Loft bed in dorm room?

[Katy Belle]

DS18 will be moving into a dorm in a few short weeks! He finally spoke to his roommate and the roommate expressed interest in loft beds. The University has an approved vendor that rents them to his particular dorm for $149 a year. That sounds fairly reasonable to me, and it would free up floor space. They are rated to 1,000 lbs and made of metal.

DS18 is 6'4 and weighs 250lbs. I personally think he might tire of climbing up every night and myself, I would be claustrophobic. He doesn't think it will be an issue. The other thing I could see being a drag is changing the fitted sheet. But because he is tall and big, I think he could probably take the mattress off every time, make it, stick it back up there. If his roommate gets one and he doesn't, then his bed will be the one everyone sits on when they come into the room. If both beds are up, then they would probably want some folding chairs in addition to their desk chairs.

Anyone have any experience with these? Pros and cons? Did your kid love/hate their loft?

Thanks!

 

[PollyannaMom]

My second-year roommate and I had a loft (wooden) and we loved it because of the space it freed up. She was the one who slept on it, and you're right, everyone who visited did sit on my bed. But I didn't mind - they were designed with bolsters behind, so meant double as sofas. It worked well for us having one of each.

 

[Feralpeg]

I've seen this done quite a bit and it does free up space. OP, is your son a restless sleeper? Has he ever fallen out of bed? A good friend's son fell out of his upper and got a concussion hitting the cement floor. Almost all dorm rooms have cement floors. At the very least, make sure there is some type of rug next to the beds just in case.

 

[tvguy]

Every dorm I have seen has had bunk beds, so someone always ends up climbing.
My daughter has had a loft bed in bedroom at home since she moved out of her crib, and she's 22 now. We figured we would buy her a regular bed by now, but she loves it. But, she also has the smallest bedroom in the house, only 9 x 10, so it helps a lot.

 

[Cinderella94]

I'm going to be a junior at my university and am also an RA to freshmen. I see this done a lot. Like you, I would hate climbing up into it every night, but it works for some people and does free up a lot of room. Make him get a railing for it though- during my freshman year, a boy on my floor fell out of his during the first week and broke his arm.

 

[DisDance]

Some dorm beds can be lifted, but not lofted all the way if that makes sense. If that is the case for your son I would suggest that

 

[diznygirl]

Don't worry about changing the sheets - he probably won't.

I was the top bunk for a year in college. I didn't mind the climb, and it actually did keep my bed from being sat on. The only problem I had was when my roommate went to sleep before me. A loft bed wouldn't disturb another person. I think it's a great idea.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

When I was in college, my university didn't allow us to loft our beds in our specific dorm room, but I loved how my friends had lofted theirs. This past fall, I helped my cousin-in-law (is that even a real term?) move into his dorm and he had a lofted bed. We came up with a really cool arrangement for his dorm. He and his roommate lofted their beds and put their desks under the beds. They put their beds and desks on one end of the room. Then, they went and bought a futon for rather cheap. It went on the other side of the room with their television. This way, they had a fun "entertainment" type area where they watched movies and television, played games, and hung out with friends. Then, the other side of the room was where they did their homework. Up top is where they slept. I have read that using your bed solely for sleep is better for you, anyway, as opposed to studying, eating, and doing other stuff while on it. It's a mental thing that helps you know it is time for sleep if that is the only purpose for your bed. But I digress. So, it worked out really well for him and made the space seem not only larger, but much more homey.

 

[DisDance]

Something to keep in mind if his dorm is not air conditioned (I don't think you mention whether it was or not) heat rises, so it will get stuffy and uncomfortable at night up in the lofted bed!

 

[shells4]

My roommate and I had 2 lofted beds for 2 years. We never minded climbing at all and the hassle of changing the sheets were minimal. It was definitely worth it to have the extra floor space. We had a small bookshelf, TV stand, mini frig., and microwave under one and a futon under the other. On laundry day we had extra space to hang our damp cloths too. Loved the lofts.

 

[Katy Belle]

Op here. Thanks everybody! Some very good points. He doesnt fall out of bed, but he hasnt slept in a twin bed since he was about 4! The dorm is airconditioned , but he loves it cold and plans to use a fan. He will need a fan on a stand able to tilt up.
We will probably rent it. If he hates it, we will return it!

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Don't worry about changing the sheets - he probably won't.

MTE LOL

If he thinks that's what he wants, I'd let him get it...he's 18. Honestly, if he ends up not liking it, then he's learned something and can do something else next year. Personally, I'd have him either live with it for the rest of the year, or have him arrange to return it and get himself another bed only if there's not an additional cost.

 

[MnMomtoboys]

Op here. Thanks everybody! Some very good points. He doesnt fall out of bed, but he hasnt slept in a twin bed since he was about 4! The dorm is airconditioned , but he loves it cold and plans to use a fan. He will need a fan on a stand able to tilt up.
We will probably rent it. If he hates it, we will return it!

You can get a fan that clips to the bed.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

My college roommate and I had a double loft -- it fit two mattresses and we slept foot-to-foot. We lived in an older dorm with high ceilings, but no a/c, so we had clip fans on our respective "head boards" for air circulation. At first we had a couple of bean-bags to lounge in, but eventually we took out our desks (never used them anyway - did most studying in the library) and put in a couch and 2 side chairs. It was great!

 

[Debbie7452]

My D loved her lofted bed last year. She had a large saucer chair underneath for homework and studying. She did remove the mattress for sheet changes. I got her a small bunk bed buddy table that clamped on to hold her phone, alarm clock, etc. a clip on light is also helpful. She plans to loft again this year.

 

[sophiagymgall]

When I studied in the US, both my roommate and I had loft beds. They cost $100 for the year, they came with a railing and they freed up a LOT of space - I really don't know that there would have been room for both our fridge and our microwave otherwise! A couple heads up, that may vary depending on the school :

Our loft beds had 3 or 4 different height settings. The maintenance guys were instructed to always install them at the highest possible setting, and it was way too high. Hard to climb up to, and not a whole lot of room left between the mattress and the ceiling. We had them taken down to the second highest setting (for free!) and they were perfect. Not everyone knew that could be done and some girls definitely regretted it.

I personally had no problem climbing up without any kind of prop, even at 3am when the room was pitch-black. My roommate was on the heavier side and she used a chair, which worked out fine as well. Getting the beds lowered did help a lot with that.

If both roommates have loft beds, you'll definitely want some kind of couch. We hadn't thought of that, but our desk chairs were pretty uncomfortable and the only other place we could possibly sit on was ours beds, which was really unpractical since they were so high up. If we wanted to watch TV or have people over, we had to sit on the floor, and our carpet wasn't thick/comfy enough to make it enjoyable. So, I definitely recommend a cheap couch, or at least a fluffy carpet!

And finally, a couple of comfy pillows are a must, in case the bed's wooden/metal structure is uncomfortable to lean on - we kept getting poked by various poles and screws whenever we'd try to study or use our laptops on our beds Other than that, a clip-on lamp that you can turn off without having to go down, maybe some kind of box or bag that you can tie to the railing to hold stuff like your phone and your watch?

That's all I can think of, good luck!

 

[NHdisneylover]

DH ha a loft bed in college way back when (back when everyone built their own ). He is 6'5" with big broad shoulders, etc--climbing in and out was never a big deal.

I agree with others that he is not likely to change the sheets often anyway and even then, it is do-able. DS14 has a full size loft bed here at home and the allergy proof bedding that has to totally encase the mattress and we wrestle that on and off every week.

 

[Katy Belle]

Thanks everybody! The clip on fan and clip on light are great ideas! Will add that to the shopping list! I know they will love the space lofts give them!

 

[SleepyMom]

DD will be a Sophmore this year.

Last year she had a roommate and they both lofted their beds (beds come with the lofting available so it is their choice to use or not). I could tell the day we moved her in that even though she loved the extra floor space, she was not comfortable with climbing up. I asked her if she wanted a step-stool or something similar and she said yes. I went that night and found a step-stool/ladder combo that was the perfect height. She kept it at one end of her bed (between the wall and bed) so it was never in the way. She felt much more secure using that to climb into bed and it gave her something to stand on when she changed the sheets.

This year she will have a single room, but still plans to loft her bed to fit her futon underneath. I imagine she will be taking the step-ladder back again.

Another good idea if your son is going to loft his bed is pool noodles. Slice them on one side from end to end and put them on the outside bar under his bed. We called them noggin noodles I had them for DD when she moved in and when we went back the next day for a parent day/send off she had me bring several more to pass out to her roommate and several new friends. They saved a lot of heads from being bumped on the bed frame.

 

[MrsDuck]

I had loft beds in college and loved them. I'm 5'10" and admittedly had to use our night stand as a little step stool to get in bed most nights! BUT the extra space was well worth it.