Multiple children in small bedrooms - is it possible?

This is a very long post.  It's so long I should split it into sections, but I'm not going to.

I'm fascinated by the sleeping options there are now for children sharing a small room!  Take a look at these:

This is a trundle bed


Your general service trundle bed.  Buy it anywhere, in any colour.

You can buy it alone, for a few hundred dollars, and roll it under an existing twin bed to make room to sleep a second child.

But, I mean, why stop there?

Let's say you need to fit two children in one room but can't sacrifice the storage provided under the bed?  You can also get the trundle bed with drawers.

A twin bed with a trundle and three storage drawers.

Ok, but let's say you need to fit two children in the room but also have the room be a playroom or even a living space?  You can get a daybed with a trundle bed, to maximize the use of a room...

Or..

you can get a daybed with a trundle bed, and the storage drawers as well.  So, you get a sofa, two beds and a storage space!

Ok, so you like that, but the drawers make the trundle too high up for your little person?  No problem.  You can get a daybed, with a trundle bed BELOW the drawers.  And lest you think the drawers opening would be inconvenient and squeeze the mattress, you can have the drawers come out either side of the bed.  Now the mattress is low, the storage isn't sacrificed, you fit two children in the room and you have a sofa space.


Sleep two children, with three storage drawers and a sofa space for $500 new.

Or you could get a pop-up trundle bed that converts from a twin to a king size.


Alright, but what about when you don't need a trundle bed forever?  Your children aren't going to want to sleep in this configuration for good, so then what?  Well, you could get a twin bed, with a trundle bed that has three drawers...AND a separate unit to use once you no longer need the trundle bed.  Pop out the trundle with three drawers, and slide in the large, four drawer storage unit.  And the trundle and drawer unit can go fit under another bed.


Shown with the trundle/three drawer configuration but available as a four-drawer too.

Now, you've clearly fallen in love with the daybed/storage/trundle configuration, as I have, because you're no fool.  But the child on top - won't they fall on the child below?
Nope. 

 - You can get the twin bed with a safety rail and a trundle bed.
 - Or the daybed with the safety rail and a trundle bed.
 - Or a toddler bed, which has built in safety rails...and a trundle bed.

But you have MORE than two children to fit in this room, right?  You have a six year old, a four year old, and a two year old.  It's a little room and you've got a lot of children to squeeze in.  So you can use bunk beds with a trundle bed.

Ok, ok, let's just say it.  You hate bunk beds because of the ladder-is-dangerous bit.  No problem.  I present to you, bunk beds, with a trundle bed, with three large storage drawers, and stairs.


It solves practically every problem there is in the world.

If you can squeeze two people into a full-size bed, you can do the same configuration but a bit wider (with or without the ladder):


Four people can sleep here!

Or if space is very, very tight, you can use a bunk bed, with the bottom bunk made as a futon for your sofa option, but able to fold down to sleep two.  Add a trundle bed to that and you can sleep four people in a room.  When it's all folded up in the morning it won't take up much more floor space than a twin bed.

That's crazy compact. But not as crazy as this:

Yeah, that's a set of bunk-cribs.  Where are your children sleeping, the closet?

Now, all of these are cool, without a doubt.  But at some point you get into 'barracks' mode and you need to pull out the BIG GUNS.  Take a look at these inspirational spaces:

I imagine that four girls would adore such a grown-up looking room.  Though, do
those top bunks look ridiculously high to anyone else?



Perfect for a smaller space.  You could even make those under-the-bed areas built in drawers
for a more streamlined look.



A bit 'too' barracks?  Still, imagine how light and airy!

This looks incredibly treacherous to me, but whimsical, too.



I had my wedding reception in a smaller area than this, but it does show
you how lovely a few architectural details can make a room.

  

My goodness.



An excellent use of a long, narrow attic space.

 And if you start to think about space-saving, you really need to consider the usefulness of the space you do have.  The last picture up there illustrates a great use of a long, narrow space to fit four beds with under-bed storage.  Here are some other long, narrow space options:

Anyway, clearly space doesn't have to be an issue.  Anything, simply anything is possible.