Buying Kids Beds
You may be wondering what the actual difference between kids beds and a regular adults bed is. Well there really isn’t a lot of difference other than the size in most cases and in some cases the design, or theme of the bed. Just like any big purchase you make you will want to do a bit of research before you decide on what you are going to buy. You will want to know about the best materials to go for, the styles and such like.
What Material To Go For
The material that is used to make the bed is perhaps the single most important feature on any bed, or any piece of furniture for that matter. Not only do you want it to look good but it has got to be durable as well. As you will be well aware kids love to jump around their bedroom and their bed normally takes quite a bit of abuse, so their beds have got to be strong. You will also want a material that is able to hide the battle scars associated with being a kids bed. Plastic is a good choice as it does a good job of hiding scratches and so on, plus it wont chip like a painted surface would. Painted finishes are quite popular but they show of lots of marks, not just chips, but scuffs and so on.
Buying A Quality Bed
Everyone wants to buy the best quality product that they can afford to, but how do you determine what is good quality and what isn’t? One way to do this is when you are in a furniture store look over the kids beds and check the finish, look for cracks in the material, bubbles in the paint or varnish and areas that haven’t been smoothed off. This is a good way to see if the bed has been put together well, or if it has been made in a rush.
The material that has been used to make the bed is a good measure of quality too. Beds made using fiber boards are generally really cheap and break easily when abused, especially around about joints. A solid wood kids bed will be considerably better quality, even if it is a softer wood like pine. Pine is also very affordable. If a hard wood was used, such as maple, cherry or something along those lines it would be reasonable to assume that it was a pretty good bed. The down side to these hard woods is that they they cost quite a lot of money, they are worth it though as they will last you for many years.
Cheap kids beds made from Plastic can be alright, normally they are not going to last you too many years. Thankfully they are cheap so you don’t lose a lot of money buying them. Metal beds are cheap as well, but if they are made using soft metals they will not last long, soft metals bend and break easily, if a metal beam does break then it leaves a sharp edge, this isn’t ideal for use as kid bed furniture. Metal also has a tendency to creek and be noisy too, so if the kids are playing upstairs or in the next room it will be even noisier than usual.
Types of Kids Beds
There are so many different styles of bed that you can choose from these days, but no doubt your child will want a fancy race car shaped bed, or a princess themed bed, or whatever the current fashion is. In these instances you need to be firm with them, because you know they will grow out of this phase in no time at all. Some of the most popular styles of beds to go for are as follows -
Bunk Beds – Kids bunk beds are ideal for smaller homes where children have got to share a bedroom, they both have a place to sleep but there is still a lot of floor space left to play on or to have other furniture too.
Cabin Beds – If your kids bedroom is quite small then a cabin bed might be just what you need, these beds offer quite a bit of storage space under them, this cuts down the number of other pieces of furniture that you will need in the room.
Futon Beds – If you are looking to get a second bed for your kids bedroom so that friends have got somewhere to sleep when they come over, rather than sleeping on the floor you could consider a futon bed. It gives guests a place to sleep and it then turns into a sofa for your son or daughter to sit at and read, do school work or play computer games and so on.
If you narrow down what it is you are looking for the job of choosing your kids bed will become a whole lot easier. Once you have narrowed down your search you can ask your kids what kind of bed they prefer and what ever one they choose they pick will be good quality, within your budget and will fulfil the needs that you want it to.
Cabin Beds
No matter where you live and the size of your house, we always seem to lack storage. Small homes always get stuffed up with belongings, and amazingly the same happens in a large house. Children with all their toys and books etc add even further to the clutter. You may think that you can just throw all of your childrens things into their room, close the door and be happy, this generally is not the case.
Storage Beds
This is where cabin beds come in, they appeal to families for this exact reason. A cabin bed is basically a bed raised off the ground to allow things to be stored underneath, if you don't have the space for a fitted wardrobe then a cabin bed might just be for you. They come with a ladder to help the little ones get up into their bed. As well as rails around the sleeping area to keep the children safely in their bed at night.
To appeal to every child, cabin beds come in many different styles and designs. Some come with drawers and cupboards underneath to make storage of toys and books easy. These beds are great at keeping clutter and mess out of sight using wonderful colours that appeal to children. A futon bed may be great for saving space regarding the bed, but a cabin bed gives you great storage too.
More Than Storage Beds
If you want something more than just storage then cabin beds can also come with an additional desk attached. It is a very handy way to get all the furniture you requite into a small space.
If your childs room doesn't have room for a desk or seating, then some cabin beds come raised higher up and allow a computer desk and small sofa to fit underneath it. This is very handy for when the children have friends over to play. You could also add, book shelves or book cases, making books, pictures and favourite toys easy to display.
If you want something a little more fun for your children then some models come with a fun slide or designed as a fort. Allowing for hours upon hours of fun for your kids and their friends, while keeping clutter easy to control.
Cabin Bunk Beds
If you have more than one child then extra space can be even more of a nightmare. A cabin bunk bed can solve your problems. These beds come in similar designs that I mentioned before, but because of the size of them are more limited in the storage department. Before the underneath area was used for storage, but now that space in occupied by a bed. Though this doesn't stop the cabin bunk bed from being useful and space saving, there is still room to keep things hidden away in drawers and some even come with a desk attached to the side of the bed.
Cabin Bedding
To finish of the look of the bedroom you will need some cabin bedding. As with the cabin beds, the bedding comes in a multitude of styles to suit every childs tastes. It could be a more traditional look. Or, something based on your childs favourite super hero or cartoon character. There are unlimited choices and they go from young childrens all they way to teenages designs.
There are many places to buy a cabin bed. The best thing to do is research the companies before committing to anything with them, there are, as usual, companies that offer much higher quality work that others but at similar prices. You could visit a local retailer and see each bed in the flesh and see how it would fit into the room you require it for. Or alternatively you can source what you need online and maybe save some money at the same time.