Decisions decisions. Bunk beds or twin beds? Your children are no longer toddlers, so what is your next bedroom design? I am actually stumped with this same question, so I’m doing my own research and sharing with you what I find!
First, I want to look through inspiration for both ideas. And even though I have two boys, I will include designs for both genders and all ages and stages!
How Spacious Is The Room You’re Working With?
The size of the room is a great place to start. There’s no clear rule on whether to do twin beds or bunk beds in a small room. Because there are fabulous examples of both. Another question you may ask yourself is how much extra walking space and play space do you want in the room?
Do your children like to play in their room or do you have another communal space they tend to play? Maybe you have a play room that they often congregate.
Do you want the room to feel cozy? This may be your opportunity to do twin beds and allow other rooms in the house to be more spacious. But this gets to be the sleeping retreat.
The above bedroom is so eye-catching to me because it’s beautiful in its simplicity. Instead of putting a bunk bed in the space or even a large king bed, we have two twin beds! It makes me want to transport to my younger years and have a sleepover with my girlfriend, knowing I wont be competing for the covers!
I think the unexpected in a space is such a sweet surprise.
Is The Room An Odd Shape?
Sometimes there are advantages to odd shaped rooms. They may allow for a nook for built-in shelves or a desk and study nook for your child.
If you’re unsure about the space opportunities within the room, hire a cad designer to swing in and make a few layouts for you that are exact measurements! This will give you an educated plan of action and a few real options to choose from.
And by all means, if you are a DIY-er, like myself, measure it and tape out the corners of all the different pieces of furniture on the floor! I used this exact method to decide the total size of my kitchen island. Yep! Good ole blue tape on the raw hardwood floors.
Coming back to our main question, bunk beds or twin beds? If you have a long room, either option can work wonderfully! What a long and spacious room! I spy an amazing sleepover in the works! A wall of bunk beds. Voila!
If you have the budget for an amazing custom-built train of bunk beds like this, I vote go for it! I assume this family hosts friends, often, for spend the nights.
What’s The Family Setup? For Bunk Beds or Twin Beds
Sometimes I feel like having both boys and girls can create the prime environment for each one playing in their room with friends. In this case, bunk beds seem like the better option for more room and for spend the nights.
Let’s say you have one boy and one girl. I would for sure think they would each like to run off to their rooms in their middle school years and onward!
Furthermore, maybe you have a long extended family of cousins? These may all be better reasons to do multiple bunk beds if you have the space. If a room can handle twin beds, then it can also maybe handle twin bunk beds if the ceilings are tall enough! And that moves us on to our next point!
A last little tid-bit. It feels like boys may have a longer life span in bunk beds than girls. Are you contemplating bunk beds for a boys room? That would be a better return on your investment, if you will.
Bunk Beds or Twin Beds: Main Home Or Vacation Home?
This is a prime example of a wonderfully planned bunk room that could belong at a lake house. The sophistication of the room makes me feel like boys and high-schoolers and beyond could stay here in complete comfort.
Given that there are so many bunk beds in this room, I imagine it is geared for older kids who have the ability to go to bed and not disrupt other’s sleep. So keep in mind the reality of the situation. The more beds available, the older the kids may need to be!
So, case and point, if you are considering bunk beds or twin beds for your second home, and this is a room for children, I vote for bunk beds. A vacation home is meant for entertaining and extra beds are key!
Older Boys Bedroom? Choose Twin Beds
This one is tricky, but I do have some thoughts on this. Growing up, my two older brothers always had twin beds. Yes, even when they were both in high school, they slept in twin beds. One of my brother’s feet would always hang off the bed.
They laughed about the hurdles it took to get up on the bed each night. And thankfully, they had a great attitude about it. But when I think back about this, even though the room was small, I do think they would have appreciated twin beds. This would have allowed them both to do homework on their beds without one of them on the bottom bunk being crowded.
Two Daughters or One Daughter?
My first instinct says that if you have one daughter, do twin beds. This feels like a sweet setup and especially good for a spend the night. Girls love pillow-talk. So why not keep them on the same level?
Furthermore, the twin beds are easy to grow into from toddler to high school.
Another benefit to twin beds is that they offer a spot to sit too. Ever notice how hard it is to sit on the lower level of a bunk bed? I sure remember! Twin beds are much more inviting if you are limited on seating space.
I’ve chosen this sophisticated option of girls twin beds to show how eloquent they can be! Perhaps this could even be used as a guest room. It doesn’t hurt a couple to spend a few nights in separate beds, and definitely not ones as inviting as these!
Smaller House & Sisters: Maybe Choose Bunk Beds! And / Or Ones That Separate Back into Twins
Each of these inspiration rooms are such sweet spaces. Maybe your house is limited on room. Do your daughters share a room? Look how much space you can save by doing bunk beds and making it still look fabulous all along!
Another idea would be to purchase bunk beds that can move back to twin beds if needed. The girls may grow tired of bunk beds and this is an easy fix.
Thirdly, if this is a starter home and you’re itching to do bunk beds, then don’t feel the need to splurge on built-ins. Just get the basic structure of the bunk beds and make the bedding and decorative pillows the cute part! Then, when your daughters grow out of the bunk beds, they will be ready to transition to nicer twin beds.
I hope these various scenarios have helped you think through all the many scenarios for pros and cons of both twin beds and bunk beds!
Thanks for stopping by!
