Bunk Beds

Archive for the ‘Bunk Bed Plans’ Category

It was the Christmas of 1977, I was 9 years old, and my older brother got an air hockey table from Santa. We were just at the age when we were pretty sure that we knew the truth about Santa Claus and were determined to stay up and catch him in the act. We lived in a tri-level house, and my brother’s room was on the first floor, right by the entry way and the family room. He had bunk beds, so I slept downstairs in his room with plans not to sleep that night. We laid in our beds and chatted excitedly but quietly (Christmas Eve is not the time to get in trouble, just in case Santa was real!) Every now and then we would quietly open the door and sneak up the stairs to peak into the living room. But always it was the same, quiet and no change. It was going to be a long night.

I guess we must have fallen asleep, though I still don’t remember actually sleeping. It was around 4:30 in the morning when Matthew and I snuck out of the room. We crept upstairs, and sure enough, Santa had been there while we were sleeping! Santa always brought us one present each, and we easily located my gift and the gifts for our two little sisters, but nothing for Matthew. As we went back down to Matthew’s room, we spotted something in the Family Room. Yes, and air hockey table–we were so excited! 

My parents always had a rule on Christmas morning. We could get up early and play with our Santa gift, but we had to wait until 8:00 before we could wake them up. So here it was, about 4:30 or 5:00 in the morning, and Matthew and I were playing air hockey and having a blast! But my mom’s memory of it isn’t as fun. It just so happened that our parent’s room was on the third floor, right above the family room (typical tri-story house layout), and of course, the heating vent ran right from the family room to their bedroom. So Mom and Dad had been up late and were trying to finally get some sleep, and all they can hear is a clickity-click-click-click! Needless to say, we were sent back to bed and had to wait to play until later.

But that air hockey table was the most popular and memorable Christmas gift of all time, one that I still remember more than any other. It provided hours of family fun. As kids we would hold tournaments, and the more neighbor kids involved, the better. Our home was always one where everyeone hung out anyhow, so the air hockey table was an added bonus. We probably didn’t play with official rules, but we had a lot of fun, making up our own rules and games as only a child can. But  unlike child’s toys, there was no age limit to those who enjoyed playing, and the game never got old because new opponents brought on new challenges.

For great family time, air hockey tables can’t be beat. I know that it brought us hours of fun when I was growing up, and brought us together as a family. Plus, we still enjoy the air hockey table with the telling of the story, and laugh at Matthew and I playing very early on Christmas morning and waking up our parents with a clickity-clack!

 

Janie Smalls
http://www.articlesbase.com/hobbies-articles/air-hockey-tables-christmas-of-1977-695370.html

Our boys are 12 and almost 11 (they are 16 mos apart) anyways, they are in bunk beds and we don’t have a choice now becasue I plan on going back to school and so we need to stay where we are at. How long can they fit in twin bunk beds mind you they are slim and not huge kids one is 5 feet tall the other 4′9.5
Thanks

I dont see how thats a problem girly…cus look at it this way. My annoying wife merideth always complains that beds get "worn out" or some useless shit like that and I get stuck buying her a new matress and frame for the bed. So like me if they dont like it or its to small for them suddenly buy a new one!

Over the past few years, I’ve been asked many times about stairway bunk beds, or bunk beds that have stairs instead of a ladder to get to the top bunk. Having stairs instead of a ladder has one major advantage, safety. If you are worried about your kids actually climbing a ladder and whether or not they can handle it, especially when you can’t be with them every second, and believe me it only takes one second of not paying attention for a child to get hurt, then stairs is probably for you.

Having stairs lead to the top of the bunk is not only a crucial safety feature, but it can make going to bed on the top bunk fun, as if it weren’t fun enough, I guess what I meant was more fun. Remember how much fun it was for you as a kid when you got to sleep on the top bunk? It was almost a feeling of independence as a kid, freedom from the floor and the rest of the world.

Another great feature that stairs provide is the ability to have storage underneath these stairs. I’ve seen a few sets where drawers have been built to utilize this space nicely. In fact, it’s like having a dresser on the end of the bunk beds that will store all your clothes. Think of it, two beds and a dresser all built into one unit, now that’s extreme practicality.

Now that we’ve defined the benefits of having stairs lead to the top bed on your bunk beds, let’s discuss the downside. Can you think of any? Well, there is really only one drawback and if you can work around it, you will have no problems. Since the stairs are typically built on the end of the bunk beds, you will need more room to accommodate the bunk bed set, more room lengthwise that is, and this is where most bedroom floor plans fall short. You might be able to get the bed in against the longest wall and have it fit rather nicely, but then you find the drawer option that is going to house all your kids clothes doesn’t work. That is, there isn’t enough room to even open the drawers.

So as a good rule of thumb, make sure you know where you would like your new bed to fit in the room, take some measurements, find out the entire length of the bunk bed including the stairs, and then add twenty four inches on top of that if you expect to have drawers at the end. Remember, not only does the drawer have to open all the way up, but you have to be able to get in there at the same time.

One other thing to keep in mind when planning out space in the room for your bunk bed, remember that the stairs, and therefore, the drawers, will only be able to fit on one end. That is you won’t be able to reverse the stairs and put them at the other end of the bed.

Hopefully this article has given you a few tips about buying stairway bunk beds and some decisions that need to be made. Having a set of stairs instead of a ladder will give you much needed peace of mind, especially when it comes to kids.

Don VanPelt
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/stairway-bunk-beds-671622.html

My son is now old enough to transition into a "big boy bed"! We are looking into buying bunk beds, but I am thinking about just building a set on my own. I have seen several kinds that I like. I like the kinds that have the bottom bunk sitting the opposite way of the top bunk, as in the head of the bed is under the top bunk but the feet are out into the room. I have seen several with slides and I like those, I think my son would have a blast with something like that, and I like the kinds with stairs. It doesnt have to have the stairs it could just have a ladder. I would just like to get 2 out of the 3. If anyone knows of a site with a great variety of plans I would appreciate it. I have been looking all morning and site after site, most of them do not have much variety to thier plans!

we did it in college for extra room - plastic milk crates wire together & we got to use the space underneath - easy build with one ledger board & some plywood & no more than 3 legs to the floor, you don’t nee the box spring & it can be a couple of feet from the ceiling…if you have 9" ceiling he will think he’s sleeping on a mountain! all 2 x 4 & plywood, big nails for hooks, desk underneath, stairs, temp roll off boards till he’s used to it - Kick azz! I want on now!