When we purchased a vacation home a few years ago, we wanted to get a bunk bed for the kids to save space. There were only two good options for placing it in the room, and one of them was smack dab in front of a window. My wife and I were not sure if the window spot was safe, so we looked into it, and this is what we found out.
A bunk bed should not be placed in front of a window. Children can be rowdy and potentially damage a window, you are blocking a potential fire escape, and you may be putting a person in front of a cold or hot zone in the room. Also, a large bunk bed in front of the window may not be visually appealing.
Now, let’s go into this topic in greater detail.
Bunk Bed Placement Tips
Bunk beds can be a pain in the you know what to fit in a room. I mean, the entire reason you bought one may have been to save space. I am pretty sure builders don’t put enough thought into where you are going to place people when they are creating a design.
In my experience, there are usually two good options on where to place a large bulky bunk bed, and one of them is invariably near or in front of a window. I now always choose the wall location, but here are four considerations:
- How fragile is the window, and how rambunctious are the kids?
- Are there extreme temperatures at the location?
- Is the area noisy?
- Will it be an eyesore?
1. Bunk Bed Window Safety
Bunk beds can be dangerous even without bringing the window into the equation. An errant toy or even a leg could potentially slam into the window and break the glass. A small child could also become wedged, become trapped, or potentially strangled. While this is unlikely, you may not want to take the risk.
Also, God forbid there is a fire in the house. Often, windows are the way that people get out and survive. If you have a giant bed in front of the window, it can impede or make escape impossible. At best, it slows down opening the window, and seconds can be precious during an emergency.
Once again, if you have no other option, make sure that you have an escape plan in place that you relay to your kids.
2. Avoiding Hot or Cold Zones
At our primary residence, our 12-year-old sleeps in front of a window. She was always complaining about being cold at night, and at first, we were stumped. We supposedly had “energy efficient” windows. Apparently, the design isn’t perfected yet. So, we ended up rearranging the room to get her away from the cold spot. She hasn’t complained since.
Pro Tip: Thick window coverings can mitigate cold or hot spots right in front of a window if you have no other bed placement option.
3. Is Someone Going to Be Napping in Front of The Window?
Especially if you have young children who still nap, you will want to realize that the brightest and noisiest area of a room is generally in front of the window. Vehicle noises and people talking can be disruptive to even the deepest sleepers.
4. There’s More to Aesthetics Than Just Visual Appeal
When you typically buy a bunk bed, it isn’t necessarily to create an “HGTV-worthy” room. Instead, you probably are more concerned with functionality and making a good use of space. That being said, there are still some aesthetic concerns that go beyond just making the design attractive.
A valid concern is that windows provide a lot of light during the day, and do you really want the room to potentially be dark as a cave during the day?
For more, check out Can I Use Primer as Paint? | What Will Happen if You Don’t.
Organizing a Room With a Bunk Bed
As you already know, it is usually a monstrosity that dominates a room.
Here are some ideas for using the space effectively:
- Built-in Storage
- Storage underneath
Bunk Beds With Built-in Storage
If you haven’t purchased the bunk beds yet, then this is for you. There are numerous models out there that build dressers on the side, front, and everywhere in between. Here is an example of one found on Amazon.
This way, you may be able to open up a ton of space in your room. Dressers tend to take up a ton of room, so being able to clear one out of there can make a huge difference.
Storage Underneath
If you already have a bunk bed and no storage is built-in, you could pick up some of these large flat storage boxes. While maybe not be “convenient” for the kids to have all their stuff in these, it’s very easy to just pull one out and open it up anytime they need something.
Bottom Line
Organizing a room is one of my least favorite things that I like to do. Luckily my wife is “into it” and loves home design projects. I am usually just the mule that moves and carries things around, and that’s fine by me.
I hope this article has been helpful!
For more, check out 9 Low-Cost Ways to Soundproof a Bedroom.
Jim James is a published author and expert on the outdoors and survivalism. Through avid research and hands-on experience, he has gained expertise on a wide variety of topics. His time spent at college taught him to become really good at figuring out answers to common problems. Often through extensive trial and error, Jim has continued to learn and increase his knowledge of a vast array of topics related to firearms, hunting, fishing, medical topics, cooking, games/gaming, and other subjects too numerous to name.
Jim has been teaching people a wide variety of survivalism topics for over five years and has a lifetime of experience fishing, camping, general survivalism, and anything in nature. In fact, while growing up, he often spent more time on the water than on land! He has degrees in History, Anthropology, and Music from the University of Southern Mississippi. He extensively studied Southern History, nutrition, geopolitics, the Cold War, and nuclear policy strategies and safety as well as numerous other topics related to the content on survivalfreedom.com.