to our house, so we are looking at our options to minimize the space that the beds take up. Something like this: http://thebeanbagstore.com/bhbirchmidl.htm looks like a good option that is lower than a standard bunkbed, particularly as we have a ceiling fan in this room. We would like to be able to fit at least one desk in the room with as large a dresser as we can fit. Who has put two kids in a small room? How is it going? Some good friends have their boys, age 8 and 5.75, in a room of that size. They have a traditional bunk bed, dresser, bookshelf and toy chest. The boys both have collections of things, one of which is planes about 3 - 4 inches in length displayed on a shelf that goes three quarters of the way around the room about 10 inches below ceiling height. This appears to work well for them at this time. They have spoken of buying a larger house [they rent now] but they have been talking of that for at least two years and not moved on the idea yet. Most of the boys' toys are stored in a part of the living room, which also helps with space issues. Another friend had her two sons sharing a room of similar size up through the oldest son's high school graduation. They used one of those tubal metal frame bunk beds with the lower bed being a 3/4 bed while the upper was a single. Once again, person storage space was limited but the boys never seemed to find it to be a problem, it was just the way things were. Good luck with your girls! -Aula --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.505 / Virus Database: 302 - Release Date: 7/30/03 |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
junior loft beds
x-no-archive:yes
Karen G wrote: Has anybody looked at these? We have two girls sharing a 10x10 room. We don't plan to add on to our house, so we are looking at our options to minimize the space that the beds take up. Something like this: http://thebeanbagstore.com/bhbirchmidl.htm looks like a good option that is lower than a standard bunkbed, particularly as we have a ceiling fan in this room. We would like to be able to fit at least one desk in the room with as large a dresser as we can fit. Who has put two kids in a small room? How is it going? My sister and I shared a room from the time I was about 10 until I was in the 8th grade at which time we moved and we each got a room of our own. We were 2.5 years apart. I don't know the dimensions of the room but it was really small because the bathroom had been made (it was an old farmhouse) by partitioning the back bedroom in half. Originally, there were three rooms upstairs - front bedroom, middle bedroom and back bedroom but no indoor plumbing. There were three rooms downstairs my dad's study (which had been the front parlor), the middle room which we used as a living room/dining room, and the kitchen which was an eat in kitchen with a pantry and a woodshed. . We had a standard bunk bed on the door wall, a mission oak desk took up all the room on the short wall under the window, steam radiator under the back window and a dresser with a mirror on the wall opposite the bed (the back wall of the house), and a metal cabinet, which was behind a curtain on the other short wall. The curtain also hid the first steps and door of the stairs to the attic. The room was narrow enough that without stretching too much I could step out of the top bunk onto the dresser top which was across the room. I actually rarely used the ladder (don't even know where it is now) because there wasn't room for it and customarily got out of bed either be stepping across onto the dresser, or by stepping onto the desk and then down onto the chair. I had a bookcase on the wall at the head of my bed, and my sister used the side cubbyhole of the desk for a night stand. My sister's clothes were in the metal cabinet and mine were in the dresser. We did not play in this room - the front room was our playroom. We did our homework etc downstairs in the living/dining/family room or in the big farm kitchen. My own two oldest girls were in bunk beds from the time they were about 2 and 4. The room in that house wasn't as small - it was a 3 bedroom house, but my dh was in post graduate school and needed the 3rd bedroom for a study. They stayed together when we moved to Key West when their sister was born (again not as small as 10 x 10, but fairly small, and they did have their toys in there and played in there. When we moved to Philadelphia they stayed together. I think the first time they had rooms of their own was when we moved to Rhode Island and they were 2nd and 4th grade. We bought a house with 3 bedrooms and an unfinished basement, and we built two more bedrooms making it a 5 bedroom house, and they then had their own bedrooms. They never had their own desks until they were in hs. While I had a desk I didn't use it for homework, which, while in hs, I mostly did lying on the floor in front of the large console radio. When we needed beds, we bought an unfinished set from Sears - it would do a trundle bed or bunk beds or twin beds. I looked at the URL page you gave and I would have to see how well the beds were built. I'm not sure that they look very well made and I think the tent thing would be way more of a problem than a help. IOW, it seems a bit like a gimmick to me. I still have both the bunk beds that my parents bought back in about 1948 and the ones we bought in circa 1964. I think my dd#3's son has a loft bed. DD#2's son has bunk beds. All of my grandchildren have their own rooms IIRC. grandma Rosalie |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
junior loft beds
I'm the mom of three and the owner of four sets of bunks, and my
comment about the one you've shown as an example is that it looks like there is a claustrophic lack of headroom on the bottom due to the short height of the loft component. At our house, we have two variations - a bed that is a single bunk on the top and a couch that is a double futon on the bottom (in a preteen room - this thing is great!!!) and a set similar to what you want to buy, only with MUCH more headroom than shown in your sample (i.e. the top bunk is taller, the bottom bed fits in as a T rather than an L, and the loft base also holds a desk with drawers, a dresser and bookshelves. At the cottage, we have a metal bunk with single on the top and a double on the bottom, and a wooden set with a single on the top and double on the bottom with drawers underneath. The wooden set is nice to look at but has the fatal flaw of NO HEADROOM on the bottom bed, which means you can't climb in there with a kid who needs a story read or a cuddle, everyone whacks their heads, no adult in their right mind will sleep in the bottom if you need the bed for a guest, its hard to make the bed, its claustrophic, its difficult when a kid is unwell etc. Do not underestimate the issue with no headroom. It seriously reduces flexibility and enjoyment of the silly bed. The metal one we have was much cheaper but it has much more room between the bunks, even though the overall height is the same, just because the lower bunk is lower to the floor - and I have to tell you, it is MUCH better all around. Not as pretty, but more practical. Get rid of the ceiling fan if you have to, or place the bed away from it, but make sure there is adequate headroom for the sleeper on the bottom. Mary G. |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
junior loft beds
Further to my previous posting, here is a picture of a configuration
that is similar to one of the bunks we have at home that works very well (our two sons shared a room for a long time prior to the oldest getting his own room at age 11). http://www.readysethome.com/item.cfm/1533 One thing to look for is a ladder with FLAT slats. The ones with round rungs absolutely KILL your feet climbing up. Mary G. Mom of three |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
junior loft beds
|
#6
|
|||
|
|||
junior loft beds
In article ,
Mary Gordon wrote: One thing to look for is a ladder with FLAT slats. The ones with round rungs absolutely KILL your feet climbing up. We took our ladder down to prevent toddler access. We have a full lower and twin upper, so it's easy to stand on the lower and scootch up onto the upper bunk. --Robyn (mommy to Ryan 9/93 and Matthew 6/96 and Evan 3/01) |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
junior loft beds
I dunno about you, but I would find it very unpleasant and
uncomfortable to have my head located on what would normally be the foot of the bed. My kids like to read in bed (12, 9 and 5), and that requires a wall mounted reading light or a nightstand next to the bed. My kids also like having treasures up near their head, so shelves or a nightstand are important near the head of the bed. When you are buying these beds, you have to think big picture/ long term, and not as the kids are at the moment. You'd hate to invest big bucks in beds and discover that in two or three years, they really aren't fitting the bill for your kids. G. Mary |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
junior loft beds
Karen G wrote in :
On Thu, 7 Aug 2003 18:49:54 EDT, (Mary Gordon) wrote: I'm the mom of three and the owner of four sets of bunks, and my comment about the one you've shown as an example is that it looks like there is a claustrophic lack of headroom on the bottom due to the short height of the loft component. According to the way that I have seen the L shape used, the bottom bunk (the one that T's/L's out from under the junior loft) has the pillow on the outer end (the one away from the loft). That should take care of the headroom problem. We had a junior loft bed and our existing toddler bed in the arrangement shown, and it was a pain. The younger one would want to sleep with her head under big sis's bed, even though there was little headroom. Making it up was really awkward - especially if it was in the middle of the night. -- Penny Gaines UK mum to three |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
junior loft beds
In article ,
Mary Gordon wrote: My kids also like having treasures up near their head, so shelves or a nightstand are important near the head of the bed. For the kid on the top bunk, we mounted a clear shoe holder (with multiple pockets) near the head of his bed for treasures etc. We found we were able to clip reading lights onto the headboards. --Robyn |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
junior loft beds
Unless the bed ends up right smack directly under the ceiling fan - is
there an issue? We have two sets of bunks at our cottage, both in rooms with ceiling fans, and never had had a problem. You can't really reach the fan from the top bunk (I mean, I guess you could if you leaned way out with a stick, but then, they could do that from the floor or standing on a chair). Mary G. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
bunk beds ? | Nik | General | 5 | June 25th 04 07:51 PM |
Bunk beds - what age? | ted | General | 15 | April 3rd 04 07:02 PM |
RECALL: Bunk Beds | Truffles | General | 2 | September 26th 03 10:52 PM |