Metal Loft Beds

[rangermom]

DS (11) really wants a loft bed and I think it would be a great choice for his room. Any good suggestions. I really only want to spend a few hundred dollars, though I still want a sturdy one. I am thinking frame only, so not trying to budget in a mattress, we already have one. I would also like it to have a desk. I have seen some listed for several hundred, but not really wanting to spend that much. TIA!

 

[jjan]

Can't help with a metal bed, but if you or someone you know are handy at all, you might want to make one yourself. This website it amazing- http://www.knock-offwood.com/

 

[Mickey527]

I saw one the other day in IKEA for $99. It was just the bed frame on stilts, with a ladder, nothing else, you would have to get the desk and stuff seperatly.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70161834
IKEA also has some nice wood ones that look nice that were very inexpensive. Here is the link to all the loft and bunk beds they sell.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/bedroom/19039/
If you are lucky and have an IKEA near you check out the clearance room. I saw this bed
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10123996
in the clearance room for $49.00. I almost bought it form my grandson but I knew my son would throw a fit because he has the Little Tikes car bed and he was angry enough at me for buying that one.

 

[rangermom]

That's an awseome website. I found the beed I want DH to make us. Thanks!

 

[rangermom]

WE love IKEA. Our two youngest have an IKEA bunkbed. I am leaning toward the IKEA Tromso loft bed with desk. It is $248. Thanks! I will look to see if Phoenix has a clearence store.

 

[rainydayplay]

I bought this in white for my DD6.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Charleston-Storage-Loft-Bed-w-Desk-Natural/10812033

I put it together by myself except for the top shelf -- it took 3 of us to get that part together. For what it offers, I thought it was pretty reasonable for the price ($399), but if you're wanting an all metal frame, might not be what you want.

 

[PHXscuba]

We bought two of these through walmart.com. It looks like if you search "metal loft bed" on Wal-mart that they also have some with a desk underneath for a bit more (we bought Ikea desks to put under). DD11 and DD8 share a room and it was the only way we could get desks in. DH and DS were able to assemble both beds in one night. We've had them 7 months and they are great.

PHXscuba

 

[ditchdoc1017]

We recently purchased one for our son. It has the desk under it. We even camouflaged the wall behind it like a mural. He loves it.

 

[funnygarcia]

Another good resource to make your own anything is
http://www.instructables.com/

There a few I would question for safety.
Relying on belts and bungee cords to hold up the mattress- uhh I don't think so!


But many others with sound advice and tips from other posters.
I love that website, always finding something new to try from recipes to building furniture!

 

[mjkacmom]

I'm not sure if it's the same with loft beds, but we did need to purchase special mattresses for our bunkbeds.

 

[bcvprincesses]

We just bought our 11 year old dd this loft bed from Big Lots.

http://www.biglots.com/Furniture/fullview.aspx?cid=42&sid=203&iid=7643

It is a really nice bed and holds up to 400 lbs. which was much more than other beds we found. She loves the desk, shelves and cork board. We actually bought one from WalMart and took it back after we found this one.

 

[ryka]

We just bought this one for our Daughter only in silver
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Twin-Metal-Loft-Bed-Black/13347555

Was easy to put together and she loves it

We got her this desk to put under it
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Student-Desk-Chair-Lamp-Natural/10984094

Here is another one
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Twin-Over-Desk-Metal-Loft-Bed-Silver/11088177

 

[pantherlj]

I would suggest craigslist. My DD has one and is starting to get tired of it so I am thinking the "used by original owner" life is shorter than the actual life She will probably go back to a regular bed soon and pass the loft bed on to her sister.

We didn't get metal but we ordered from this company and have been very pleased with the purchase. It was fun that she could paint any colors she wanted.

http://www.collegebedlofts.com/order_form.html

 

[torinsmom]

My son had the full size Tromso bed from Ikea for about 3 years. We bought it gently used off Craigslist for $150. We used a regular full size mattress, did not need a special mattress. He used it for 3 years, but once he got to 180 lbs, it was really wiggly and creaking, so we sold it for $75 on Craigslist. The lady emailed me and said her son loved it.

I would suggest buying some brackets and bolting the bed to the all studs if you can. That might stop the wiggling.

IMHO, go with the IKEA one over the Walmart ones. IKEA stuff lasts forever.

Marsha

 

[ekatiel]

We bought two of these through walmart.com. It looks like if you search "metal loft bed" on Wal-mart that they also have some with a desk underneath for a bit more (we bought Ikea desks to put under). DD11 and DD8 share a room and it was the only way we could get desks in. DH and DS were able to assemble both beds in one night. We've had them 7 months and they are great.

PHXscuba

We also bought the Walmart metal loft beds for our boys and then turned them into this:

Our boys LOVE them. All we did was buy a sheet of plywood from Homedepot, cut it out to look like a castle and attach it to the bed. Then we bought used slides off of Craigslist and attached them. Anyhow-- these might be too baby-ish for your 11 year old, but the possibilities are endless! --Katie

 

[horseshowmom]

We also bought the Walmart metal loft beds for our boys and then turned them into this:

Our boys LOVE them. All we did was buy a sheet of plywood from Homedepot, cut it out to look like a castle and attach it to the bed. Then we bought used slides off of Craigslist and attached them. Anyhow-- these might be too baby-ish for your 11 year old, but the possibilities are endless! --Katie

Now that's just toooo cute!!

My daughter and my husband built one for her when she was a teenager (got the plans off one of the sites on the internet). It gave her a lot more space in her room. Her desk and TV went under the bed, and she added a futon on the other side of her room. It was much more user friendly for her.

 

[Cindy B]

My son has had his Ikea Tromso bed since he was about 8 years old. He's now almost 16!

He's about 6 feet tall and can still use it. He's not very heavy so that works for now but I do anticipate that we may have to think about a new bed eventually.

 

[bcinohio]

My two teens share a room and needed more space. We ordered a kit with the plans and bolts, etc. from a website(can't remember which one) and bought the wood ourselves and made 2 beds. It cost about 200 for each and they are really sturdy. It gives them so much more room. They put a desk under it and the and the drawers that hold their clothes under there.

They work great. Good luck.

 

[rangermom]

Thanks for all the ideas. It is really between Walmart and Ikea. My two younger kids have an IKEA bunk bed and it is pretty sturdy, so that is probably my front runner.

DS is pretty excited about it and I know it will definately give him for room.

 

[gillenkl]

We have 2 of the IKEA metal bunks with desk - kids love them. Beware though, at least for me, changing the sheets is a really big pain!