You squeeze into the kids’ room. There’s barely any space between the two beds, and that needs to change. You had bunk beds, or maybe you have some now, but the kids don’t like them. You need to do something to spruce up this room and make some extra space. Try some of these small bedroom ideas with bunk beds to conserve and improve the area.
1) Storage Underneath
One of the most common ways to conserve space in a room is to make it so all your furniture has storage in it. The area under most beds goes to waste, but you can use that space for storage. This bed from Home Depot comes with drawers underneath for storage, so you don’t lose an inch of space. If you already have a bunk bed, you can get rolling storage totes, put some storage bins on sliders, or build drawers yourself.
2) Twin With Vertical Ladder
Since you have a small space to work with, you’ve probably already figured out that you need small mattresses. This means you’ll almost always want twin over twin bunks, though we’ll show you one or two ideas that use full-sized beds and still manage to conserve space. A lot of bunk beds have tilted ladders, but those take up floor space. Design or buy a bunk bed with a vertical ladder like this. Make sure it’s anchored well so it won’t tip over.
3) DIY Build Your Own
You have a small space to work with, so you want to make sure you get what you want in it. You don’t want to settle for a larger and less compact bed because it was easy to find. In this video, Jay Bates shows you how to make your bunk bed with 2x4s and 2x6s. Since you’re making the bed yourself, you can choose dimensions that fit the people using it and minimize the space you use.
4) DIY Murphy Bunk Bed
If you’re looking for space-saving ideas, you might’ve heard of a murphy bed, but you probably haven’t seen a murphy bunk bed. A murphy bed folds down from a recessed space in a wall. In this case, both bunks fold down. Since your beds can fold up into the wall, you or your kids can use the floor space underneath during the day and fold it down into a bunk bed at night. Use these instructions to build your own.
5) DIY Trundle Bed
When searching for the right bed for your small bedroom, bunk beds were likely your first thought. They’re a great way to save space by stacking two beds atop one another; however, there are other ways to achieve the same effect. If you haven’t considered it, think about making a trundle bed using this tutorial. With a trundle bed, you can slide one bed underneath another. If you have young kids, this may be a better alternative to having them climb a flimsy bunk bed ladder.
6) DIY Triple Bunk Bed
If you have more than two people sleeping in one room, you don’t need two bunk beds; instead, you can make a triple bunk bed using the instructions from this article. This way, if you have three kids, they won’t fight over who gets the bunk bed. While the sleeping spaces are small, they’re big enough for kids and increase the floor space the kids can play in. If your ceiling is tall enough, consider making the bunk bed taller and anchoring it to the wall so it doesn’t become unbalanced.
7) Playhouse
A bunk bed playhouse is a dream come true for most children, but it also optimizes your space. While playhouses like these take up the same space other bunk beds do, they use that area better by giving your child a place they can both sleep and play. In most cases, beds take up space that your kids could use for play. With a bed like this, your child will have more room to play, since they can play on both bunks of their playhouse. They can even play in a pirate ship! Let your kids help you decide.
8) Use the Room Landscape
If your small room has pillars, protrusions, or other things that make it hard to use all the space, you can incorporate those into a custom bunk bed design. While a lot of bunk beds have the long side against the wall for stability, the bed in this image stretches between a pillar and the wall. This lends stability, and it reduces the space wasted by the post. This works best with custom made beds since you can even turn a pillar or other feature into part of the bed. This ensures that it doesn’t take up walking space.
9) DIY Floating Beds
In most cases, bunk beds are pushed up against a wall, with a couple of inches of space between the bed and the wall. This is because the supports press against the wall and keep the mattress from being flush to the wall. With the do-it-yourself project in this video, you can make bunk beds that don’t have outside supports. Instead, they’re built into the wall like a floating shelf. The beds in the video even have built-in storage at the foot of the bed. This is great because it uses up every inch of space in the room.
10) Under-Stair Shelves
Most compact bunk bed ideas rely on the people sleeping on it climbing ladders safely and comfortably. If you aren’t comfortable with your children climbing ladders, either due to their age, special needs, or simple clumsiness, you’ll need a bunk bed with stairs. Unfortunately, bunk bed stairs take up a lot of room in an already small bedroom. Make sure your bunk bed stairs have shelves or other storage built into them to use all your space, like this bed from Amazon.
11) Trundle Bed Couch
If bunk beds are the first thing you thought of to conserve bedroom space, consider a trundle bed like this instead. Trundle beds are similar to bunk beds in that they stack two beds atop one another, but they’re lower to the ground, and you slide the bottom bunk out of sight during the day. This trundle bed further conserves space, as the top bunk turns into a couch. How many people have a sofa in their bedroom, particularly when it’s a small room? This’ll impress your children’s friends and give them a comfortable place to sit.
12) DIY Use the Entire Space
You don’t have much space to begin with, so you don’t want to waste what room you have. Most bunk beds for young kids are fairly short, which is great for safety, but not great for optimizing space. Your children will have several feet of unusable space above them. Watch this video to see how you can use the entire floor to ceiling space without compromising safety. This way, your children will have plenty of wall space in their respective bunks to decorate.
13) Two Sizes
Usually, when you’re trying to conserve bedroom space, you want the smallest bed possible, but that isn’t always the best way to save space. If you want a tilted ladder for safety, the area under the ladder will be wasted as floor space. Instead of wasting that floor space, make or buy a bed like this one. The bottom bunk is full sized, so the space under the ladder is used by the lower sleeper instead of being wasted.
14) DIY Upcycle Old Bunk Beds
If you have a bunk bed for sleepovers, or one of your kids just moved to their own room, you don’t want to waste space with a bunk bed all the time. This article tells you how to turn a bunk bed into a desk. The great thing about this project is that you can convert it back without a problem. This lets your child use the space under the bed, and when you want a bunk bed again, all you need to do is convert it back.
15) Bunk Bed Sofa
A bunk bed can only be so small. Rather than trying to find a way to make the bed smaller, or make it take up less room, find a way to use it for more than one purpose. After all, the beds are only used for sleeping at night. During the day, you can convert the bottom bunk of this bunk bed into a sofa. This creates a little extra floor space and gives the kids a place to sit while they’re playing or reading.
16) DIY Use Alcoves
If you have any unique room features, such as pillars, windows, or alcoves, you need to work with them to get the most out of your space. Read this article to learn how to build bunks into an alcove. Since you’re using the dimensions of the niche, it’s okay if it isn’t quite the right size. You’ll have to make sure you can find the right size mattress, so think about adding shelves or a mini toy chest to use any room that won’t be taken up by the mattress.
17) DIY Themed Bed
Your small bedroom doesn’t have a lot of space for decorations and large toys. Your kids probably have the toys they can fit in their toybox, but no large play stoves and toys. If you want your kids to have a larger toy or more decorations in their room, this idea is perfect. Paint and decorate the bunk bed to fit your kids’ favorite show or game. The bed in this image is based on the time machine from Doctor Who, but you can make a pirate ship, Star Wars ship, or anything else your kids like.
18) DIY Two Themes
If you have two kids sharing a bunk bed, it’s important to give them a chance to express themselves. The small space above their bed may be the only space that’s truly their own, so let them each pick their own theme. One might want princess castle curtains like these, while the other one can cozy up in their army tent on the top bunk. Curtains and tents are the simplest way to divide up the bunk bed, but you can also paint the walls and bed frame two different colors, or divide the space up in other ways.
19) Drapery
Having personal space is important for teenagers and preteens. If your kids are growing up, but they still have bunk beds, and share a small bedroom, find ways to give them privacy. One simple way to give them privacy and add decoration to the room is by adding drapery. A large drapery panel like the one used in this project is great for giving privacy and making the room look nicer without taking up space. You can also add smaller curtains for each bunk, so your kids can choose whether they want them drawn.
20) DIY Paint
If you don’t want to completely renovate the kids’ room by building new beds and rearranging the furniture, you may simply need to give the room a fresh look. Since you’re in a small bedroom, you don’t have a lot of decorating space. Make the bunk beds part of your decorations by giving it a fresh coat of paint like this DIYer. Adding a fresh coat of paint can make the beds and the space feel new, and you can let the kids choose the paint. If they can’t agree, try painting the bed in two colors.
21) DIY Blend It In
You already have a twin bunk bed that takes up the smallest amount of floor space possible. Instead of adding more space, you need to make the room feel larger. At the moment, it’s a bit…claustrophobic. This DIY article gives advice for painting a bunk bed white. Why white? White rooms feel larger and more open, so if you want to make your space feel bigger, paint the walls, ceiling, and bunk beds white. If you have other large furniture, go ahead and paint that white, too.
22) Bunk Bed Tents
Bunk bed tents are one of the neatest things you can give a kid. Kids love the height of a bunk bed and the illusion of privacy it gives, but some are afraid of heights or feel uncomfortable sleeping so high up. With a narrow bunk bed, it’s important to give kids a place to feel safe. Since they’re in a small room and privacy is at a premium, these bunk bed tents will give them both the privacy and security they need.
23) Bunk Bed Forts
Bunk bed tents are neat. They make kids feel safe and give them their own little space in a cramped room. You can go a step further by turning the bunk into a blanket fort for both children. While the bunk bed in this project is stars- and space-themed, you can design a castle, hunter’s blind, or even a Western saloon theme. The fort lets the two kids play together when they want to, but when they need privacy, they can each withdraw into their own bunk.
24) Bunk Bed with Trundle
Trundle beds and bunk beds are two of the best ways to conserve space in a bedroom. Unfortunately, trundle beds aren’t always great in the long term, since they need to be rolled back under the bed during the day. If you want more space for sleepovers, though, they can be perfect. This bunk bed from Home Depot is both a trundle bed and a bunk bed. With this, your kids can use their bunk beds normally and have an extra bed for sleepovers. This keeps them from being more cramped than usual by sharing a bed when friends visit.
25) Bed Rails
Since you’re in a small room, you’ll have a narrow bunk bed. This can sometimes seem unsafe when you have young children. If one of the bed’s occupants tosses and turns a lot in their sleep, you may worry that they’ll fall out. You don’t have space for a larger bed, but you can attach bed rails like these to keep your kids from falling out. Make sure these rails will fit your bed before you buy them, as Amazon has many bed rails you can pick from.
26) Minimalist
If you don’t have a lot of space, you can’t afford an ornate and fancy bunk bed. Instead, get a minimalist bed like this one, and focus on other ways to bring the room to life. Use bedsheets and posters your kids like and tuck the bed in a corner where it won’t be in the kids’ play space. Make sure to put it in a corner with no window if you can. This way, it’ll take up the smallest possible amount of space.
27) DIY T-Shaped Corner Bunk Bed
Most corner bunk beds are L-Shaped, but you can make t-shaped bunk beds also. When a bunk bed is t-shaped, it means that the two beds are perpendicular to each other. Thus, the head of one bed faces the same direction as the left or right side of another bed. With this DIY project, you can make a T-shaped bunk bed with up to 4 beds while only taking up the space of one and a half beds. By overlapping the feet of each bed, you can layer more beds on top of each other.
What ideas have you tried in your small bedroom? Are there any small bedroom bunk bed ideas that we’ve missed? Please let us know in the comments below.