23.4.15

three to a room - update (and bunks!)

We've had our three kids sharing a room for over a year now, and things are still great! Our kids continue to love sharing a room and can't imagine things any other way. There's more noise at bedtime than if they all slept in separate rooms, but a) we will never have a five bedroom house and b) their relationships are thriving so they're having fun - there are worse things. A few months ago Chloe went through a horrible bout of gastro and was vomiting in the night. When we went in to take her out of the crib the older two were distraught. They were begging us to keep Chloe with them and thought we were punishing them by taking her away! They fight like the best of them, but they really and truly love each other.

We're also enjoying how their close ages have recently downsized a lot of their toy collection. They all play with the same things now, more or less. The big kids get to play with kinetic sand and playdoh and Chloe doesn't, but everything else is shared. Fewer toys = more space, which any city parent or small-living parent knows is the double rainbow.

The most noticeable change in the kid's room these days? We got bunk beds!!


The kids are head over heals. We bought the Ikea MYDAL bunk bed which was on sale for $135 (it's regular $159) and we sold our old twin bed for $100, making it a fairly inexpensive swap. I love the MYDAL bunk for the price and simplicity of style, but the natural pine was on the yellow side. I stained the whole bunk bed (assembled) with water-based white wash wood stain, which was $15. I really like how the wood has a lighter look but you can still see the knots. The whole staining project took close to two hours and was dry within four. Brad said assembling it was a beast though - consider yourselves warned!

We're finding the kids are really comfortable in their room, even though there are three of them in there. Chloe's crib doesn't take up too much space, but soon she'll be out of it and on the trundle beneath the bunk bed. Our older kids were both evicted from the crib before two years of age, since a new sibling was soon to need it, but that's not the case with Clover (insert all the feelings). When that day does come, we're planning to buy the super low SVARTA trundle bed from IKEA. Our other trundle was too high to fit under this particular bunk bed, and we'll have to get a thinner mattress so everything fits. I'm not in a hurry to have her out of the crib because I know what a handful she'll be at bedtime unconfined, but whenever that day comes we'll be swimming in space! Or at least it will feel that way :)


We recently got Beddy's for the bunk beds (not pictured). Lily's top bunk (which she refers to as the bird's nest) has the white ruffle beddy and Oli's bottom bunk (the bat cave, obviously), has modern grey. The grey bedding on the bottom does darken the room a bit, so I'm thinking of switching the kid's bunks if they'll let me!

As far as bunk bed safety, this has taken some training. We have a couple rules like only one person on the top bunk at a time and had to have a hour-long ladder climbing session one afternoon, but the bunks haven't proved dangerous. They're quite low as far as bunk beds go and I have no hesitations about my long-legged 4.5 year old on the top.

24 comments:

  1. The room looks fantastic! May I ask a few questions about the beds? Was there a varnish or clear finish on the wood before you did the white wash, or was it just raw pine? We have an ikea pine table so I'm wondering if we could do something similar without sanding the whole thing (which is out of the question). Also, do you happen to remember the brand and type of stain you used?

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    1. They had been begging us to preserve Chloe with them and notion we have been punishing them by means of taking her away. there is greater noise at bedtime than if all of them slept in separate rooms but we can in no way Write My Custom Essay For Me Cheap have a five bedroom residence and their relationships are thriving so they're having a laugh there are worse things. The huge children get to play with kinetic sand and playdoh and Chloe does not, but everything else is shared.

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  2. Thank you! It was raw pine so there was no prepping needed. We used an eco-friendlu (and thus child-friendly) stain from Home Depot... forgetting the name right now. It's the same company's stain that we used for our dining room table - so if you look up that post in the search bar you'll find it!

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  3. Anonymous6.5.15

    i looked up the "beddy's" because we have bunkbeds...they are so expensive.. like $600.00 . Wow how did you justify the cost? I ask as one thrifty mum to another. Neisha

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    1. Great question, Neisha! I agree, they're suuuuuper pricey. And I'm glad you know I'm generally a thrifty shopper :)

      Each beddys was $250, and we bought two. We shipped to the USA and picked up the packages when we were in the USA for conferences, so right away we got free shipping (shipping to Canada would be a lot more).

      Next, I used the coupon code CLEAN for $50 off each Beddys, so that brought the price down to $200/beddy. In my experience, there is always always always a coupon code of some sort for at least 20% off any item, you just have to find them!

      And as far as justifying, it was a very hard decision. We ended up going for it because the bunk bed itself was only $115 (usually $135, but was on sale) and the mattresses were free. So while $200 for bedding is SO MUCH MONEY, the whole bunk bed including bedding and mattresses was only $515 which I think it pretty good. Usually mattresses and a bunk bed frame would cost over $500 to start with, not including bedding. So since we saved on the bed and mattresses, we splurged on the bedding :)

      Thanks for asking!

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    2. Anonymous22.5.15

      Thanks for answering my question. It makes sense when you explain it that way. Sounds like you got yourself a deal! Thanks for the coupon tip :)
      I really enjoy your blog.
      Neisha

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  4. This might be a silly question, but we are considering buying these bunk beds and adding the trundle you mentioned underneath. Have you added the trundle underneath yet? If you did, does it fit well?

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    1. not a silly question :) We just have a mattress on the floor under the bottom bunk because a trundle and mattress wouldnt fit.

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  5. Out of curiosity, exactly how much room is there from the bottom bunk to the floor?

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    1. Not much! Just enough for a smaller mattress. We keep the pillow for the bottom mattress on the lower bunk during the day, too!

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    2. I want to slide a trundle mattress under the bottom bunk as you did...Can you tell me the distance from the floor to the bottom bunk so that I do not order a mattress that is too thick? Ordering all of this remotely without seeing it in person. Thank you!!

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    3. Laura- Distance from wood frame on bottom bunk to floor is 7 1/2 inches.

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  6. Hi Emily, I am thinking about getting the same bunkbed for my daughters and moving my third in their room soon. Did you have to get Ikea mattresses? If so which ones did you get? Thanks for your help.

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  7. Yes! We almost bought this bunk bed yesterday, but backed out last minute. We arent sure if you can fit a standard twin in the bunk and not use an Ikea one (Wed prefer to use a nice one we already have). Did you guys end up doing ikea mattresses or knowbif a standard twin will fit? Thanks!!

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    1. Good question! Our bunks have more substantial mattresses but the mattresss on the floor under the bottom bunk is an IKEA small/thin one. Chloé is under 40lbs so it's fine fit her but it's not a mattress she'll use for the rest of her life or anything! That said, this bunk solution is only meant to suit for when they're young-ish (under 10)

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  8. One popular spot is in the quarter, you can place the room divider kitty cornered which softens up the square lines.
    plywood sheets 4x8

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  9. Hi Emily,
    I recently found a Mydal on Kijiji for my son and daughter's shared room and it needs some tidying up. I've decided to sand it down (the previous owners allowed the kids to draw on it with marker -ugh! and smash it with something as there are half-moon dents along one side - erg!) Anyway, I too find the yellow pine off-putting and like how you've white washed yours. May I ask which product you used to achieve that look? It looks like it softens it perfectly!

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  10. We're getting this bed this weekend and I was looking for the same stain info :) I love the look of it vs painting it or leaving it natural.

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  11. The bed sheet is suitable for machine wash; hence, you need not worry about its light color. 100 silk sheets Look for beddings that have higher thread counts of high quality fabric to ensure that the material is strong and will wear less.

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  12. Hello! I’m purchasing these bunks. Any tips on whitewashing these? Yours turned out great!

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