loft beds

[onlyzombiecat]

Dd (6) is interested in getting a loft bed. We probably won't be rushing out to buy one this month but we've agreed to look at some.

For those whose children have or have had loft beds-
How old is your dc? How tall is the loft bed?
Are you happy with the loft bed you have? Did you build the loft yourself or buy a bed from a store? Any brand or style you would recommend?
What is the space underneath the bed used for by your dc?

[iris0110]

We have a loft for ds1, he is almost 5, but he doesn't ever sleep in his room alone. Ours is about 5.5 foot tall underneath, I think it is a total of 72 inches tall if I remember right. We bought it at Ikea, it is a metal twin size loft. I can't remeber the brand, but it only cost $150. We already had the twin mattress. We just really wanted the extra play area for ds, his room is kind of small and with the new baby we needed the toys that weren't baby safe to go somewhere other than the living room. Plus it enabled us to finally buy him one of those brio train tables for his birthday. The bed was his Christmas present. We really like it. I only have two complaints, 1 it is hard to make but I knew that going in as I had bunk beds as a kid, and 2 the rungs on the ladder hurt my feet a little bit. They don't bother ds though, of course he weighs alot less than I do. It was definately a good investment.

[Ann-Marita]

Our dd has a loft bed. Her dresser is under it and it forms a little secret space behind it. In there, dd has a bookcase, a light and fan, and a fold-out foam chair/bed. It's her little hideaway.

The top of the mattress is about five feet off the ground. It's Cargo Furniture brand, which is now called Pier One Kids, I think.

I have to say that the fact that the bed is so far off the floor did slow down DD's transition to sleeping by herself in her own room. (Among some other factors - whoever designed this house should be forced to live in it with small children as punishment.)

When I saw this, my dd was too old for it, but I thought it was SO cute...
http://cgi.ebay.com/Tradewins-Painte...QQcmdZViewItem

And I have occasionally wanted one of these...
http://cgi.ebay.com/AMAZING-MISSION-...QQcmdZViewItem

I think this last item would have helped with the transition to her own room. We could have just used the trundle instead of the loft bed! Or, one parent could sleep on the trundle while the child is getting used to sleeping in the upper bunk.

[Evan&Anna's_Mom]

We got DS a loft for his 6th birthday, as a way of giving him space for a desk in his room and still leaving play space. Its been a good-and-bad thing. Its Ikea as well, but with a double mattress. This allows enough space for one of us to lay with him and read and snuggle him to sleep. But my parents, and babysitters, really balk at doing so and that makes bedtime without parents really tough. He also complains because he frequently hits his head if he sits up to fast, and I've bumped myself a few times as well.

DS was already sleeping in his own bed when we got this, BTW. And his friends all think its really neat. And it is a PITA to make, so his sheets only get changed about 1/2 as often as everyone else and the bed is rarely actually made (but neither is anyone else's in this house).

[CerridwenLorelei]

hmm

look at some.

For those whose children have or have had loft beds-
How old is your dc? 13

How tall is the loft bed? about 5 ft

Are you happy with the loft bed you have? sort of

Did you build the loft yourself or buy a bed from a store? Neither. We got from someone in one of our homeschool groups

Any brand or style you would recommend? can't help on that one

What is the space underneath the bed used for by your dc? storage of books and computer unit and her dad has a bunch of his computer junk under there :

[rebeccalizzie]

My DD is 10, we got the loft last year when she was 9. DH built it from plans we got from Family Fun magazine. The plans are free on their web site and the bed is mainly made from 2x4's. It's incredibly sturdy and DD loves it. We got the loft to give her more space to play, she has her reading nook under there--DH built in shelves on one side, and her beanbag chair is there, and a light. She also has a small TV with her Nintendo on it under there on a bedside table (it doesn't get actual channels so she can't watch TV in there).

I want to say the space underneath is about 4-4.5 feet tall. We wanted a bed short enough that DD could sit up and not hit her head on the ceiling, and we only have 8 foot ceilings.

[gret the great]

My 5yo has one- we bought it 2nd hand. He rarely sleeps up top. We put a futon in the under space. The upstairs part is his "tree house"

[PeacefulSeams]

Awesome loft bed!!

My son has a loft bed. He got it for his 2nd birthday.He is 3 now. It is made of oak and has built in safety rails on the side. It also has a slide and a fort underneath. It came with a tent that goes around the bed that has a doorway and windows. It is about 3 1'2 feet tall. It took me forever to find one that small. It uses a twin size mattress. I paid $600 for it, but only because I thought it was safer and better built than the metal ones. The space underneath is used for toys and hiding and playing. I don't remember what brand it is but I bought it at a store in wyoming called plains furniture. I am very happy with it and so is my son.

[darkpear]

My 3yo has http://shop.visiondecor.com/7239.html and totally loves it. It's pretty high off the ground (5 ft I think) and it came with "Not for under 6" warning stickers... but... well, she's not your average 3yo. She's never had problems with rolling out of bed even when she was on a mattress on the floor, and the safety rails on this bed are nice and high... and she loves sliding out of bed in the morning I figure we can just take the tent part off if she gets tired of that in a few years. There's a fold-out desk on the side too. It wasn't cheap but it's very sturdy and we expect that she'll get lots of use and fun out of it for years to come.

[FreeRangeMama]

We have this kind
http://quebec.kijiji.ca/c-ViewAd-W0QQAdIdZ4583455

My boys love it. We put a mattress on the floor so it is like a low bunk bed, then put curtains around it for a tent feel. They love it, though the younger one still sleeps with me and dd. Dh sleeps on the bottom and ds1 sleeps on the top .

They play all sorts of games on the bed, climb it from every angle, enjoy the bottom tent, etc. Best thing we ever bought, got it used from the paper.

[LovemyBoo]

For those whose children have or have had loft beds-
How old is your dc?

He was 5 at the time we got the bed. I don't remember exactly but he was about 3'9" at the time. Maybe a little taller. He's 4' 4" now at almost 8.

How tall is the loft bed?

Four feet off the ground.

Are you happy with the loft bed you have? Did you build the loft yourself or buy a bed from a store?

We bought a metal bed from a store. It was on sale quite cheap as I remember. We had to assemble it ourselves.

What is the space underneath the bed used for by your dc?

He has a second mattress under there and we rigged a light underneath the loft. He reads under there or uses it as a fort. It's also great for sleepovers.

Overall I really like it, though we'll probably get him a nice wooden one when we move for the last time.

[Ceili]

We have a Flexa Bed set up in ds's room.

http://store.kiddieworldoutlet.com/playtimebed.html

At the moment we just have it set up as a regular height bed with rails. One of the things I really liked about it was that it could change depending on your needs at the time.