Children's bedrooms - who do I need?

[HornungTheHelpful]

I am aiming this year to redecorate my three children's bedrooms (3, 5 and 7; F, F and M, and respectively keen on pink and unicorns, pink and unicorns, and minecraft and lego, despite my best efforts otherwise). The two older children's rooms are in the roof, and so have sloping ceilings. Given the space difficulties that this gives, I am proposing to have pretty much al the furniture "built in". These are examples of the sort of thing I want to do with their beds:
https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/211174977846636/ (top would be like a den, not a second bed)
https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/15973773674107693/

I need a carpenter, right? I am not great at DIY. Those will be in one end with the slope on either side. On the other side I'm putting low cupboards, and a desk, built into the curve. I'm thinking I can probably get away with Ikea for this.

Any suggestions or thoughts?

Anyone who does cabinetry should be able to help.

one thing to consider is how they will use the room as they get older. Custom cabinetry is not cheap, so I would want to know it is still functional in 5+ years time when they are 2x as big and it is more about study / relax space than dens and toy storage.

we have loft beds for our dc, and while it was great for optimising space in smaller bedrooms, it is a nightmare to keep clean as everything migrates into bed and it is so awkward fishing everything out for the weekly clean. At 7 they have both decidedly grown out of them in the sense that they want something different from their bedrooms and want a more traditional layout with a bed at ground level that they don’t have to climb up into.

I agree with @Labraradabrador on future-proofing expensive built-in beds your children are likely to outgrow. And, tbh, I wouldn't lean in too hard into decorating their rooms with whatever they're currently into in any permanent way. Those fads pass quickly, and a seven year old who wants a pink unicorn room quickly becomes an eight year old who thinks that's babyish and wants nothing to do with it. DS (8) wanted a bright pink room when we moved to this house and a year later was refusing to go in there or have friends round because it was 'so embarrassing'. It's now off-white, and he can add his own touches with stuff on the walls, bedclothes, gaming desk etc.

I agree with @ReadingParty that children will fairly quickly outgrow their current favourite things. I would decorate with neutral colours and add in items which can be changed fairly cheaply and easily, such as bedding, cushions, lampshade, curtains etc.

I would look to build in storage/wardrobes rather than cool beds. It won't be cheap and probably won't like it as they get older. Plus, would the built-in beds be big enough for them in the future?

If you want to go ahead with built-in beds, you will absolutely need a carpenter or specialist of some sort.

Yes, sorry, I'm not intending to make anything overly specific (definitely no Minecraft or unicorn decor - at least that can't be disposed of later, e.g. bedside lamp).

I take the point, however, I would still love a bed with a reading den above it - but maybe that is just me! I had contemplated that both ideas were relatively "grow with", though interested to hear that someone's seven year olds want normal height beds.

My thoughts were: for 5 yo, the bed would be a European single - I've contemplated a small double - but don't think the room is big enough, sadly. She is currently quite tall, but doubt she will reach such a height that she will not comfortably fit in a European single. I thought that I could put storage - particularly bookshelves - on one side of the bed with access to the "reading den" on the other. The aim would be to have this bed at normal bed height.

For the 7 yo, I was going with a double bed. I completely accept that dens will become less appealing, probably quicker than I think, however, I did think that if I did this right, it might well be convertible to other storage later on. Again, if I had a den under my bed now, I would definitely use it. I think I may just be extremely immature!

The cost is what bothers me, but furnishing with non-custom options is going to to be difficult (we've been in this house for five years and so I have been trying to work on these rooms for a while). If anyone has any suggestions other than custom fitted for awkward spaces point me at them. tia.

I think custom could be brilliant - looks lovely and usually a better use of space than standalone - I just think you would probably want a set up that works as well for an adult as a child in order to ensure longevity and ultimately value for money for what will be a significant investment. Maybe something like an alcove bed where there is storage (rather than a den) above and below and alongside. If the kids like the idea of a den you can put a curtain rod in and the bed turns into a den. I would avoid any set up where you need stairs or a ladder to get to bed - fun when it is novel, but the novelty wears off, will feel juvenile when kids grow older and not ideal when you are sick. You can still fit drawers under a normal height bed bed to maximise storage.

Some examples https://www.woohome.com/interiors/22-charming-alcove-bed-designs-that-you-must-see