What bedroom furniture should I buy

[thomrho]

I am visiting from another board. I have two daughters that are 4.5 and 2 years old. I am trying to decide what size of bed to buy for them. Should I buy twin, full or queen? I expect they will both be about 5'9" or taller.

What furniture pieces would you buy? A desk? What are you glad that you did for your child's room? What do you regret? Thanks for any insight. BTW, I've seen some of the postings and this seems so trivial compared to alot of the issues you are all dealing with. I wish you luck.

[Ruthla]

Twin beds are fine for teens and adults- I sleep on a twin bed myself!

Furniture wise, a desk and a dresser seem pretty basic. Maybe a 2nd dresser if you have the space. I've also purchased a wardrobe when the girls shared a room without a built in closet.

[lifeguard]

Do you intend this to be there furniture for a long time? Do you plan to give it to them for their first place? In which case I would go for double beds if you have room for them.

[redveg]

All my kids have full beds. DS has a desk, they all have dressers, night stands. My 2 DD's didn't want a desk, they lay on their bed, sometimes the floor to do their work.

[Arduinna]

At those ages I'd buy whatever fits the space and seems appropriate. I'd except to be replacing it by the teen years.

[thomrho]

Thank you all for taking the time to give me input so far. I don't know if I just need to buy now and then planning on buying again in 10years. OR I could spring for better quality furniture that they can hopefully have for a long time. I realize mattresses wear out, but good wood furniture can hold up a while. Would it be better until they are older and can pick it out (or would that be asking for trouble?). Finally, do you think a medium wood color or white would be best?

[Novella]

I would recommend queen-sized beds. I'm assuming you have room for them, since you listed them as an option. Here's what I'm thinking:

• You expect your girls to be tall. I am 5'10" and was already 5'7" by the time I was 11 years old. I found twin/double beds short.
• A queen-sized bed makes a much nicer guest bed than a double if you are ever using the room for other people.
• If you reduce the variety of bed sizes in your home, you reduce the amount of bedding you need and have greater flexibility. You need one set for each bed, and one or two spares.
• Since queen is such a popular bed size, you can get some really good deals on good quality mattress sets, bedframes, bedding.

Another thought (which worked very well for us):
If you buy two twin extra-long mattress sets, they can be used individually. They can also be set up together to make a king-sized bed. (One small consideration is bed frames: Frames on castors with bolt on headboards/footboards is no problem. But if you are set on a bedframe with wooden side rails, you will have limited options or need to get special longer side rails).

I think in-room desks are a big waste for a lot of kids. There were four kids in my family growing up. No one used desks in bedrooms. They were just a junky mess. We always preferred doing homework while sprawled on our beds, or at the kitchen table. It will probably be the same as my own children get older.

We have two matching chests of drawers (three drawers each) in the room our girls share. This is more flexible than a classic double-wide dresser that comes in a lot of bedroom sets.

I never bought a baby change table but we did buy a buffet (bottom only) from IKEA. It has three cupboard doors on it. Has been awesome for kid clothing and diaper storage and some day I will move it out of the kiddie room.

A medium colored wood will hide dirt/dust a lot better than white painted wood will. It will also be more forgiving of nicks and scratches.

[lifeguard]

I would say wood would be more classic. I also would go for good quality now & not planning on buying again. It's better for the environment & better for your finances in the long run. Good quality furniture lasts a LONG time (we currently have my FIL bedroom set from when he was a child).

[thomrho]

Your feedback is incredibly helpful. Right now, I am leaning towards the medium wood tone, queen beds, a bedside table, and a tall dresser for each of them. It makes since. If guests come to stay, the kids can sleep together more easily. Also, it is a set that should grow with them. They can pick out different colors as they get older to change the look. AND hopefully it is a set they can take with them when they go.

[Ruthla]

Remember that you don't need headboards at all. You could just use the metal frames that come with the mattress sets and then, when they're ready to move out, they can use the furniture even if they don't have space for a queen bed, or if they want a king sized bed, etc.

[Pancakes]

If you don't plan on purchasing again when they are older and you expect this to be furniture they will take with them, then I would say to purchase the queen.

My DD has a full because it is an heirloom bed in our family. DS has a twin because DH made it for him when he was very young. We will have to get him a bigger one in the next couple of years, but I just can't tear him out of something his daddy made for him. Anyhow, my point is that when we have company they end up in the full bed and that's not always comfortable.

[IlluminatedAttic]

We grow tall girls in our family as well. This thread got me to thinking; by the time I was a teen I had a full size bed, graduated to a queen as a single adult and now with dh couldn't imagine sleeping in less than a king. We co-sleep with ds and added a futon next to the bed for extra room by the time he was 18 months. My sisters, on the other hand, only ever had twins growing up. They graduated to fulls and now share queens with their spouses and children. One actually co-slept in the queen with her dh and two children, ages three and four, until the older one moved out (mostly) a couple of months ago. They think our king is humongous. We can't believe they all fit in the queen and get any sleep.

Then there is my dss. He had a full from elementary school on and then inherited my queen at the beginning of high school. When he applied to college I joked with him about having to get used to the much smaller bed in the dorms. Turned out he really thought I was joking about the bed size and came to us all distraught one night when he was filling in the housing form and realized that extra-long twin was actually the only option. Guess the experience didn't scar him too badly though, his current bed is the bunk on a submarine - not too roomy from all accounts.

[my2kidz]

If you have an Ikea near you, they have incredibly functional bedroom furniture for kids that they can grow into. I bought mine when my daughter was 5 and my son was a baby. It came as a bunk bed set. When he was old enough for a real bed, they shared a room for a while and he slept on the bottom bunk. Obviously as they got older they needed separate rooms. The beds could be separated into two separate twin size beds and converted into two headboards. We've had this set now for 6 years and it is still holding strong. They sell little drawers to go underneath kind of like a captains bed, I'm thinking of getting some of those. I just love how their furniture can transform to grow with your kids. I slept on a twin until I was 19 or 20, and I was 5'8".