Low-Rise Stacked Bunks

• Customize bunk beds to maximize use of a small space. A single unit can have a bed slightly higher than normal that looks like a daybed by day. Tucked under it is a second bunk on wheels that rolls out at night to make the second bed. Under that is a two-drawer storage space. When everything is stacked up, the two beds and the drawers take up the room of a single twin bed, leaving the rest of the space free for a desk and chairs, bean bags for lounging around or building a robot in the middle of the floor.
  
  

Sky Bunk

• Solve the problem of that low bunk with no headroom by lofting the top bunk higher than usual and building the ladder right into the frame. A bunk unit with a top bed surrounded by a crate of slats prevents tumbles off the taller platform but allows the bottom bunker to sit up in bed. The bottom bunk also becomes a useful sitting space during the day, rather than a crawl-in cave. Top bunks are recommended for children aged 6 and above.
  
  

Fold-Down Bunk Beds

• A steel frame with fold-down panels, veneered on the bottom, becomes two bunk beds, a bunk and desk or a bed with a shelf. When the bunks are folded up against the wall, the colorful veneer panels show and the floor space is free. When it's time to crash, the bunks fold down revealing the beds. It's an easy design for a vacation house or for a small room with multiple kids. Flexible designs like this can be pricey but they may pay back the investment with better use of existing square footage and they can be moved and reinstalled.
  
  

Ship-Shape Bunks

• Hoist the sails and tack off to dreamland in a neat nautical bunk quad that sleeps four kids in a compact space. The bunks are almost a little room-within-a-room with a framed support system that holds them all against one wall, stacked two high and end-to-end. Wall-hung shelves, under-bed drawers and attached ladders are all painted a crisp sea blue. Top bunks have shipboard safety net rather than sideboards and there are portholes in the center wall between bunks just for fun. Extend the theme with blue and white bedding and maybe a wooden clipper ship model or two mounted on the walls.