Berkeley Parents Network: Loft Beds

Berkeley Parents Network

Loft Beds

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > What/Where to Buy > Beds & Bedding > Loft Beds

Low loft bed for 2 and 5 year olds
Student family in 1BR - should we get a loft bed?
Loft beds for 2 kids in one room?
Do you like your kid's loft bed?
More Advice about Beds & Bedding

Low loft bed for 2 and 5 year olds

Jan 2008

We are seriously considering buying our daughters (age 5 and almost 2) a loft bed of some sort. It will have to be a ''low'' or ''middlehigh'' loft bed as we live in an A-framed farm cottage. Besides - I don't want the kids up so high! I'm interested if anyone has experience with specific brands - Matrix beds, in particular - or others. I read archives & learned to go to Berkeley Kids Room on College. Does anyone know of other bed ''systems'' (meant to grow with the child) such as Matrix - they are costly, but worth it?? If others have chosen loft beds, have you been pleased overall? Thanks - any suggestions much appreciated! Nina

We like the Flexa (www.flexa.dk) system -- they have them at Berkeley Kids Room. It's modular, so you can convert from loft to bunk to twin, etc. They have a low loft and a mid-height loft. Pricey, but well-made. Mom of Two, Too

Student family in 1BR - should we get a loft bed?

April 2004

My husband, 4 month old and I live in a small one bedroom appartment and I am worried about what we will do for space when my son starts crawling. We are students, and can't afford anything much bigger unless we move far away from campus, which is also undesirable. (We have applied for UC housing, but that's not so cheap either) Recently I had the thought of replacing our bed with a loft bed. We have pretty high ceilings (8'8'') in our appartment so it seems like a good way to create more space... but I worry that it's not safe, esp. given the earthquake issue. Does anyone out there have experience with loft beds? How safe are they? Are they sturdy enough that I could safely make the area under the loft baby's play area? Does anyone have a reccommendation of a good place to get a sturdy loft? Feel free to respond here or email me in person. Thanks for any advice you might have, Agnes

Our family had the same problem when my husband was at school at Berkeley. We lived in the tiniest little one bedroom apartment (everything was mini -- mini fridge, mini stove, mini shower) but it was walking distance to campus. The apartment was only two rooms (living room/kitchen and bedroom) and an itsy-bitsy bathroom..

When our daughter was about 1 1/2, we knew we needed to get her into her own bed so we looked at lofts and bunk beds. Not being from around here, we were especially scared of earthquakes so we wanted a really sturdy bed. We wanted something where we could have a double bed on top for my husband and I to sleep in, and a twin or a toddler bed underneath. Most of the lofts we looked at seemed *really* flimsy (especially the ones at Ikea) ..

We finally found what we were looking for at the Berkeley Kids room. They had a lot of beds on display, and it turned out that they would also custom build lofts to meet the height and mattress size that we needed (you could even get a kingsize bed lofted... crazy!).

We bought the lowest loft (I think its 6 ft, but i'm not sure), and its low enough that we can fit a box spring and full mattress and still have room to (almost) sit up without hitting the ceiling :) . The loft is VERY sturdy. We thought about putting a toddler bed under it but instead, my husband built a twin bed frame into the bottom so our little girl would be able to sleep in it for many years... and even with the twin bed built in we still had room to put our dresser under there. I know its probably hard to visualize but email me and I can send you a photo.. :)

The lofts at berkeley kids room are a little expensive, but we figured that we were actually saving a lot of money by not moving into a place that had two bedrooms or to a place where we couldn't walk to campus anymore.

Anyways, now we've graduated and moved into a two bedroom, but the bunkbeds are up in our daughters room. Whenever we have visitors, we always have a bed for them to sleep on! And people are always amused when we tell them about the ''dorm room'' set up we had in Berkeley -- my husband and I on the top bunk and our kid on the bottom bunk :)

Well, thats our story.

Loft beds for 2 kids in one room?

March 2003

We have a small house & one shared bedroom for our 4 & 6 year old daughters. We have been trying to come up with a way to give them some floor play space and some private space (in an 8 X 10 room with 8'' ceilings). Loft beds seem like they would work but they all seem too high or too low - ie the kids hitting the ceiling or the underside of the beds. We have looked at Ikea, the Kids Room, and other miscellaneous stores including on the web. We have also read past recommmendations on this website. So here are our questions - a) I'd love to hear how others have handled this shortage of space and privacy b) Are there other stores or solutions you would suggest? Thanks for your help, Lynn

I know just what you are talking about...so this is what we have just recently come up with, and it seems to be working out ok, tho it may not work for you depending on placement of doors, windows, closets. We put twin beds on directly opposite walls. Down the middle of the room we put the row of dressers, to create a low wall to divide the room in half. They are each very happy to have their own defined space. eve

We have the same situation, except sons. We have Lo beds from Ikea, and have their desks underneath. Dressers at the foot of the beds. With so much in the room you need to keep on top of the clutter

I have two loft beds from Ikea in a bedroom for my kids ages 12, 10 and 6. I've found that the loft beds are great for space saving. The kids usually really like being up there because they have some privacy. Although my youngest decided he prefered the floor. The down side is that the space beneath the loft beds is only really useful as long as the kids can stand under the loft bed without hitting their heads on the underside. We've also used the loft beds to delineate privacy for the kids. The loft bed is considered off limits to siblings. The space under a child's loft bed is that child's space used for a dresser and small desk. But the rest of the floorspace is c Wilma

Do you like your kid's loft bed?

1999

Has anyone tried out the loft bed advertised by Scandanavian Design? It's not as high as a true bunk bed, has a barrier except where the ladder comes up, and is usually shown with a slide (which will not fit in our small room). Any comments would be appreciated; but if anyone loved it and has now "outgrown" it & is prepared to sell, I may be interested. Or -- if you've seen this type of thing from another vendor... I don't want bunk beds, though, or anything that is high enough and/or without bars such that age 6 is the minimum age for safety. Letitia

About the Scandinavian Designs loft bed: We purchased one 2 years ago for our 2 daughters who were 2 and 3 at the time. They have loved it. The younger one sleeps on a mattress underneath the loft bed. Our girls are fairly cautious, so we haven't had any bumps or falls. We recommend getting one if you have limited bedroom space. However, be sure to set aside an afternoon to assemble it. John & Panda

I bought 2 of the beds two years ago, when my twin boys had just turned four. They have worked out very well. I've found them to be sturdy (my kids jump on them sometimes) and safe (my kids have fallen once or twice when they have been fooling around, not in the course of getting in and out of bed. The result has been a bruise or scrape but nothing serious.) The only drawback is that the sides make it difficult to make the bed. However, given my kids young age when we bought the beds, the safety advantages outweighed the inconvenience. We didn't get the slides either, just the stairs.

By the way, we didn't buy the mattresses that come with the bed. Instead, we bought high grade foam mattresses at one of the foam shops in Berkeley, which have also held up well. Kim

The Kids' Room, Berkeley, has a loft-type bed without the tent and slide. The side barrier is extra but well worth it. Their model does not require a ladder, although it is available. The salesperson, in fact, advised against the ladder because kids are more careful climbing up the end of the bed. My son loves having the space under the bed for make-believe forts, spaceships, etc. Nori

We got a loft bed at Gorman & Sons on Telegraph (just past Dwight). They have all kids of bunk and loft beds, and are really helpful. We paid around $240 for ours, I think - it was a couple of years ago. Molly

The opinions and statements expressed on this website are those of parents who subscribe to the Berkeley Parents Network.
Please see Disclaimer & Usage for information about using content on this website.