WWYD? Bring the IKEA bunk bed or get new twin beds if moving to a new house?

[MMMommy]

So I am very happy to say that we are in escrow right now for a new house. Not "new" as in never been lived in, but new for our family. Right now, DDs (age 4 and 5) share a room and sleep in a $169 bunk bed from IKEA. It isn't the sturdiest of bunk beds, but it isn't the flimsiest. Nothing in their current room is coordinated at all. The dresser in their room is a Pali dresser from DD1's crib set. The IKEA bunk bed doesn't match at all, obviously. So it is really a piecemeal, thrown together room right now, but it is all functional and serves its primary purpose of sleep and storage.

Would you ditch the IKEA bunk bed and buy two separate twin beds for a shared room in the new house? Or would you just bring the IKEA bunk bed and let them use it? Either way, I think our Pali dresser might match our guest room furniture, so that won't go to waste. But if we ditched the bunk bed, we would definitely have to fork out for new dressers and two new twin beds.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

[SASM]

Hi,

Congrats! :) Personally, I'd take the bunk bed. You might have some unexpected expenses when you move in...why throw $ at a new set if you do not need to right away. DS has the KURA bunk and we thought that would be impossible to disassemble...thankfully, we were wrong and it was quite simple. Good luck! You can always get new beds once things are settled and you are out of the "new house surprises" danger. Does that make sense? :) Plus, you can make some $ from selling the bed at a later time instead of giving it to the new owners.

[smiles33]

Congrats on the new house! I agree w/SASM, as you might not have any discretionary funds left after the move! I remember we spent a lot more than we expected at Lowe's/Home Depot for random stuff when we moved in.

However, if you're moving yourself and can't fit the bunk bed in the U-Haul truck or can't easily disassemble it, then I'd try selling it on Craigslist. Just keep in mind you'll likely spend a LOT more buying 2 new twin beds or a new bunk bed than the money you'll get from selling it. Of course, you might consider buying used off Craigslist. I spent about $80 on furniture for my DD's room (all off Craigslist) and $20-$30 on paint, as I painted them all white to match. With some time and labor (and driving around!), I got a full-sized wood sleigh bed ($20); a nightstand, a desk, a dresser, and a tall bookcase hutch for on top of the dresser (all matching and for $50 TOTAL but DH and I had to move them down 2 flights of stairs ourselves!); and a wooden swivel chair ($10). DH thought I was crazy, but I like that the room looks coordinated even though it's mismatched and super cheap!

[WatchingThemGrow]

Maybe I'm a spender... but I'd lean toward getting a new coordinated set if they plan on sharing for quite some time.

Will you eventually be moving one to the guest room or keeping them together? If you can use the dresser in the guestroom and would like/need something in there anyway, and you have budgeted for getting them new furniture, then why not?

I love our coordinated YA furniture, and we all think it is awesome! I've actually got a thread up right now trying to figure out which bed we should get next as we're not sure how long our boys will be sharing a room. I may just make do until we move(no immed. plans) and get them new big beds then.

Half of the fun of a new house is a new set of something for someone's room, right? Totally not the bargain answer you might want, but ...

[egoldber]

I would move the bunk beds now and save your $$ for a new bed set down the road when they have more developed tastes and input.

[JTsMom]

Is the new room big? If not, I'd definitely keep the bunk bed for now until I figured out exactly what would work in that space. Sometimes you need to live with it for a while to really know what you need.