I love bunk beds. But as a child, my brother and I never got to share one. We had those drab, wooden rectangular ones with same-sized head board and foot board for a bed. Lined up against each wall with three foot walking space in between. You get the picture, don’t you? But those were the early 80’s and, in a small town like ours, bunk beds were unheard of.

I relived my dream when I recently went shopping for a functional bunk bed for my two-year-old son. His space-challenged room cannot accommodate another single bed for a sibling in the future. Safety, design, cost, storage, and size figured on my list of priorities, in the same order. It didn’t take long to realize that design and cost didn’t go well together. Most beds I liked were too big and upwards of Rs. 40,000. Though a Noddy themed or Formula 1 themed bed sounded cool for his age now, I was pretty sure he would find it a bit awkward to sleep in one as a 5 year old or feel really uncool to call his friends over to his room.

I had almost made up my mind to get one made when I came across this at a store nearby for Rs.15,000. The frame is made of rubber wood. In most bunk beds, the lower half does not have a protective barricade as it is assumed kids old enough to keep themselves within the bed sleep down. It was so not to be in my case. I wanted a protective barrier which no store was ready to customize. This one agreed to and I got the piece finally for Rs. 16,000. The bed measures 3 feet in width and 6.25 feet in length.

What I liked: Can be assembled using a single Allen key. Completely detachable.
What I didn’t like: No storage. Plain design. I plan to jazz it up a bit by painting Noddy characters on the headboard and foot board. A DIY project is waiting to take off…

This post is a roundup of some nice beds I came across in Bangalore, India. Next week, I intend to feature some great designs from around the world if you intend to have your carpenter make one.