high sleeper mid sleeper cabin bed argh!

[bigbadbarry]

We are just about to decorate a room for my nearly-9-year-old DD (up until now she has been sharing with her sister). The room is (significantly larger than the room I had as a child) medium sized - maybe 2.5 x 4m, that sort of size. I think a bed that we could put something useful underneath would be grand but I am utterly befuddled by all the choices out there. Has anybody done this recently and has words of wisdom to offer? High (hard to make in the mornings and change sheets?) vs mid? How is a cabin bed different? Bookshelves/futon for a friend/wardrobes...the only decision I have I think made is that we should pop a little desk under there. But if there is a brilliant one that has other things, the desk could be separate.

[FishfingersAreOK]

My view - don't do it. Got one for DD1...she loves it but I hate it because

1. PITA to make/change
   2)PITA to give her a kiss goodnight when we go to bed.
   3)PITA to read a story
   4)PITA as the play space underneath is just a place for her to make a mess
   5)PITA as have now lost the storage space with did have under her bed
   
2. Hers came with a desk - but this s separate in the room as there is not really enough head room for her to use it afterward
   7)PITA as now we have moved it is a big to bog/looming/high for her room - so we are having to now give to DS.
   
   But this is my experience. Others love them. TBH I am hoping it falls to bits when we move it out of storage and into the house. And so you know we have a mid-high sleeper - so mattress about shoulder height on me (though I am a shorty).
   
   If I were to buy her a bed again I would consider a slightly higher than normal but still normal height (IYSWIM) either day-bed like thing or something with lots of drawers/storage underneath.

[drivinmecrazy]

Don't get a high bed for all the reasons FishfingersAreOK says, and more! Having said that my 11yo has loved hers, but the few times I have snuggled in with her it feels like a coffin. so close to ceiling.
Also means we can't use her room as an emergency spare if we have unexpected guests.
She has now outgrown it so offered it to DD2. I don't think so!!!!
Fortunately hers can be made into a very nice normal single bed which is what we will be doing very shortly.
Storage is a myth!! all it becomes is a convenient place to put all her crap when she is asked to tidy her room, all gets pushed under and out of the way, invisible to her but not to me

[SkaffenAmtiskaw]

I've got one like this (without the seat) for my dd's room which is quite small. It's really well made and solid, I got it quite cheap on Ebay.

I have solved the changing the sheets problem by getting dd to do it herself from about the age your dd is now, with help to start with. We don't bother with making the bed in the mornings [slattern]

We had an Ikea Kura bed before, which is reversible (low or mid sleeper) but I found it not so useful as the space underneath is quite small when in the mid-sleeper position, so only good for storing stuff. In practice there it meant a lot of wasted, unused space in the bedroom

Hope that helps! :)

[PhyllisDoris]

Completely agree with Fishfingers - stay clear!

*A bugger to make the bed and change the sheets
*A bugger if DC is ill and particularly if they feel sick - nowhere to put a bowl by the side of the bed
*Impossible to put them to bed if they fall asleep somewhere and you carry them to bed
*Really hard to cuddle them once they are in bed
*Really difficult to cuddle up for a bed time story
*Space underneath is too small to do anything useful with
*They won't really use the desk as a desk - just as a place to dump stuff
*Takes ages to get down in a toilet emergency

I could probably go on...

[betterwhenthesunshines]

DS had one when he was about 7. It was a cheap one (Kuka or Kuba or Kavla?) from IKEA. Wooden frame that was reversible so you could have a low bed with a four poster effect ( fun for making camps but a bit pointless and I always bumped my head) or as a mid height bed with play space under.

He decided fairly soon that he missed bedtime cuddles, stories together etc so we ended up chopping the legs off! Glad it wasn't one that cost ££££

It also makes a small room seem smaller I think as there's a large 'block' of furniture just at chest height. I would go for a bed with good storage underneath (pull out drawers great for all sorts of toys and bulky jumpers etc or even underwear/clothes). And then wall shelves up the wall over the foot of the bed where she won't bang her head on them.

If she wants it a bit more girly and special you could always put up a netting princess hoop thing which you can take down later

[bigbadbarry]

Gosh I am obviously very mean - I couldn't tell you the last time I got into her bed for cuddles and a story! The downside of being the eldest, I guess :( I haven't carried her to bed from elsewhere for several years either. However, take the point about sheet changing and a messy area underneath. Though the pull-out futon for sleepoevers seems like a good idea? And hadn't thought about a sick bowl! What about the mid-height ones, I could reach to change sheets on them ok?

[bigbadbarry]

Also, we will never need to use it as a spare room, so that isn't an issue.

[steppemum]

my ds has had one for 3 years and is now desparate for us to change. We also had bunks in the past, issues are similar

pros
more space (his is medium height, has space under)
he uses under space for lego, and then the rest of the floor is walkable and lego is defined

cons
horrid to change
can't cuddle ds in bed
can't do bedside story in his bed
he can't flop on bed with friends to play on dsi
he can't sit on or laze on bed without climbing up

dd1 is about to get new room which is smallish, she want ssame as ds but we won't buy it, instead we are looking at a low cabin bed, one that has drawers under and has NO WOODEN front edge, so we can sit on it, I can do stories on it etc

Ikea has a nice wooden daybed/sofa thing that looks good, we are selling it to her on the sofa bed front

[YDdraigGoch]

No cuddles and no bed time story!!! Shock horror!

Reall - don't go there with any kind of raised bed - you will be so sorry. When my DDs were small, DD1 was sick in the top bunk - she lent over the side and it splashed all down the ladder and onto DD2 sleeping in the bed below - uch!

[bigbadbarry]

She has cuddles! But not in bed. And she'd rather read to herself.

[steppemum]

we do cuddles and stories on my bed, and now ds is older he isn't so botherd, but now he is really complaining about the place to flop and sit with friends round. dd really likes her cuddles and stories on HER bed so I know she will mind

the being ill is a nightmare too, I often end up pulling mattress off cabin bed/top bunk on to the floor, so they can easily go to the loo or be sick without the whole room getting covered. we have had a similar sick episode YD, and cleaning up 2 children and 2 beds at 3 am is not funny

[steppemum]

actually looking at other comments, my ds really uses the space underneath to play. At the moment he has a lego train set there and he can often be found sitting there buiding lego. It is a sort of lego den. I think it works best if you have something specific under there. Or even a couple of bean bags and a cd player.

[SunnyUpNorth]

Annoying my post just disappeared mid type, grrr.

Anyway no experience of the above but I alway thought the ikea daybed looked great for your age daughter.

It can be used as a sofa in the day which should make her feel grown up. It has storage drawers and a pull out bed underneath which is handy for sleepovers and as an emergency double for guests should you ever need it.

[bigbadbarry]

I think I might have a look at this one since we live close to their showroom. Not too high and doors on things to hide the mess. I did quite want a pull-out bed for sleepovers but I guess we can get a little futon or something.

[partystress]

Oh dear... just about to order one of these which my DD (9 and v tall) has set her heart on.

Reading and cuddles we do on my bed anyway, as my fat arse we don't both fit on hers. She assures me she won't feel claustrophobic in it. I hadn't thought about vomit-related problems, and bed-making in our house is shake and smooth, so not too worried about that. This just seems like a great value way of getting a spare bed and desk without using valuable floor space, and DD actually likes it, which is major achievement given her hormones all over the place .

Will watch further posts with interest...

[betterwhenthesunshines]

The only other thing - if she's 9, she's not far off from wanting to use her room as a separate sitting room when all her friends come over. A mid height bed will be trickier to all sit and chat / do nails on / cast discarded clothes across plan outfits or whatever.

[Elegantlywasted]

DD nearly 12 and had her high sleeper for a year, is PITA to change also you need to bear in mind the hassle when you move, depending on how it is put together, it may need to be taken apart and re-assembled, so don't lose the instructions!

We don't snuggle up for a bedtime story anymore, she is far too old for that, or so she tells me. Her bed has a sofa for 2 underneath which converts to a spare bed and a desk which she does use.

Unless you have a large room though they can dominate the room, I think including the frame the one we have is just over 7ft in length.

On the odd occasions when she has been sick she has managed to get down quickly enough and then she sleeps on the spare bed underneath as she can have a bowl by her side or get to the loo quicker.

[Startail]

DD1 has a high sleeper and it almost touches the ceiling. she loves it. she's 14 and has her lap top, ipod books and all manner of junk up there.

It is a pita for all the reasons listed and it's ladder sticks out and attacks your toes every time you enter the room and I bang my head on it rounding up her washing.

[TalkinPeace2]

DS and DD both have high sleepers that they love
DS bed is a second hand Stompa that we bought on Ebay
DD wants to get a normal bed next year (she'll be 15)

mine change their own sheets ...

[LimeLeafLizard]

DS has a cabin bed which he loves. It fits a small cupboard and chest of drawers underneath which is a great space saver. There is also a little gap for a pull out desk, which we don't use so the boys crawl under it and make a den round the back.

Normally it isn't any problem to change the bedding, although I am pg atm and now I have a biggish bump I am getting DH to change it as I can't quite reach.

Overall it was good value for money (50% off in M&S sale a few years ago) and I don't regret buying it.

I also like those beds which have a spare mattress in a drawer underneath.

[ilovetermtime]

Both my DS's have these: www.childrensbedworld.co.uk/p/Gami_Montana_High_Sleeper.htm
And love them.

I get up in them to read a story and have a cuddle and I think they're really cosy, I'd have loved one when I was little! They are a pita to change, but it's not THAT big of a deal.

The built in wardrobe is especially useful I think, especially considering how much wardrobes actually cost!

[ilovetermtime]

www.childrensbedworld.co.uk/p/Gami_Montana_High_Sleeper.htm
Doh!

[eyestightshut]

www.hancockbedsnottingham.co.uk/prod.php?prod=196 We got this for DS - it's just the right height for changing sheets without having to bend (I'm 5'6") and for cuddles at night. Loads of storage space and we got it cheaper at bedzrus.co.uk

[MuddlingMackem]

DS has a shorty mid-sleeper from Argos and DD has a high sleeper, from ebay but originally from Ikea, off which we had to lop off 7 inches from the length in order to fit it in her room.

I don't really see the point of them if you have a decent size room, although I suppose a mid-sleeper can get you some extra storage and not be too much of a pain to change. However, our kids' bedrooms are tiny so it's the only way we could fit a single bed in for them, and even then they can only have the 5' 9" x 2' 6" matresses. I wish we could fit a high-sleeper in DS's room to put a wardrobe underneath and give him some more floor space, but his ceiling slopes so there isn't the height.

(When we were shopping for DS's he wanted the one with a slide. We pointed out that if he had space for a slide we wouldn't need to buy him a mid-sleeper! Interestingly, I don't think Argos do the slide option any more. )