Whether you have several children or a set of twins that need to share a room, finding a way to keep multiple beds from taking up valuable floor space can be difficult.
For decades, bunk beds have been the staple for kids’ room, cabins, and dormitories.
Opting for vertical over horizontal space leaves much more room for all of the games and activities that your children may want to utilize. The problem becomes which bunk bed to opt for.Bunk beds come in all different shapes and sizes and range from simple wooden models to complex bed and storage solutions that may offer a larger bed on the bottom bunk. These designs can range wildly in budget, and if you’re not entirely sure which design you want, you may be facing a much higher budget at checkout than you anticipated.Not all bunk beds are created equally—and likewise, you’ll need to match your choice of furniture not only to the needs and design of the room you’re placing it in but the personality of the children that will use the beds for years to come.Today, we’ll be looking at the seven best bunk beds for kids, space conservation, and more. We’ll also be discussing what you need to look for in a bunk bed, from storage solutions to minimalistic designs.And after we explain how we’ve chosen our top picks and gone over each of the best bunk beds, we’ll talk in more detail about our process and what you need to think about before purchasing in our Buyer’s Guide.
Bunk beds are deceptively simple. The design of one twin bed over the other can be easily replicated at home with a few planks of wood and a weekend. However, what you need to look for in a bunk bed should go far beyond the bed-over-bed design.
We typically recommend that you make sure your prospective purchase includes the following attributes:
Of course, more so than any of our other attributes, having a bed with a sturdy design is key.
Some of the more affordable bunk beds you’d find may make your wallet happy, but if you’re hoping for an option that’s going to hold up to the type of roughhousing and bed-jumping that children are known for, you may want to reconsider.
We firmly believe that you need to have the utmost confidence in the integrity of the bed you’ve purchased. That means opting for solid wood and stronger metals over particle wood and synthetic materials. While design and aesthetics are important, ensuring your child has a safe place to sleep is even more so.
Of course, you also need to make sure that the bunk beds you’re opting for can fit your children. Almost all bunk beds are designed to offer two twin beds—which is usually perfect for growing children. However, if you need something larger that could be shared, you may want to consider a full-sized bed over a twin option.
Next up is storage solutions. While finding a suitable bunk bed usually means focusing on the beds themselves, many bunk beds take advantage of the vertical space and add in shelves, drawers, and lots of nooks and crannies for you to put your stuff in.
While these aren’t going to make or break a bunk bed, having extra storage can give of our choices a considerable edge against the competition.
Other issues to consider include bed safety and the precautions your bunk beds take to keep your kids from nasty falls. While utilizing the vertical space is effective, it can also mean that your child falling out of bed may be falling several feet.
That’s why many of the choices on our list offer railings and protective measures to keep your kids in bed all night long. Likewise, some beds utilize staircases instead of ladders for getting onto the top bunk. Staircases can be much easier for small children, who may slip and fall getting in and out of bed.
Finally, you’ll want to look for a bed that’s going to best match your current home—which may mean bonus features like an upholstered bed or an added slide could ensure that your bed not only match the room but give your kids all the more reason to head to sleep.
We know that picking the best bunk beds for your children is going to be a subjective experience. That’s why we wanted to clarify how each of our beds earned its praise.
We ranked each bed based on the attributes we outlined above. We looked for bunk beds that would keep your children safe alongside providing a way to safe on floor space and offer some additional storage solutions.
We also leveraged each of our bed picks against their budget, and while the budgetwasn’t our number one factor, it did significantly factor into our picks. We also made sure to note below when a score was affected by budget.
The result is a list that we think best reflects the overall needs of the most amount of people. However, that doesn’t mean that the highest-rated products are going to be right for you and your home.
For extra assistance, we recommend checking out our Buyer’s Guide at the end of our article.
Need to save on floor space and pick a bed that your children will love? We’ve searched high and low, and found these bunk beds for kids:
The first bunk bed pick on our list offers versatility and a simple, modern design for a very low budget.
The Storkcraft Caribou Solid Hard Twin Bunk Bed utilizes a dark wood design that’s multifunctional as it is aesthetically pleasing. The two twin beds can be configured in two separate ways—whether that be in the traditional twin-over-twin design, or free-standing as two separate twin beds.
This can add lots of versatility to bunk bed—as your children may be more interested in having a separate bed as time goes on. Likewise, this is one of the most affordable beds on our list, which greatly adds to the overall value.
While the build quality is somewhat questionable when compared to some of the other options on our list, we still think this bed is more than worth considering.
If you’re working with a particularly small room and need something that can be customized to any gender, look no further than the DHP twin-over-twin bunk bed.
This model comes as a clean, simple metal frame which offers a slanted ladder for access to the top bunk. The design easily lends itself to modern, industrial homes and apartments but also can blend into any sort of room depending upon which comforters you pick out. Designed in gray for a reason, these bunk beds take on whatever sort of look you need them to.
We greatly appreciate the low budget and simple design, but we recognize that these choices may come across as stark to some. Likewise, this bed cannot be reconfigured, so a bed-over-bed design your only choice for arranging these two twin frames.
Still, we think this is a lovely entry-level choice for a bunk bed and fits in nicely even in the tightest of spaces.
While a bunk bed offers a great way to consolidate two beds into one, what about those with three children that need accommodations?
The Doral Living Sierra Triple Bunk Bed is tailor-made for larger families and easily fits three beds in the footprint of one with a triple-stack of beds. You can also configure this model into a standard bunk bed and extra bed, or two full twin beds and a separate bed that lays close to the ground.
Despite being designed for reconfiguration, the this Dorel Living product is surprisingly sturdy and should have no issue with tossing and turning in the night. While the child lowest to the ground may not like having to climb so far down into the bed, most younger children should appreciate the unique design—and you’ll appreciate the added square footage.
Overall, this option is one of the best on our list for capacity and versatility. And at a fair budget, there’s not much we can dock this product for.
Making bunk beds more accessible for children and adults who don’t fare well on ladders can be a serious problem. Taking a page out of the versatility of the Dorel Living triple bunk bed, this option from Discovery World Furniture manages to solve the accessibility problem without sacrificing on space.
The Discovery World Furniture twin over full bunk bed allows guests to fit two children or even two adults onto the lower bunk, while still offering room for a simple person up top. And if that wasn’t enough space, the lower bed can include a slide-out twin mattress (sold separately) to add in room for yet another person.
This design is perfect for those who may have periodic long-term guests or just need the extra bed for whatever reason. Plus, the added full mattress on the bottom means that the ladder to the top bunk is slanted and offers wide steps to make climbing and descending much easier.
While the budget of this unit is certainly high, we have to give credit where credit is due—the designers at Discovery World produced a bunk bed design that should prove useful long after your children come of age.
Want to combine your children’s beds with storage for their toys and games?
The Bedz King stairway twin bunk beds are designed for rooms with lots of wall space to accommodate the largest and widest steps to the top bunk on our list. That’s because underneath each of these steps in an easy-access drawer—which gives room for clothes, games, toys, and any other storage needs.
Two drawers are also added underneath the bottom bunk, which further adds to the overall feasibility of this unit to double as bedding and a chest of drawers. Our only major issue here is budget—which seems to factor in that this product is more like two furniture pieces than one.
Still, if you have children that struggle on ladders and need lots of storage space, this twin over twin bed option is bulky but utilizes every square inch of space it can to make storage easier on you.
If you have an eye for great design and want a bunk bed that’s not in the traditional wooden finish, this upholstered option from DHP is the second option on our list from the company and might just save your design problems.
The DHP Chesterfield upholstered linen bunk bed utilizes a metal frame design with an angled ladder and upholstery on the surrounding edges of the beds. The result is a safe top bunk with a near-full perimeter of guardrails and a clean, contemporary design that won’t disrupt the rest of your home’s look.
A focus on aesthetics seems to be the focus here—as other than the affordable bottom line; there’s little else that DHP seems to offer for this unit.
Still, we think it earns a spot on our list for design alone and provides just as much functionality out of the actual needs of a bunk bed as many of the other products on our list.
Our final bunk bed pick, much like our first, offers versatility in a classic design and comes in several colors to match most rooms.
The Walker Edison solid wood twin bunk bed looks much like any other bunk bed—with darkened wood guardrails, a ladder, and a simple, sharp design. Walker Edison had versatility in mind with this model—which blends easily into most rooms if ordered in one of the many color options.
We also appreciate the focus on versatility as well—since this Walker Edison product can easily be adjusted into two twin beds. Any picky child or easily changed minds will appreciate the simple switch from the bunk bed to side-by-side options.
Budget is also in favor of this bunk bed, which comes in at one of the cheapest on our list. And while that may mean the wood is of slightly lower quality, we still think that the Walker Edison earns its spot on our list for the overall value it brings to the home.
Still not quite sure about which bed may be right for you?
One of the best tips we can offer is to discuss with those who will be using the bed. Talk to your children about what sort of look or design they would appreciate in a bunk bed, and make sure your desires line up with theirs as possible.
Likewise, we give a strong preference to bunk beds that can be adjusted. You never know when a child is going to renounce the bunk bed design, or when a move allows you to move your children to separate rooms.
We also think that you could balance our design options with future-proofing your furniture. Even if you don’t expect to move anytime soon, make sure the bunk bed you picked out is collapsible enough to transport and simple enough in design to match wherever you may take it.
Regardless, picking out bunk beds for your children is going to take a bit of time and effort on your part to find and assemble. At the same time, you’ll be grateful for the added space available for your children to play and laugh.
Featured image source: pixabay
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