What state are you in?

Do you watch Jon & Kate +8? There was a recent episode where she was also looking for better beds and was able to find them. I've looked at the forum and don't see it mentioned.

First of all, let me say, my 6yo daughter has a lovel full sized bed from approximately 1920 with handpainted flowers on the head board and footboard. My boys have pine, bunkbeds that we found at a consignment shop. I was not worried about the wood because I know they will not be taking these with them when they leave the nest. Pine works well enough for that purpose.

I like the ladder that hinges on because I can take it off (the youngest learned how to climb the ladder before he was 1). This could be important if you had someone visiting. It was also easier to take it off to clean it when the oldest threw up on it. The set we have has a built in desk, dresser and bookcase with the bottom bed perpendicular to the top. The perpendicular bed was a nice fature for when the 3 yo jumped off the top, the bed was softer than the floor.

I honestly have no idea what the brand is although I do know it is not top of the line and it has proven quite sturdy. I prefer to save my money for nicer mattresses. The ones normally sold with bunks are awful. HTH!

Whatever you do, bunkbeds are not recommended for children under 6.

You might look at stores that sell baby bedding - they often have juvenile bedding as well. Unless your ceilings are higher, once your kids get older and taller the bunks won't work, so you may not need something that will last for centuries!

Don't know anything about this site, but it seems a place to start:

simply bunkbeds

Your kids are boys - if they are old enough, they'll be jumping off the top bunk to the floor as part of the young male rite of passage! The end of bed ladder means that they'll probably have an additional step up to get over a footboard. I'd so a side ladder both for the kids and because it's easier for changing sheets, etc.

I'd look for non-pine wood only because I think it's more attractive than pine or mdf.

Have you looked in Craigslist? Seems like the kind of thing I've seen there.

Some other thoughts I had when looking at my boys bunks to consider is where the bunk bed will be in relation to a ceiling fan. If it is a small room, that has to be taken into consideration. I would also consider getting ones that can separate into twin beds should the need arise. Also be aware that there is a tendency of whoever is on bottom to "decorate" the part that they look up at. There are several sites that give information on safety requirements so definitely check those out (i.e. spacing between the guard rail, etc).

tishtoshnm - Great suggestion. My son spent the night with a friend once and I got a phone call saying he had gotten hit in the head by the ceiling fan when he was on the top bunk.

Laurie

I would 2nd a removable type ladder - Bunk beds by nature are a BEAST to make!! having a removable ladder will help.

A few weeks ago I was doing some research on bunk buds for my sister before she bought one for my nephew. There have been really good suggestions here; les917 -those are great bunk beds. Thanks! I am going to pass that on to my sister. Here is what I found, its an article but it has links to the beds throughout the article. good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Ideas for boys room

The best bunk beds we ever had were made by my husband. Try and picture this: We took their bedrooms and split them in two separate rooms. In the center of the rooms were the beds. On my younger daughters side was just the lower bunk.
in the other daughters room was just the upper bunk. The floor space was smaller than you'd normally see, but it was enough since the bed didn't use floor space.

We bought ours from Vermont Precision. (You can do a google search.) These were maple and had the straight-up ladder.

Friends of ours got Flexa, which are pine but are very flexible and grow with the kids, and you can do fun things with them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Flexa bunkbeds

For kid's furniture including bunk beds I cannot recommend Stanley Young AMerica highly enough. We bought our first bunk bed with my DS was 5 (now 14). It also had the detachable ladder plus pull out drawers (love 'em!). It was used on-and-off for him and my DD when Grandma came for extended visits- though eventaully we decided it was not the best solution for anyone with allergies because movement on top bunk loosens dust for bottom bunk sleeper. Then we also had child #3, so almost 10-years-later we decided to buy more furniture in the line and were plesantly surprised to find it was still in stock and we could purchase a matched computer desk for DS, plus move one bunk to my youngest DD's room and buy a trundle to put below it. When we remodeled our house last year and moved to an apt, we again used the bunk beds plus trundle below. I move it that there are so many options in the furniture line that you can add/change over time as your child's needs change.

They are also built of solid woods--DS/DD's is birch and middle DD's (we bought a Captain's bed/computer desk for her) is in maple.

Here is a link that might be useful: Stanley Young America

I bought my daughters bunk beds at bunksnstuff.com -- Solid wood, detachable ladder, can be twin beds -- we have done both ways. One piece arrived a little beat up they had a new piece in the mail that day --- I liked them enough I actually wrote a letter about their wonderful customer service -- and I very rarely feel moved to do that. We have had the beds since girls were 4 (not bunked at that age) and they are 9 now and beds are going strong.

With boys (I have one) I would go for good strong contruction. When we looked at beds for him so many were MDF or such thin construction that I knew he would put a foot through the footboard within a week. We ended up going with Land of Nod for him --- I vetoed the bunk beds for his room.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bunksnstuff website

We are in the Seattle area and bought from Underhill's furniture in Kirkland. The bunkbeds are birch, really solid and have been taken apart and put back together for painting rooms, new carpet, etc. and they still are as solid as ever.

Wow, thanks for all the replies! I hadn't thought at all about the ceiling fan, and that will be an issue with this room -- am really grateful for that comment and for all the input.

Seems like pine is an acceptable wood, then (tishtosh, where in NM are you? I'm down south... was the consignment store where you got the bunkbeds in NM?), so I won't go nuts over maple (esp if the price difference is $500, which it seems to be).

Also thanks re the side ladder. I am now looking at some of the bunk beds I see on furniture sites and thinking, how would anyone ever make that bed? I am definitely going to switch to duvets & covers, esp for the top bunk.

What do you think of these? I am loath to buy Stanley, as they seem to have some quality issues, and we don't have many furniture stores nearby. Costco is 45 minutes away, but their return policy makes this an attractive option. (they used to have maple beds, at a lower price point than these -- silly me for waiting!)

Here is a link that might be useful: Costco birch bunk beds

I can't speak to the quality, but in all honesty the bottom bed of the two looks like a crib to me that was converted to a bed - the head and footboards seem much taller on the bottom bunk than on the top piece. When you separate them into two twins, they would look different, I think?

Also, rest assured that even with duvets, the top bunk with the guard rails will be a pain in the tush to make on a daily basis, and even more of a pain to change the sheets. Younger DS had a bunk over a desk, which he loved, but I hated the bedmaking/changing routine. I was secretly so pleased when he got to be too tall to use the top bunk when he was 11 or so!

When you take them apart, you use the top ends for the footboard of the two beds, and the bottom ends for the headboards of the two beds.

Walkin- I am in central NM. The consignment shop, I believe, was called Furniture on Consignment. It is off of I-25 in Albuquerque. You could call and see if they have any bunks and ask to have them forward you pictures to gauge if you like them. If you decide to make a trip to Albq, places to check would be:

1. American Home. I think that this is the largest furniture dealer in NM (not saying much but they have a large kids section).

2. Unpainted Furniture - I haven't been there in a while but there prices are reasonable.

3. Simply Stickley - Stickley is pretty good quality and thus not cheap but they just opened a showroom in Albq. I think that I saw bunks on their site under Stickley Starters.

4. Amish Connection - Once I saw bunks in their showroom. I don't remember seeing them there recently but they also have catalogs and they may have different wood options if you desire that.

As far as making the bed, I make 9 yo DS change his own sheets on the top bunk. I think I have seen him crawling under the mattress flipped up to do it, but I just look the other way. Since the bottom bunk is perpendicular, it is on casters and I just pull it out to change the sheets for the 3yo. HTH

If you decide to look at used beds (Craig's list, consignment store, etc.) just be sure the bed is SAFE. My husband has a set of bunks from when he was a child that we used for my oldest son. These beds have a horizontal gap in the headboard and footboard. My son used to scale the end of the bed (not using the ladder) and squeeze through the gap onto the mattress. One day while I was tending to our new baby, I heard a faint cry for help and found him hanging from his footboard! He was okay, thankfully, but I always try to warn people to stay away from that style of bed. If you notice most of the new beds either have a solid footboard or very, very small horizontal gaps.

Also, depending on the ages of your sons, check out Olive Kid's "hugger" comforters. I agree with whoever said that bunk beds are a pain to make up!

Nin

My kids had the Camelot brand bunk beds when they were younger. I think I bought it when my youngest DS was 3 or 4 years and we just sold them on Craigslist this past year when he was 14, so they were over 10 years old. Still looked as good as the day that I bought them, with the exception of one young man's name etched onto one of the drawer fronts :-).

They had a bookshelf on one side and a desk on the other side, and a very sturdy ladder that hooked the top bunk. Although they were more pricey than others they were very high quality. All drawers were on metal slides and the material was some kind of maple or maple veneers. Also, I sold them for $500 even 10 years used.

Here is a thread from the furniture forum that can answer your wood question. From what I read, maple and oak are the woods to look for. Pine is good too but slightly softer.

I would recommend Vermont Precision or Vermont Tubbs. Solid wood, made in the US, will last until your kids have kids. I saw VP in person and the quality is outstanding - a little pricey but sure to last through multiple generations.

I actually purchased a Stanley bedroom set and am very happy with the dressers - excellent quality, I believe they are still being made in the US. However, I did hear that their beds are made in China

As far as Costco, they have a lot of lower quality furniture - mdf instead of wood etc but they do have a great return policy.

I highly recommend checking out Vermont Precision & Vermont Tubbs. Good Luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: furniture 101

Try to get something with an easily removeable side rail, makes making the bed soooo much easier when you can take that off briefly. I second the bunkie comforters or "huggers", they make life much easier. i also second the thought that a ladder you can move around makes it much easier to make the bed and to rearrange the furniture. Also the slanted ladder is SO much easier to climb, I put glow-in-the-dark nonskid tape on the rungs for safety with sleepy boys in sock feet on midnight bathroom trips. I just gaev both sets of this end up bunks to a neighbor who sia adopting three little boys from foster care. i LOVE "this end up" bunks-- mine are in perfect condition asfter years of use. We have slanted ceilings upstairs now and could not use the bunk feature, and chose to get new beds with bigger drawers underneath instead of dressers.

"Costco birch bunk beds"

Hmmm... there are ones in my CL for $25-$400... birch... oak... pine... metal... maple... and maybe not made in China... okay shutting up now... lol

As of this afternoon we will have two sets of "This End Up" bunk beds. They are very well made and last forever. I can't recommend this brand enough!

Yeah, "this end up" is wonderful-- and I know my neighbor will use my two sets (four beds todal) for many years! thisendup.com has them of course but youc an find tons on craigslist if you wait!

Alas, Oceanna, your Craigslist ain't my Craigslist, which is why I'm not buying a Craigslist bed. I have been diligently haunting our local Craigslists for a good six months now. There are hardly any bunkbeds listed at all; the few I've seen were in terrible shape or twin over full rather than twin over twin. Or flimsy metal, or MDF with faux-wood paper/veneer over it. I am loath to pay shipping (and then be stuck with) bunk beds I haven't seen or shaken, so I am not going to order from Craigslist in some other town. Hence my reluctance re the Costco beds, for the same reason...

Still, I appreciate the comments! Keep 'em comin'!

Walkin' you need to move to a better CL location! LOL! I agree with you I wouldn't pay shipping for a CL item. The beauty of CL is you can go check it out in person.

You don't even have a Costco where you are? How about JCPenneys? Have you looked there? Or do you have any stores in your area known for a good return policy if you're not happy? You don't live near any large city?