I'm leaning toward having my contractor add built in beds. I originally wanted true bunk beds built in (so many great designs), but sadly the side walls are too short.

But I do adore rows of freestanding twin beds.

This photo shows the styling I'm after ... fresh twist on vintage cottage, which could also be achieved with built ins:

So, my question is: how would you lay out the beds in this room?

I think the first question is how many beds do you want to fit in there....as many as possible? Or is there a specific number. You do want to balance the number of beds with the amount of space each guest has to be accommodated. Given the potential number of people who may be there, you want to have enough seating area to be comfortable, and you want to have the space be comfortable enough if, say, only 1 or 2 people are staying in the very large room...esp children.

Good points, Annie. There is no specific number of beds required. While not initially on my radar, I currently have two extra long twins pushed together to form a king, which might be nice to keep for a couple staying in the room with kids.

I do have the light turquoise curved sofa in the room for seating, which can stay since it's in good shape or be replaced with built in beds that act as daybed loungers with oversized pillows along the back.

OK, well lets think about parents and children as potential guests. I think I would put a pretty king bed on the far wall under the round window so it's the first thing you see when you come in the room. It's furthest from the entrance and so would be the most private. You can set it up with night stands and lamps on either side in a symmetrical arrangement.

I like how you have it now with a seating area in the middle. Be a great place to put a sleeper couch if you needed extra sleeping space, but I'd keep a couch there for sure, some other chairs to sit on and a big cushioned ottoman/coffee table in the middle to put feet on, kids could play on, that kind of stuff. If you are doing TV (in such a gorgeous location, I'm not sure I'd want one!) you could actually mount it to the bathroom wall for family viewing.

Then on the first space, I'd use that to build in your bunks. I think you might have room for 2 on each side, head to foot running along the low wall. Or perhaps on one wall, you can turn the beds out (headboard to the outside wall) so there's space to walk in between.

There is no closet space at all, so I would add a closet in the corner by the bathroom shower. Some hanging space and open shelving would be welcome.

The other thing to think about is using draperies or a fabric panel that would pull back to the wall/ceiling, but could be let down to provide some privacy, sound deadening and light blocking should people in the king bed nook want to be up later than say the kids in the bunk area.

We converted the top of a 3-car garage at our lakehouse into such a space. I looked at many bed configurations. I loved the idea of built-ins - they're so charming in pictures. But practically speaking, they're often hard for kids to do up and difficult to change out sheets & make up the beds.

In the end we went with 2 twin beds w/ headboards against the wall on one side, and a full bed - headboard against the wall - on the other. There's room for a pack & play crib in the adjacent room and we can easily fit more blow-up beds if the kids bring friends.

Our room is most often used by our kids/spouses & their kids. But my college age nephews are also regulars. We opted to do a living room area/table & chairs/coffee station, instead of just filling the space with beds.

When DD is there the grands & SIL often get up to fish before the sun rises. He can grab a coffee, check weather & the kids can have a yogurt before heading out & they don't disturb any of the other guests in the house. Sometimes after dinner with family the little ones like to watch a Disney video in "their" LR while the adults are lingering at the table in the main house to chat & cleaning up.

Consider who & how the space will best serve you & yours. Also consider how fast little ones grow & whether or not built-ins will serve as well in coming years.

Annie, I really like your idea of the king under the round window, and I hadn't considered it before. Hmmm. I suppose twin trundles could slide underneath if more mattresses are needed.

I'm thinking about vertical stripes on that wall, replicating this look:

With Dash and Albert rugs in these shades:

If anyone has source recommendations for quilts in these colors, please share. I have looked at Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids.

Oooh. Your space is absolutely lovely, amck. Thanks for all the photos and ideas. It's definitely like a guest apartment.

I love the look of built-ins, but between the dormer bumpouts and the window placement, I don't think the room lends itself to it. You could build two in the windowed dormer, but then it would block part of the room.

As far as the three-in-a-row look, I don't see enough wall space for that either, since each twin is 38" wide and you want 30" between beds. If I did the math right, you would have 22" between each bed and the wall, possible but tight. I am also not sure how high the window is, but if you chose an airy, open, cast iron bed that would help.

I would keep the two twin (and possibly three if layout works) where you have them, and really compose that space first, since it will be what you see when you walk in. Whatever you do for the wall with the round window, I would probably mimic the very same beds and bedding to the left as you walk in, where you have the twins pushed together. (I would leave them apart unless and until you needed to combine them for a guest.) I think the replication would be charming, sort of a girls' dorm look.

I might also consider painted wood shiplap or beadboard somewhere, floors or ceiling or both, to give the space the attic feel and knock down the new construction drywall look. We did that in the bunkroom at our beachhouse. It has white painted wooden floors and ceiling iirc. The other thing I will note is that today's mattresses and box springs are very thick and high. The old fashioned iron beds look more vintagey with low profile box springs and thinner mattresses (ikea makes some faux tempurpedic mattresses that are thin and quite comfy imho; and they come rolled up almost like a sleeping bag!)

I would then put two upholstered rockers, the overstuffed kind, and ottomans, in the windowed nook.

D&A rugs are such a great look for that area. I will say the larger cotton ones do not lay well. The indoor outdoor ones lay better, if you want a large one.

I have Nantucket D&A throws; I think they have many throws that match their rugs. You could use a white matelasse spread, and then a folded D&A throw at the foot of the bed.

What size are the beds in the other two guestrooms? That would drive what sizes you want here IMHO. I am all form over function, so I would only use twins in this space because it'd be so darn cute. I find K beds especially to be ungainly, and I just think the proportions of them are all wrong and they never look good. So, selfishly, I do not use them.

Mtn, thanks for your suggestions on the layout, shiplap and mattresses.

What type of wood did you paint white in your bunkroom?

I have a few D&A rugs and throws and love them, but my largest cotton rug of theirs is only a runner. I just ordered a larger cotton one for my office, so we'll see how that lays with a pad underneath. Have you tried using pads? The patterns I like for this room unfortunately don't come in the poly.

Our other two guest rooms are a king and a queen.

I will have to see if DH remembers or if it is in some of the communications with the GC, but I think it was a pine, but a higher grade with less knots. I don't think it was clear pine, but I don't recall seeing any knot holes. However, we always knew we wanted them painted so we went with a lesser grade than if we planned to stain them. Our beach house is over 100 yrs old and I wanted to keep the floors and ceilings as they were, but the insulation was insufficient so we had to to drywall, then add back in wood floors and ceilings.

Yes, i use pads for all my rugs. The problem is not movement, it is that they have insufficient weight to lay flat and stay square. They stretch and you get little ripples. Also, over time, furniture wears through. But they are so attractive and tasteful and cheap! I still use them for sizes up to say 8x6 (is that a size? YKWIM). But I had a very large one here in our primary house and I got so frustrated with it. (BTW, if anyone wants it, you can have it!) I ended up buying an Elizabeth Eakins for here, which is very good quality but about 10x the cost. I have the Bristol Plaid and it is so pretty. EE will tell you D&A is a knock off of them.

Similar to D&A but vastly superior quality: elizabetheakins

I like the look of built-ins but for me flexibility trumps looks. With free standing beds you can add/take away beds as needed or even turn the whole space into a rec or gym room in the future. Keep the couch and coffee table for lounging/TV. If possible, I might also add a small table and chairs for games, etc.

Hey Jules!!! Great to hear from you! Stop on over at the Building a House forum to say hi!

I have a similar room, built for exactly the same use, but on a smaller scale. Your wall on the right side (with bed headboard leaning against it) looks as if it would be perfect for a couple of built-in beds. I built ours so that they can be easily used for closets, if the room is used as a bedroom, and also for resale--in that case there will be existing closets (albeit short, under-eaves closets), a requirement for listing it as a bedroom. The decks can be removed, leaving more room for hanging clothes, on the ends, and curtains can hide contents--the curtain rods are already in place in these pics.

The room is considerably less cute/girlie now, because my DD and her new husband have moved in (I'm happy I planned ahead for this possibility), jettisoning all of my cottage decor. The beds are his and hers closets.

Adding a pic of the other side, the full-size bed.

Also adding, I think if my children were still small, I'd prefer the bed closest to the door, so that if they were sent to bed first, I wouldn't need to walk by their beds when I entered. And if they left the room during the night, they'd need to walk by my bed--I'd want to know why they were up. I like AnnieDeighnaugh's idea of curtains for privacy.

This would be a great room for slumber parties. With a queen-size sofa-sleeper, I can see space for up to 10 kids.

I deleted most of my saved pics, but I always loved the colors in this one:

I know plenty of people do it and I did it with my parents growing up, but we never liked sharing a room with our kids, as guests in a house or hotel. I would rather the kids have their own room, even if it was small. No one slept well or was able to relax if we all had to share the same space for days. We've always budgeted for an adjoining second room in hotels. Maybe we're just light sleepers!

So funny. I've been collecting pics of builtin bunk rooms for some weird reason (just like them even tho I have no where to put bunks). I read your post and thought I can post my pics for you. But then I scrolled down and you have them all!

I do have a suggestion for bedding. I love Garnet Hill bedding and they have some colours that I think would look nice with what you've posted. Their Lily Pulitzer stuff is too bright for me, but it might look good with what you are planning. I love their percale sheets with the trellisy design and have the orange colour. I really love it with aqua and turquoise colours. Garnet Hill

That is funny, daisy, about the saved photos. I had checked Garnet Hill also, and their Visby quilt might work. I'm looking for pastels.

Chispa, I appreciate your perspective on preferring to not sleep with kids. We'll generally have enough space to offer adults their own rooms, unless they desire to stay with their kids or unless we have 20+ people staying here at one time like we did two weeks after we moved in last year. Oy. I'm from a big family, and we make it work. It's a little nutty but wouldn't change it ... fun times.

mama goose, thanks for that mock up and the idea for the closet/bed. Interesting!

Thanks, Joanie.

Mtn, that's a real bummer about the lay of the larger D&A. I checked out EE rugs, and they're beautiful but seemingly not available in the colorful shades I'm after for that room. I primarily have white, light blue, light turquoise, tan and a touch of light green through the house, but I'd like to incorporate some pink or coral in the bunk room.

Thank you, all!

What a fun project, and what a nice space for guests. Love the round window, and the great view from the side windows! You might want to think about adding cubbies under the beds, or benches, for luggage etc. Here's a few pictures I had saved, maybe they will give you some ideas. I love the look of cozy built in bunks, and hope to put some in if we ever get to the point of finishing our attic. World Market, PB teens, and Serena and Lily are other good places to look for rugs and bedding for this room.

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