What kind of combination bed and climbing furniture is good for a three year old?

November 6, 2011 9:39 AM

We have a three year old that loves to climb. We live in a small 2BR apt in San Francisco right now, so space is a premium. She has her own room, while not huge, it can certainly handle a combo bed-climbing piece of furniture. What kind of options do we have?

I speculated that one of the bunk-beds with a full bed on bottom and a single bed on top with a ladder to get between them might be a good option (mainly because she can sleep on the large bed in the bottom and have the top bed as a private play area). I've also found a lot of combination bed-play sets that look promising and are affordable, but they strictly are toddler beds that will have a limited lifespan.

The bunk bed above would sort of be the maximum amount of floor space we could afford. But I'm open to anything that would offer us a good combination of space saving, sleeping, climbing.

Suggestion? (Caveat: I can't build anything. It's an apartment.)

posted by smallerdemon to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

Ikea (Emoryville) has a variety of bed-above-desk or bed-above-playarea setups which may be suitable.
posted by blob at 9:48 AM on November 6, 2011

I think that this Ikea bed is a standard twin. We currently have it in the "bed on the bottom" position, and it's sturdy enough that I think you could pretty easily attach other things to it if you want a more challenging climb.
posted by true at 10:15 AM on November 6, 2011 [1 favorite]

If you could very securely anchor this to the rafters, a cargo net could be kind of cool, with some mats under it. That might not be too hard to patch up after...
posted by peagood at 10:49 AM on November 6, 2011

Good friends who had two daughters close in age used a bed almost exactly like the one in your link. It was nice that the bottom bed was large enough for two so they could have a friend stay over. And the girl who usually slept up top fell out of bed once, and landed on the larger bed. Now that they are older and each has their own room, the upper bunk is used to store their stuffed animal collection, and it still accommodates a friend for sleepovers.

My daughter has a loft bed, with a desk underneath. It wasn't nearly as convenient for sleepovers, because the bed itself is a twin, so not quite wide enough for two as she and her friends got older and bigger. And now that she's a teen, the loft is just short enough that she has to hunch over to get to her desk.

So, going on the potential need for a second bed (a future sibling, sleepovers) I think a bed like you linked is your best bet.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 12:12 PM on November 6, 2011

I love hal_c_on's climbing wall! If you bought a wood bunk bed instead of a metal one, you could always attach some planks of wood to one end of the bunkbed to form a solid wall, and then attach the climbing holds to that, to make a climbing wall. This would save you from worrying about the apartment walls, and make the bunkbed that much cooler!

I really want one of those bunkbeds with a slide for my boys, but I don't think we can fit one in their room. Maybe you have space?
posted by Joh at 1:53 PM on November 6, 2011 [1 favorite]

Nthing the IKEA KURA bed. My 3 and 5 year olds share it and love it. It's been around for a while so you can get a sweet deal on it on craigslist as people's kids outgrow it and want something more grown up.
posted by ellenaim at 2:11 PM on November 6, 2011

I love the idea of the Rhapsody play bed - too pricy for our house, but they're so cool!
posted by hms71 at 5:23 PM on November 6, 2011 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks to everyone. Love the climbing wall idea (and thought about a way to do that without killing the wall).
posted by smallerdemon at 5:18 PM on November 7, 2011