The 20 Coolest Bunk Bed Ideas for Kids and Adults Alike
Make room for everyone.
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While bunk beds have forever been a kids' dream, designers are currently obsessed with bunk rooms ideal for little ones and their parents. Composed of built-in beds and often tucked away in awkward attics or guest spaces, the cool bunk bed for adults is a step up from what everyone's used to. The stylish, space-saving idea looks chic and can accommodate many sleepers (just right for extended family who insists on crashing).
Ahead, we found unique room inspiration that's sure to encourage you to try them yourself, whether you're sticking to one set of bunks or ready to go all out and invest in a full bunk room. Keep reading for tips and details on how you can incorporate these creative sleeping corners in your home.
Add a Tent
The tented top on these built-in beds easily adds character to the room. Designer Katie Ridder selected a chipper Holland & Sherry fabric for the awe-inspiring beds. A custom staircase by JBM Architects features hidden drawers for quick tidying.
Don't want to build in? Shop these ready-to-order bunks:
BUY NOW Euroco Low Bunk Bed With Roof and Guardrail, $540
Go Low
With the bottom bed touching the ground in this bunk configuration, fewer steps need to be taken to reach the top bed. Lucy Harris Studio also chose Bubble wallcovering by Chasing Paper and a ceiling of Benjamin Moore Blue Jean to make these bunks feel as if they're floating.
Don't want to build in? Shop these ready-to-order bunks:
BUY NOW Three Posts Baby & Kids Korbin Twin Over Full Bunk Bed, $490
Connect Bunks With a Fort
In this bunk room designed by Elizabeth Georgantas, countless kids can be found running circuits or playing hide-and-seek. Naturally, she created the ultimate hideaway: six bunks connected by bridges, hanging chairs, and pillow-filled reading nooks. “It had to be comfortable enough for adults, but ridiculously fun for the kids—not just now, but as they grow up,” she says.
Don't want to build in? Shop these ready-to-order bunks:
BUY NOW South Shore Bebble Modern Bunk Bed, $670
Make It a Triple Stack
Harp Design Co. created a custom triple-decker bunk bed for a family's small bonus room to make it a multifunctional spot for sleeping, playing games, and hanging out/watching television. Not only that, but it includes a trundle bed below the first bunk so that it can sleep four people.
Don't want to build in? Shop these ready-to-order bunks:
BUY NOW Harriet Bee Arondell Twin Bunk Bed, $630
Build In Sneaky Storage
With chic, contemporary linens and sleek finishes, this bunk room feels both kid and adult-friendly. And if your bunk room is short on closet space, add bottom drawers. Designer Jenny Keenan integrated drawers under these built-ins.
Don't want to build in? Shop these ready-to-order bunks:
BUY NOW Carissa Bunk Bed With Storage, $1,440
Consider Longevity
This bedroom designed by Amber Interiors is going to age well over the years. With a full-size bottom bunk and twin on top, this is a bed that a child can grow into as they get older. The larger size makes it feel more spacious and mature, while the soft colors and room for playing make the bedroom feel youthful.
Don't want to build in? Shop these ready-to-order bunks:
BUY NOW Harriet Bee Apasra Twin Over Full Bunk Bed, $900
Make a Fort
Alicia Lane Interiors drew inspiration from a train car for this Provo, Utah bunk room. Thibaut wallpaper was brought up to the ceiling, cocooning the built-in beds and the curtains invite weekend sleep ins. The best part is those little built-in storage cubbies under the bed for shoes.
Don't want to build in? Shop these ready-to-order bunks:
BUY NOW IKEA Tuffing Bunk Bed Frame, $170
Add a Slide
Have you ever seen a more epic bunk room? Designed by Studio Lifestyle, this bed-meets-play-structure-meets-treehouse is the ultimate sleepover space. The cactus-print wallpaper adds a nice neutral splash of color, too.
Don't want to build in? Shop these ready-to-order bunks:
BUY NOW Pottery Barn Kids Tree House Bunk Bed, $2,599
Hand-paint Details
Primary colors! Hand-painted details! Statement chandeliers! This bunk room designed by Bailey McCarthy is full of circus-like whimsy and vibrant energy.
Don't want to build in? Shop these ready-to-order bunks:
BUY NOW Twin Low Bunk Bed with Angled Ladder, Top Tent, and Underbed Curtain, $2,099
Keep it Minimalist
All white, slim, and straightforward, this lofted bunk bed is like sleeping in the clouds (with an invisible cloak as a blanket, of course, since it's so minimalist). Sky-high lofts are perfect in a teenager's bedroom for sleepovers if there's a trundle beneath, or a desk for homework.
Don't want to build in? Shop these ready-to-order bunks:
BUY NOW Delta Children Low Loft Bed, $270
Stick to a Theme
The bunk room feels like a ship's cabin and is lined with six bunks, four on one side and two on the other in a Marin County, California, house designed by Erin Martin and owner Kim Dempster. Grommets on the curtains are meant to evoke bubbles. The brass porthole mirror was in Dempster's house when she was a child.
Don't want to build in? Shop these ready-to-order bunks:
BUY NOW Milo Two Tone Bunk Bed, $1,599
Customize Steps
This built-in bunk bed by Studio Lifestyle was even customized to include steps instead of a ladder. Tyler Ferrell, a contractor with Killowen Construction, offers a few pointers on how to build a bunk room. First, measure the space. Leave at least forty inches between the top bunk's mattress and ceiling, so you don't hit your head, and two inches on either side so your kids can make the bed (you can dream, right?). Then secure the bunks to wall studs, and also anchor them to a corner post that goes all the way to the ceiling, if needed. Make sure the top railings are at least twelve inches high so no one falls out.
Don't want to build in? Shop these ready-to-order bunks:
BUY NOW Pottery Barn Kids Catalina Stair Loft Bed, $1,999
Go for a Creative Railing
Sally Markham designed a lattice railing for the girls' bunk beds in a Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, house, painting the insides of the circle Benjamin Moore's Peacock Blue.
Don't want to build in? Shop these ready-to-order bunks:
BUY NOW Harriet Bee Alyssandra Full Over Full Bunk Bed With Trundle, $1,070
Don't Be Afraid of Color
Beyond the boys' room in a Menlo Park, California, house decorated by Matthew Leverone, the coverlets and bunk beds are from Pottery Barn Kids. Bedroom walls in Benjamin Moore Aura in Steel Blue.
Don't want to build in? Shop these ready-to-order bunks:
BUY NOW Room & Board Red Fort Bunk Beds, $1,999
Rethink Your Throw Pillows
In designer Nicolette Horn's island-inspired Oslo, Norway, house, built-in bunk beds in son Frederik's room save space.
Don't want to build in? Shop these ready-to-order bunks:
BUY NOW Pottery Barn Kids Regency Bunk Bed, $2,299
Optimize Space
On the lower level of a North Carolina house designed by architect Ruard Veltman, a boy's bedroom features a pair of custom-made modern bunk beds without ladders—children climb up the brackets. A Philippe Starck Ghost chair by Kartell offers extra seating without taking up a ton of space.
Don't want to build in? Shop these ready-to-order bunks:
BUY NOW Crate & Barrel Charcoal Bunk Bed, $1,898
Be Playful
In a New Jersey beach house decorated by Mona Ross Berman, Katie Ridder's Beetlecat wallpaper gives the boys' room a playful but "not overly cute" feel.
Don't want to build in? Shop these ready-to-order bunks:
BUY NOW Harriet Bee Noosa Full Over Full Bunk Bed, $760
Remember: The More the Merrier
When you have the space for it, why not build more bunk beds? The more, the merrier. Rather than just putting two queen beds in the guest room, Studio McGee added twin bunks crossing overhead to maximize sleep space.
Don't want to build in? Shop these ready-to-order bunks:
BUY NOW Viv + Rae Guertin Twin Over Twin Quad Bunk Bed, $900
Pick a Strategic Layout
A Dutch door opens to the kitchen and a children's bunk room beyond in a Balboa Island, California, house decorated by Krista Ewart. Stripes, polka dots, and big blue whales are a surprisingly compatible mix.
Don't want to build in? Shop these ready-to-order bunks:
BUY NOW Ikalido Metal Twin Over Twin Bunk Bed, $225
Leave Room to Play
Bunk beds for the children leave more room to play in a Japanese-inspired Los Angeles house designed by Pamela Shamshiri of Commune Design.
Don't want to build in? Shop these ready-to-order bunks:
BUY NOW West Elm Mid-Century Bunk, $1,799
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