While it might feel like we only just finished the kids’ bedroom a couple of months ago – we’re already at it again.
We knew it would only be a matter of time before we decided to swap out some of the furniture. Once we got the existing crib and toddler bed into the space – the play zone got a little tight. We’ve spent months trying to make it work, but the room is just impossible to keep organized with the way things are. Time to change it!
I’ve had the West Elm crib posted on Facebook Marketplace for a couple of months and finally managed to sell it to a sweet expecting couple. The best part: we got our asking price out of the nearly perfect crib, toddler rail and mattress combo. That meant we could cover the costs of a new bunk bed for Isai, a new mattress for Elin (to use in the Sprout Montessori floor bed) and a bit of new bedding for both kiddos.
Both kids were very excited for the transition and even more excited to see the construction of the IKEA KURA bunk begin.
We’ve been itching to get the pair of them to stop sleeping in our room. Aching backs, restless sleep and regular wrestling matches to determine who will snuggle who was getting to be a bit much with two growing toddlers. Our solution was to simply the kids’ bedroom, bring in a bunk that Isai was super excited about, give the kids more floor space for playtime and move Sis into a big girl bed.
We went with the KURA for one reason alone: it’s short. It’s substantially lower to the ground than most bunk beds. The space under the lofted bed is a perfect “kid cave” height for a couple of cozy spots to read books or catch an episode of Bubble Guppies. And – if by some chance Isai hated the bunk – we could easily flip the bed to the floor height without having to buy all-new furniture.
To be honest – the wobbly creakiness of the KURA made Aaron and I both nervous. We thought it might flip and that we should anchor it to the wall. We thought maybe it couldn’t hold both kids. We were just really unsure of it. But I’m happy to say that we’ve come around to deciding we couldn’t have picked a better starter bunk for our dude. He loves it and manages the ladder easily – even in the dark. Elin is learning to climb up and down with confidence – but even she handles it smoothly as long as no one is rushing her.
Bonus points: because of the low height, I can change all the bedding solo. The kids also can’t hide up there – I can reach every corner if I need to get someone down or shuffle the wiggly toddler back to the middle late in the night.
The new bed arrangement simplified things 10-fold. We removed the rug so the closet doors could fully open. The closet organization is finally holding everything in its place. We were able to add some racks for jackets, hats and book bags on one end of the bed – simplifying the heavy lifting of the hooks in the closet. The dress-up cabinet has a small light that works as a nightstand on Isai’s side of the room while the old bookcase holds all our bedtime stories and Elin’s milk. The last two-cube shelf is now a perfect TV stand with a couple of containers for our collection of Little People.
And all of it is set under some beautiful mountains.
I genuinely couldn’t be happier with the way this space has been working for our kiddos. There are still a handful of details we want to button up or adjust – but this latest update has been such a fun step forward.