Please read down to my reply on the last bunkbed posting. Bunkbeds get a lot of wear and tear on their structures ESPECIALLY with boys!!! They play on them. It's important not only to get good wood, but check out how they are constructed and assembled! Do they have solid square posts? How are the railings put together, how are the slats held in place? Do you have to have a bunky board? (We have a sheet of plywood instead). My dad was a cabinet- maker and taught me that pine is a soft wood, so I wanted a hard wood for my children's beds. Stanley is well built. Our 2 sets are maple and solid. The bunk beds do not rock when you push on them! We've own them since our boys were little, about 14 years for the first set; and yes they can hold an 18 year old on the top bunk. They can also be seperated into twin beds. Our 20 year old, seperated his and move his half of the set up north to his college apt. If you live in So CA you can google "Pacific Sales" and go to their furniture store in Cerritos (not far). You can see Stanley sets there and get an idea of costs. Costco once had a set that looked exactly like a Stanley and solid maple for under $400. You can check their stores and online stores. Also, if you don't need a top bunk: someone on craigslist is selling a complete set cheap. One thing I wish I had purchased, was a trundle for underneath instead of the storge bins. A trundle would be great for sleep overs! Hope this helps.

Thanks all. We were going to do the toddler thing too. I had posted before about toddler beds and decided to skip it. But then, as we shopped my dh kept wanting to buy proper bed furniture (not just the mattress and boxspring) and he's a carpenter, so he liked all the wood ones. I wanted an Ikea type bed - low to the ground, probably with one mattress (no boxspring). We couldn't decide. When we saw this bed... we just fell in love. Anywya, maybe it was stupid and hasty, but I'm stuck with it now. (Hindsight is great eh?) So, I've stuffed the one side for now and there's no way he can get out, and I've got a giant couch like chair (that we usually read stories in) agains the other side. Either I'll customize the regular rails as suggested above, or get my hubby to rig something up. Hopefully, ds isn't too traumatized by it! Ugh. Ad

When I was in Univ. ... I could sleep in a bed at hip level ... or at head level. Now, I prefer one at hip level. Though, being quite active, even agile, I could mount the higher one if necessary. After a while ... I'd probably need a ramp - well, maybe a good ladder'd do, for a while, anyway. I rather like the idea of picking through garbage (sorry, "picking up cast-off furniture") at school-leaving times, to store for the summer - we have a medium-sized Univ. 20 miles away ... and a community college (trade school) a bit farther away. There are some barns and sheds around here: all the storage space necessary, covered with a few tarps (we have birds, too). Digital cameras being what they are, one could offer a catalogue online, come fall. Landlord, the sod farmer, is planting minimal grass seed: plant building trucks that used to be called "Freightliner", more recently "Sterling", closing down in St. Thomas, city of 30,000, that he serves ... moving to Mexico ... and they're not bulding new houses, in St. Thomas, these days! They used to build "Jaeger" concrete mixing trucks in St. Thomas, as well, about 20 years ago - shortly after a strike, weeds were growing in the plant yard: they're building the concrete mixers in Mexico, now. What're our guys to do? That's not their problem - we have Free Trade, remember? Corporations find duties at borders ... ... a nuisance ... best gotten rid of. Good wishes for achieving success - one way or another - with your plan Janie GA. ole joyful

Fun steps, and yes, she will grow. If you are concerned with falling out..........add a tuck in rail! . She weighs nothing, Buy a cheap shallower mattress to last a couple years. Otherwise worry not. Or simply pull the lower out to use as step, and cushion until ,..............taller. : )