How about a full bed and a twin bed with a trundle? I don't think you have room for three full beds. Every bed needs a certain amount of room around it, so even three twins will take up most of your floor space. And it sounds like all three girls would end up in the full bed, anyway.

With a full bed, and then a twin with a trundle, you have two beds out on the floor, with the option of a third bed when you need it.

Could you devote one wall to storage? Put one or two clothing racks (on castors, maybe?) for the hanging clothes, the dressers and a bookcase for storage along one wall. Then run a curtain in front of them all, hanging from a ceiling track. That will cut down on a good bit of the visual clutter.

Put the beds along the attic wall and the storage along the closet wall, ripping out the closet if you want to.

Leave the bookcase with their toys by the chimney, and move the recliner chairs down to that end of the room for a play area.

I originally thought of what camlan suggested, except with three twin beds. I think three twins will give you the most options in the long run. Two can be pushed together to make a king for all three of the girls to sleep in plus a twin for sleepovers. And when they get older and want their own space, just move the king apart.

For storage, you can do what camlan suggested or you can look into some kind of wall system (check Ikea) to make a wall of storage. For clothes and for toys.

Another option would be to put the three beds on the window wall each with their own dresser at the foot of the beds. A couple of wardrobes for their hanging clothes near the door.

And when they want separation:

Finally, what these people did in this bedroom is just pure genius. Two Ikea Kura beds (those are the low loft beds for kids) built onto platforms with storage underneath. It creates two smaller sized bunk beds plus storage. The other things they do in the room are worth looking at too. Lots of stuff in one small space.

Here is a link that might be useful: More photos from the room.

Thank you both for the ideas! If we do end up with 3 twins, which we already have two, how does one go about connecting them so there isn't a crack in between for the kids to fall into? Would a mattress pad work (we use the waterproof ones on all of the beds now) or do they make something special?

I really like the idea of a loft bed with storage underneath, but I'm not sure exactly how much clearance we could get. We could always do something along the lines of taller storage drawers underneath each bed without the second bed and use that as dresser space and use the dressers elsewhere.

Are the Ikea wardrobe type cabinets decent quality? I have only been to Ikea once and only to check out the kitchen cabinets and small decor type items. I noticed that some of the bookcases looked a little flimsy, but considering the amount of abuse those could possibly see in a day, I'm not sure how realistic it is to judge a store display. I've been eyeballing some antique wardrobes on CL I thought might work. They might not have quite as much storage as a full wall cabinet, but it would save the driving and most are $150 or less. I could always use one in a bathroom or the girls' future bedrooms.

I will definitely do some shopping around and see what I can come up with. I think we can definitely work with the ideas given, which are very much appreciated!

When 3 of our girls shared, we used a bunk bed with a full on the bottom, twin on top. When cousins sleep over, they all sleep in sleeping bags in the LR/basement. I would not plan sleeping arrangements based on guests when space is at a premium. We had separate dressers but a highboy would have been better. Use as much vertical space as possible. I know you do not want to block the light, but it will still let in some, and they will use the floorspace more than the beds. Now that I have some in bunks and some in regular beds, everyone STILL uses the floor for play, inc the 11 yo. Just get the right lighting!

This post was edited by anele on Wed, Jul 31, 13 at 1:20

If you are unable to find an alternative to the open hanging rack, you can hang a curtain rod from the ceiling...like they do with curtains in hospital rooms... and surround the "closet" area with fabric so it will be less visual clutter. It's easy to remove when you finally get to remodel.

Here is a link that might be useful: curtain tracks

I think the coolest solution by far is this here:

Other suggestions at the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: three and more kids

My Mom's lake cabin has a bunk bed - twin on top, double below. That maximizes sleeping space with minimum floor space, as long as two of your girls are willing to sleep together. There's also room below for under-bed storage.

This project sounds like a short term solution until you do the renovations. How about a bunk bed with the "top" pushed against the chimney (this won't block the light from the window) with a trundle or other storage underneath. It may overlap the bookcase a little and that should be OK. You could add a full bed elsewhere. You can also add a tall dresser off of the other end of the bunk bed - freeing up wall space.

We have the Ikea closet organizer (Pax system) and it's great. We have it on one wall in our closet that is all brick. Also, we like the Besta system from Ikea (used in our office). This can be used for general storage with both open shelves and doors. It's deeper than a normal bookshelf.

I've used closetmaid slectectives (available at Home depot) for my kids closets. I looked at all similar priced organizers and this was the best for the money. If this doesn't work for the closet because it's too low in the back - maybe 2 hanging rods in the closet but lower than normal (since it's for 3 kids under the age of 6 and their clothes are not that big)

I'm a sucker for symmetry. I think it makes a space seem less cluttered and more organized and I think that is what you are partially trying to achieve.

Your mention of antique wardrobes sounds like a good idea. I really like the idea of each girl having their own wardrobe (symmetry again). You could even look at repurposing TV cabinets (the kinds with drawers on the bottom and doors on the top). Add clothes rods in the door section and voila.

I think if you already have two twin mattresses, that you shouldn't invest a lot of money buying full beds or a king. Who knows what you will need when you do your remodel. I believe there is a product that holds two twin beds together although I think a thick mattress pad and king sized sheets might also do the trick.

This post was edited by geokid on Wed, Jul 31, 13 at 17:33

I only have 2 in a room, but it is smaller than yours and I tried to figure out ways for more storage. I don't know if anything I did could help you, but the link to our finished room is below.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/decor/msg061324292333.html

My next door neighbor has 3 kids in the same size bedroom, and they have twin bunk beds with a trundle underneath. But I think you could have quite a bit more space.

Yes, this is definitely a temporary fix, although there are many temporary fixes still hanging on 5 years later around here, so I'd like to make the most of it in case this ends up being a 5 year project.

I do enjoy symmetry, but it's not necessary if other layouts work out better. I've been doing some shopping around just to see what might work and compare bunk beds and look at trundles.

A neighbor stopped by last night to make our weekly goods trade and we were discussing beds, and she mentioned she had bought a day bed with a trundle that can be locked in a raised position to make a king for her spare bedroom. My sister-in-law mentioned futons, which would be easy to move around and could fold up to couches when they needed the floor space, but I'm not sure how great they would be for sleeping in every night.

noellabelle- my kids love camping out too! They've been camping in the tipi at my in-laws all summer. Their room turned out great, and like you, I want something they can grow into. While they all love the frilly princess pastels and playhouse beds now, my oldest is already showing signs of outgrowing the look. I think I can do a more modest look they can enjoy for years to come, and can hopefully reuse most of it when they move to their future bedrooms.

geokid-I've been looking at the TV cabinets as well. There are hundreds on CL this week. I like the idea of having one for each child too. I'm keeping my eyes out, although dh is not excited about trying to get them upstairs. We had to knock out the closet at the top of the stairs to get our mattress up there lol.

bostonpam- I will definitely check out the Ikea system. Even if it won't work in this room, I'd like to put some type of storage in the laundry room/entry.

I'm kind of curious as to how many of you have children who share or have shared a bed in the past. How long did they share a bed? I don't want for them to feel forced to share a bed if they don't want to.If I could get away with two beds for now, the girls would have a lot more floor space which would be nice at their ages now and I could satisfy my need to hide the clutter with more storage.

nosoccermom- I love those hanging beds! I want one for our bedroom lol

AnnieDeighnaugh- I hadn't considered hanging curtains or fabric over the clothes. That would be such a simple fix even until we get everything straightened out! I think I will gather up all of our curtains and try to make something work today!

I can offer an opinion on the twin with pop up trundle, as that's what I had when I grew up. It was not a comfortable situation. I would inevitably roll onto the crevice between the two. If you're willing to connect the two beds each night with a king mattress pad & sheet, I've heard (from friends) that it eliminates the feeling of the crevice.

As for siblings sharing a bed-well, my DD (age 6) & DS (age 9) started sharing a room out of necessity 3 years ago. They have twin size bunk beds, but have chosen to sleep together on one bed. Next year, we will be moving & they will once again have their own rooms, but DD says she will still want to sleep with her brother.

IMO, I think the inability to see each other in bed led to them sleeping together. If the beds were side by side, I'm pretty sure things would have been different. As for the length of time they'll want to sleep together, I think it depends on the child. I think DD is just still young enough to want it while DS is proably looking forward to his own space.

An aside...not to hijack the thread:

Please feel free to tell me to mind my own business, but I think a 9 year old boy is way too old to be sleeping with any younger sister.

This post was edited by AnnieDeighnaugh on Fri, Aug 2, 13 at 8:00

Nah, Annie. No offense taken since I haven't ever seen a mean spirited comment from you on here. Anyway, every child is different and DS is very childlike for his age. I have a niece that I wouldn't let sleep with my DD. Like I said, every child's different.