Loft Bed in Playroom to save Space and Play On?

Updated on January 17, 2012
J.M. asks from Doylestown, PA
10 answers

My place is tiny, its 2 bedroom but it has a bonus room that i use for my bedroom and then the 2nd small bedroom is my daughters play room since theres no room in her room or the living room to store toys.
I was thinking of getting a loft bed (bed in air and nothing under) for her, so she could have somewhere cool to play and extra storage for her toys without taking up any room. So my question is...has anyone does this, and are they safe playing up so high? I'm hoping I can put her little tv on a shelf so she can watch cartoons up high, since currently we only have one tv hooked up and I hate cartoons and history documentaries like she likes. I wouldn't want one of the low ones. I'm hoping it takes up minimal extra room. I have time since I have to save up but J. wanted opinions and possibly if you know of a great model that is sturdy and safe. Also has anyone thought of building a little slide to use to cme down from it? I see them on the low ones at ikea but don't see any high ones with it?
shes 5, J. an odd taste in tv
thanks

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So What Happened?

s.b. thanks for the info- she doesnt have a tv in her bedroom, this would be her playroom- ou may still have the same stance. I think she would rarely watch it, but would be fun for sleepovers there...currently her little tv isn't hooked up

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

My friends son fell of the top of a bunk bed and he died. He was in elementary school and he died. He was not being crazy or roughhousing or anything deserving. He slipped and fell.

Don't do a loft. Even though thousands of kids are on one right now it only takes one slip or misstep to end a little life. They are J. too dangerous.

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S.B.

answers from Dallas on

I don't know how old your daughter is, so that may be a consideration for you. My son had bunk beds where the bottom bunk was not attached. He slept on the bottom bunk until he was fully night time potty trained...about three and a half. When he was about four and half we moved the bottom bunk out of the room to give him more play space (he's six now). So glad we did it! It's made much more room in there for him. I hate changing the sheets, but that's my only complaint. Other than that it's been terrific. We bought this set on craigslist (the bunk and two mattresses were $300). It's solid wood and really heavy. I don't think a slide on the larger loft beds would work unless you have a ton of room,otherwise the slide would be too steep. Besides that, I try to keep rough housing and active play off the loft bed so no one gets hurt. A slide would only "rev" them up.

I am one who doesn't believe in tv in a child's room, but if it's something you want, that make wall hangers for tv. I'd J. be sure to put it in a corner away from the bed. If it's installed properly, you won't have to worry about it falling. I'd be more concerned with her banging her head , hanging onto or unintentionally breaking the tv if it was where she could reach it.

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M.P.

answers from Portland on

My granddaughter had a loft bed such as you describe, starting when she was around 4 or 5. The bed has a railing so that a child won't roll off. And it came with a slide. It was made of wood and is very sturdy. My granddaughter still uses it and she's 11.

When she was younger she mostly played on the floor under the bed. Playing on top would be safe if it's quiet play. You don't give her age and so I can't comment on how safe it would or wouldn't be. She would have to be old enough to accept that she could only read or play with dolls, stuffed animals, little toys.

When my grandson was 4 or so he kept insisting to rough house on top and this didn't work out so well. He did fall a couple of times but J. like the cat always landed on his feet. I suspect that he also jumped to the floor, playing Superman.

I like the idea of a TV on a shelf, up high. A play room is open for supervision.

2 moms found this helpful

L.L.

answers from Rochester on

There are a ton of these beds, with slides, tents, etc, on Amazon. Personally, I'd go for the lower ones...they're not as low as you think. I checked one out in a furniture store. It'd be safer, still PLENTY of room underneath to store toys and play with, and the slide...fun!

My husband wanted to get one for our oldest, and I'm glad we didn't, because now we have two (and maybe more someday) and we couldn't fit two of them in the room.

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J.W.

answers from St. Louis on

Aww you should get together with Troy. You need a carpenter. Imagine with M. a loft with a view. In other words space around the bed itself built into the wall. :)

Maybe it is J. M., I would come up with what I want and figure out how to build it. What would be really cool is the loft takes the corner with the bed portion sideways in the corner so that there is a triangle portion behind the bed against the corner of the wall. There you could place the TV, some books, what ever and since it is against the wall there is no chance of her falling. I would use a picket fence instead of rails on the other side.

If you saw my brother's loft in his dorm room you would understand we are a rather creative family when it comes to lofts. :)

Dammit but my kids don't want one. :(

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J.V.

answers from Chicago on

I want to do a loft bed in my soon to be 4 year olds room! I plan to home school, and I thought it would be great to build a loft bed with a desk with tons of book shelves under it. I want the center of her room to be free for toy play and tumbling.

I have no idea how safe it would be, but this is what I want my hubby to build

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M.M.

answers from Detroit on

I think it depends how old your daughter is. Since you say she likes historic documentaries I'm guessing she's at least 7? At that age, this sounds like a good idea. I would make sure, if you're putting a TV up high, that you secure it well so it can't get pulled or knocked down onto someone below.

My son's bunk beds are made by Bolton and they are really sturdy. I'm sure they are sold in component parts so you could get J. the loft. They sell them with both ladders and steps that drawers pull out of (might be a good storage option) -- didn't see any tall ones with slides!

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★.O.

answers from Tampa on

I bought one for my daughter... so excited and then we put it up. Our ceilings are 'normal' height and the bed gave her like under 2 ft head room to sit up and move around... she's 6 y/o. If you have high ceilings, it would be fabulous!! But if your ceilings are the average 9ft... I'd think of other ideas.

I have an older child loft bed... the baby/toddler lofts would be better for very small kids, now that I see the picture LOL

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C.C.

answers from Houston on

My grandson has one. It already has a built in slide...space underneath is great...especially for a small room. He was 3 when he got his...never had a problem with him jumping in it or falling out....it also had sideguards. He loved it. Highly recommend it.

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J.B.

answers from Los Angeles on

my daughter has a loft bed (shes 4) it has a slide on one end. she loves it. you can buy them with the slide (we got ours from toys r us). what i have under her bed is her tv and dvd player and her large doll house.
this is the bed she has --
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Princess-Castle-Twin-Size-Tent-Lo...

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