Bunkbed Recommendations - Please!

[Twins2000]

Now that our twin girls are almost 8 (and they share a small room and desperately need more space), and their little sis is almost 3 and soon will be ready to take one of their beds, it is now time to get them bunkbeds. For those of you that got bunkbeds for your kiddos, where did you get yours? Who was it made by? Did you have to spend a lot? Has anyone seen or ordered bunks from Costco or BJ's, or are theirs junky and not seem sturdy enough? TIA for all of your input!


Leslie

[ThreeofUs]

After an exhaustive search, we bought Costco bunks. I loved the PBK bunks, and the Costco are same high quality, exactly same style, lighter stain, and $1000 less expensive (at least for the twin-over-full configuration).

Others on the Board have posted that they like Stanley's Young America.

[american_mama]

I am going through this right now and am likely to buy a special deal I found this weekend at a local furniture store for what seems to be a great price ($400), plus they will deliver AND set up for only $30. One local store had Young America by Stanley and while they were nice, they were like $700. A neighbor is looking for bunk beds too, and this is an excerpt from an email I sent her this weekend:

First, the salesperson pointed out a few things to consider: can the bunk bed be split into two separate twin beds? Are the headboard and footboard on the top bunk a bit shorter than on the bottom bunk (this makes for a better look when the bunks are split into two twins, because you take the short boards and make them footboards and the two taller boards be headboards). Does the ladder have round steps (not as secure because child can slip or ladder step can become un-glued and spin)? How does the ladder attach to the bed? If the ladder is screwed in from bunk to bunk, it keeps the floor clear and makes it easier to open/move anything under the bed (storage drawer, trundle, toy boxes). Are there adequate slats underneath each bed? Does the view from the lower bunk feel like a cage or trap? Is the bed made of solid wood or mdf/manufactured wood? If it's wood, is it pine (soft, can dent), rubberwood (cheaper) or hardwood like maple? Or is metal ok, whcih is the cheapest option?

What kind of bunk bed do you want? There are some interesting variations (twin over twin, twin over full, full over full, twin over twin to make a T shape , a few with a combo mini-staircase/dresser on the side rather than a ladder). If you want a T configuration, most will have a dresser on one side and desk on the other, but there are a few that are essentially a loft bed for the top bunk with the bottom bunk at an angle underneath. Less expensive and less massive looking, although also less storage).

You can check your local craigslist. The ones I've seen locally are kind of massive and pine-y looking, but are often only about $100, $350 at most.

Target.com has a black bunk bed for about $480, but most are about $550 (or more if you get an underbed drawer or underbed trundle bed). They do have a lot of colors. From perusing the web, I don't think Target offers much price or selection benefit. They seem to sell the same bunk beds made by the same manufacturers as many bunk bed websites.

Kmart also has several and their lowest priced ones (only $189, often on sale for $150) are apparently made of solid wood and get good reviews, see http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/search_10...yword=bunk+bed
They also have a set that you purchase by the piece and it can be turned into a top bunk, dresser, desk, and bottom bunk at a 90 degree angle to the top bunk. The Kmart total is like $550.

IKEA also sells some, although there is only one metal one in their new category (which another neighbor brought me also this weekend!). I think they have more online or in the store, but havent' called yet to check.

A couple websites
www.simplybunkbeds.com (seems a little higher end to me)
http://www.bunkbeds-store.com (lets you search for options under $500, has some good options)
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=5811289
I found one website, maybe the second one, that has a metal bunk bed in pink and white, really cute for a metal bed. I'll see if I can find it.

Anyway, no BTDT yet, but that's my research so far.

[almostsane]

We purchased the KMart bunkbed about 3 months ago. I love it! I think we ended up paying $179 and DH assembled it in a few hours. It is solid wood, has adequate slats and can be taken apart and used as 2 twin beds. The finish is an oak color and the hardware is gold. I personally, did not want to spend megabucks on a set of bunkbeds, as the boys will not use them for years and years. DS1 has a nursery set that makes into a full size bed and that is what will go in his room, once we build. We will then buy DS2 his own bedroom suit. I am estimating 5 years tops for the bunk beds. HTH.

[Tondi G]

we broke down and bought the Pottery barn kids bunk beds and I have to say we LOVE them. They are so sturdy... even for my monkey boys. Our neighbors got a nice looking set from a bunkbed website and although they look very nice and seem to be quite sturdy the space between the upper and lower is a little tight. Their two year old can sit up under it but an adult can't. I can easliy sit up under our PBK ones and read to the boys etc before bed.... my neighbor cannot. I laid on their lower bunk and felt kinda claustrophobic.... and my neighbor mentioned that they are a little bummed at how tight it is.

Just a thought I would put out there.

We do really love our PBK twin over full bunks and don't regret having spent the extra money on them!

Good Luck

~Tondi

[hellokitty]

I did a lot of research regarding bunk beds a few months back. I really liked the costco set. I would focus on getting something sturdy vs. just going for the lower price. It seems that so many beds and bunk beds are all veneer and not all solid wood. If you are willing to pay PBK prices, I highly suggest that you just hire someone, esp if you are in an area with amish, to just custom make a bunk bed for you. They will use solid wood and make it to your specifications. A friend of mine had several furniture pieces, including her son's bedroom set custom made by an amish family nearby and the quality is very good. It is not cheap, but it's comparable to how much you'd shell out at PBK and the quality and workmanship is MUCH better. Plus it would be made here in the USA.

PBK furniture looks nice, but it usually low quality wood, like pine. The vast majority of furniture in this country is now made overseas. I am not even sure if stanley young america collections are even american made anymore. I would check if I were you, b/c if they have gone overseas, the chances are good that the prices is still high, but the quality has gone downhill. It's a dying craft and b/c ppl only care about low prices, and not quality, many companies are no longer able to compete and have closed down. Unfortunately and fortunately, that is how we scored a good deal on my son's bedroom set. We got it for about 50% off, b/c the company was going out of business, it is 100% ash wood and very well made, it will last for many generations in our family. We were going to get a bunk bed, but when we ran across that deal, we couldn't pass it up. It felt good to get a good dea on such a good brandl, but I feel bad that the company is no longer in business.

[ThreeofUs]

If you are willing to pay PBK prices, I highly suggest that you just hire someone, esp if you are in an area with amish, to just custom make a bunk bed for you. They will use solid wood and make it to your specifications.

I was just coming here to add this piece. I checked out prices for custom-built, Amish bunks, in solid maple, and they were ~$1200 around here (Ohio). They generally came with mattresses, too.

[scoop22]

we are also looking to buy bunkbeds. we will keep them seperate at first and then think about bunking them when the boys are older.. i want good quality and dh just wants this over with.. we were at kmart yesterday and dh really liked them so thanks almostsane for the thumbs up there..

thanks for the thread. this is helping me!

eta: has anyone purchased from JCPENNEY??? they have cute beds but i hate to buy without knowing/seeing

[american_mama]

edited to correct name of Vermont furniture company. Sorry for the bump.

Is there only one Costco set? I searched their website and they had like 7 or more. The cheapest was about $600. Is there anything cheaper available in the store? FWIW, the Seneca set on their website (dark wood, lizard on wall, red brown orange circles on the comforter) is a photo I have seen on several other websites for, I think, a lot cheaper. Costco sells it for $999 the twin-twin configuration

The JC Penney set (model Hayden) looks nice and is $400. It's only available in a dark brown color.

The one I can buy locally is the Essex Collection from Bolton Furniture, \part of Vermont Precision Woodworks. The store said they got a special deal on one model, so their set is $400, solid maple I believe. On simplybunkbeds.com, it was $1099. Anyway, I say this because maybe others would have some success finding good prices by searching the Bolton Furniture website and calling their local dealers.

[Twins2000]

Thank you to all who responded to my post! You all gave some great, helpful info! At this point, I'm debating between getting the McKenzie one from Costco, or the 2nd Nature one from Young America (by Stanley). If I were to order the Stanley one from NC, it would be about $200 more than the Costco one, but it would be made from (mostly solid) maple, is still made in the USA, they gaurantee no lead or formaldehyde, and the delivery would include set up. The Costco one is made with birch in China, would include only curbside delivery, we would have to put it together ourselves. I need to go to a local Stanley dealer and try to see the bunks it in person, something I don't think I can do with the Costco one.

Anyhow, thank you all again! I'll let you all know what we end up doing!


Leslie