De-bunking the Bunk Bed
By GlindaI have a thing for bunk beds. I think they are truly a very cute idea, and if children have to share a room, they can be a great space saver. Unfortunately, I have only one child, so a bunk bed doesn’t seem to really be in my future.
However, that won’t stop me from looking at some current bunk bed offerings and thinking, “Blech!” I’m not a fan of modern furniture in general, and these bunk beds have strong modern lines, so perhaps I’m predisposed to not liking them unless they have some sort of curve in them. Is it just me? Or maybe I’m just expecting too much, design-wise. Is there really a whole lot you can do with bunk beds?
I like to think that just because they are little, kids shouldn’t be ignored when it comes to nice furniture. It doesn’t have to be expensive, it just shouldn’t be, you know, ugly. These beds, for me, don’t cut it. Especially for the prices they want.
I appreciate the extra storage on the side, but I do not appreciate the traffic-cone orange. Besides, it seems as if by placing the lower bunk perpendicularly, it takes away any space advantage you might gain from having a bunk bed in the first place. This one will cost you almost two thousand dollars.
Glinda can’t tell you why exactly, but Glinda no likey. It looks very, uh, industrial. And $2150 dollars? No way.
Now don’t let the cute bedding distract you. This is not something I would enjoy looking at every day, and for $1,900, I need to enjoy looking at it.
November 25th, 2008 at 8:16 am
My dad made us bunk beds, with the lower bunk actually a freefloating twin bed. We very often configured them perpendicularly.
After lights out, it makes it easier for Top Bunk to peek over and talk to Lower Bunk.
It also makes a great little private space for Lower Bunk, like a personal BatCave. And when you’re sharing a room with a sibling, a little private space is awesome. (Top Bunk had the benefits of the skyline view and the cool factor of a ladder.)
And once the cats learned to climb the ladder up to the Top Bunk (I thought my sib was carrying them up there until I woke up one night to see the cat climbing), they really needed the Lower Bunk sticking out as a soft landing zone.
I suppose we lost some floor space, but that was our preferred setup until we got our own rooms.
November 25th, 2008 at 9:51 am
we have bunk beds and set them up perpendicularly (technically i think they are trundle beds. the bottom bed is on wheels and can roll in/out from the upper bed, which isn’t as high up as a regular bunk. we can set them up regular/2 single beds/trundle). like teleriB says, the cool thing is the personal batcave. bunks are great for sleepovers too (so even though you have only one child, i say go for the bunks!)
i keep looking at bunk beds that are a twin over a double bed — those are cool!
November 25th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Bunk beds are a fantastic idea, but in practice I can’t help but remember the three or four (!!!!) times my sister rolled out of her top bunk and had to be taken to the hospital. These at least look like they’ve eliminated that problem.
November 25th, 2008 at 11:47 am
We have completely opposite taste, Glinda — I like all those beds. I only go for very modern furniture, and I guess you could say my house is very stark. I’m not into traditional furniture at all because I think it looks so old and fusty. I guess that’s why they make all kinds 🙂
November 25th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
I found some on bunk-beds-loft-beds.com., and they had a few styles that were nicer, like this one:
http://www.bunk-beds-loft-beds.com/shaker-arch-spindle-bunk-beds.htm
Much cheaper, too.
justkidsbeds.com also has some nice ones.
November 25th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
@Chiken- Craftsman is about as modern as I get! 🙂
@La Petite- I know there are nice ones out there, these just offended my design sensibilities! 🙂
November 25th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Glinda: just making sure you weren’t gnashing your teeth in frustration over the lack of bunkbeds out there. It’s terrible for the enamel. 😉
November 29th, 2008 at 8:06 am
I’m thinking, in retrospect, that these are maybe designed for college students? Because they’re all about the modernism and it’s a known fact that toddlers could not give a rat’s ass about Modernism.
It’s true. It’s a FACT!