Leo turns 5 at the end of May. He’s getting big which means all his clothes are getting bigger, his toys seem to be getting bigger (remote control everything) and the amount of space he needs seems to be getting bigger so I’m trying to figure out how I can make the most out of the space he has in his relatively small bedroom.
We had a big pre christmas toy clear out and so we now only really have toys he really loves and plays with often. I resorted to filling two foldable crates with the overflow and they now live under his bed… sitting there, nicely gathering dust. The rest reside downstairs along with his little table and chair which now I realise I need two of because Tayo is all over it all of the time.
I’m not sure what my thoughts are on having toys upstairs. For us, bedrooms have always been a place of calm and restfulness but I’m running out of space downstairs between the two of them so upstairs it is. The only issue is that Leo has a pretty small room. It’s pretty much square and the radiator seems to be in a really irritating place in terms of not being able to put any furniture in front of it. I have tried to find small storage for between the door and the wardrobe but you just can’t open the wardrobe door and it all looks piled in on top of each other. Annoying. I should also mention here as well that we rent the house and so I’m just terrified of putting up any heavy-duty shelving.
So I’m currently considering how I can fix the issue. My husband and I have a queen bed in our room, in the guest room there are high quality inflatable mattresses and at present Leo has a lovely navy metal frame bed, a bedside table and a small double wardrobe. Which is bursting at the seams with clothes, fancy dress outfits, and bedding. Ultimately I would love the boys to share a room but with Tayo still not sleeping through (yep, Still no sleep here.) I don’t think it’s a good idea just yet. So due to the lack of floor/wall space to have any extra furniture the logical solution seems to be that either I buy him a Murphy bed which he can fold as he wants or I raise his bed?
I have been scouring the internet for some inspiration and you guessed it, IKEA are coming up trumps in terms of cost and design. Where other than IKEA should I be looking? I did see this cabin bed at The Children’s Furniture Company that I thought was lovely and really well thought out. And has anyone ever had anything from cuckooland.com? They have some gorgeous looking things and a fair amount of the pieces are reviewed as well which I always find so useful.
I’m loving both the Stuva loft bed and the Kura bed from Ikea. And I’ve seen so many hacks using general storage and bed bases for IKEA but I just don’t think I’m brave enough to try any of them out myself?
I’d love to know about your experiences with cabin or loft beds. I’m pretty sure Leo will love the novelty of being high up. I was thinking maybe loft bed might be preferable over cabin bed as I can then choose the storage that sits underneath it rather than be restricted to the pre-designed layout of some cabin beds? I’m also loving all the decor inspiration in the gallery images. So keen to create a space for Leo that feels like his. I’m thinking white… with Marvel character accents of course.
I hope to get some responses here today as I’ve been considering the same for my son, even though he is only 3. We are running out of space and this seems a good solution. However my son has a disability – he can’t use his left hand to grip so he can’t use ladder type stairs, so we’d need something with proper stairs, and I’d want something high enough to last him a good few years.
My friend bought her son one from next with a desk and drawer/shelving aystem on wheels that push underneath, but the ladder isn’t suitable for us.
Also I’m a bit worried he’s a bit young for it, but I know he would absolutely love it as he loves my friends set up.
Hi Claire. Thanks so much for your comment. The one I have tagged from The Childrens Furniture co seems to have proper steps… Do you think something like that would be suitable? I have considered possibly approaching a carpenter as well for something as I really like the idea of having actual steps rather than the ladder – I don’t think they’re particularly safe really. Sometimes these things only end up costing a little bit more when done by a carpenter don’t they?x
I would say go for actual steps. We have those on our bunk beds and it is so much safer (ex ambulance so I like safety lol) and gives you priceless peace of mind x
Personally I’m a no for cabin beds because I think you don’t get much use from them above the age of 7ish. My daughter loves a bunk bed though if we go away for a weekend so, to the commenter above, I don’t think 3 years is too young.
We have a single bed with a proper single guest bed underneath so it opens up to be a super king or two twin beds. Its available in all the high end shops for about £800 but I found one half price including branded mattresses here https://www.thesleepshop.co.uk/acatalog/Copy-The-Sleep-Shop-Goodwood-Pocket-Guestbed-Package.html.
I guess it doesn’t solve your issue over toys though. What about using a toy rotation system where you put some toys in the garage or get a storage thing for the garden and swop them out every few weeks.
I feel like you and Lisa have read my minds with your posts today. We’ve been considering a cabin bed for Anabelle too, as she’s currently still in her cotbed (with the sides off) but have toys coming out of our ears despite our best efforts to stream line, rotate and keep tidy with various containers etc. Some of the ones you’ve chosen are truly beautiful and not too dissimilar to day beds which I think would last children well into double figures.
Great post Becky xxx
We bought Ethan the grey loft bed you’ve featured above (it’s says girls, but come on… it’s grey) from Room to Grow. It was by far the cheapest seller of the very same bed and I can’t fault it. Super sturdy, not *too* high and we’re currently creating a cool little ‘den’ for him underneath with fairy lights and bean bags etc. Word of warning, it’s 200cm long rather than the standard 180cm, so we tend to buy his fitted sheets from IKEA as not many places stock this European size, but they do. Happy shopping! I’m a fan xo
Zach now 4 has grown out of his toddler bed so we’ve ordered a midsleeper from Dreams. Bit of storage but not as high as a cabin bed. Zach has toys in his room as he likes to go to his own room to play and also takes his friends up there. Never ever had a problem and in the morning he can have a play rather than coming straight into our room. I was in a cabin bed until I was about 10 and I loved it making a den behind it!
We have the same issue at our house. One good size room and a box room.
We decided to bite the bullet and have our girls share a room before the second one was sleeping through… a whole year and a bit later she now sleeps through. In that whole time she only woke her big sister a handful of times.
So we have a bedroom and a playroom which works brilliantly and keeps the toys upstairs with ample storage.
We bought our bunk beds from kids Funtime beds. I can not recommend them highly enough. Their expertise, professionalism, customer service and craftsmanship is amazing.
We videoed our girls seeing their beds for the first time as it was a surprise and it was just such a priceless moment.
Thanks so much for your comment Nicci – I am really wanting to risk putting them together – I reckon Tayo would just jump in with Leo to be honest and that would probably solve all of our sleep problems! ha x
I fell in love with the idea of cabin beds a year ago and purchased one for my eldest son. Initially it was great because all his toys could get stored underneath and he had much more room to play. My boys loved it as well because they could play dens underneath and would often hang blankets up and we would find them in there with their torches… so cute!! This was all perfect at the time, however 6 months later we got rid of the bed and opted for a standard single bed. The reason for this was because the boys saw the bed as more of a ‘toy’ than a place to rest and getting my eldest son in particular to bed was becoming a nightmare. I also became quite fed up with how awkward it was to change the bedding!
I loved the cabin bed, but unfortunately for our family it didn’t work and with the new ‘normal’ bed, bedtime is much calmer!
Samantha this is my point about having toys upstairs… I’m really not sure about it. But he seems to be ok with the couple of crates under the bed so far – they haven’t proven too distracting. And like you’ve said – these things can be reversed can’t they? So helpful thank you 🙂 x p.s. I blummin hate changing beds! x
We had a high bed for our son due to space issues – it worked perfectly and he loved climbing the ladder to bed. They are really useful and practical although can get frustrating to change the bedding.
On another note our son was waking several times a night when he was 3 and I felt he couldn’t share with his older sister because he would wake her. One weekend we had no choice but to put them together and he slept through! When I asked him he said he didn’t like being on his own. We moved them in together the very next day and he didn’t wake at night again. It was life changing (the broken sleep was killing me) and I thought worth a mention when you said your little one doesn’t yet sleep through xx
Mandy thanks so much for your comment! I am really considering just doing it… even to see how it goes. I might try it during the half term so then at least if it all goes to pot Leo won’t have to battle his way through school when he’s tired 🙂 x
I have no advice and can’t have one thanks to stupid low angled ceilings but I had one as a child and absolutely loved it! Ikea one with carousel bedding, but it did get swapped for a single bed when I was about 10, so think it lasted 6 years or so…
The point about swapping toys around is a really good one- we just moved a load of things around to create a toy cupboard and it’s been so useful just having one or two activities out and hiding other things away in the loft or whatever. Maybe a bit of both?
I think it might be the answer 🙂 x
Although not a cabin bed, I ordered my 3 year old son’s single bed from cuckooland. Lovely design, excellent quality, customer service is fantastic – really pleased with the bed. The only downside is the delivery company they use – absolutely SHOCKING – make sure you can block out at least one day for delivery (more like 3!)
The bed has a full length pull out drawer underneath which is HUGE and holds all his bed linen, some toys and clothes he grown out of. Would recommend looking at their range for some inspiration.
Thanks so much for your comment Lianne! It sounds fantastic! x
I really like the ideas of cabin beds. It saves a lots of space. 🙂
I’ve ordered similar bed for my kid few months ago and I couldn’t be happier. It is the coolest bed I ever seen 😀 really
Hi
Please advise where i find these beds you posted please
Where are the beds from?
Where is the bed from with the aeroplane sticker on the wall?