When we built our house last year, our builder convinced us that if we ever intended to finish the basement, we should do it as we built the house – the costs would be less, there would be no mess to deal as there would be if we did it later, and we could check it off the list and not have to worry about it again.
So we took the bait and finished the basement. It includes a really large family room/game room with a kitchenette, a movie-watching room (I hesitate to call it a theater, because it’s not that fancy), a bathroom, and three extra bedrooms.
Given the fact that we have five grown children, seven teeny-little grandchildren and LOTS of extended family (9 kids in the family I grew up in, 4 in my husband’s, and oodles of nieces, nephews, and cousins), those three extra bedrooms have come in pretty handy. I think we had family sleeping in them just about every other weekend all summer long!
While we did relish the extra sleeping accommodations the bedrooms provided, we didn’t relish the thought of buying new furniture to populate them! I’ll bet you can guess what happened…..Yep! The guest bedrooms inherited all of the old furniture we have accumulated over the years of our marriage. One of these pieces we already owned was this bunk bed set.
While I love the space saving features of bunk beds, I absolutely HATE making them, and this set is no exception. It’s nice that it can sleep full-grown people in the bottom bunk, but bed making was still a nightmare – think lots of head bumping and blankets that never really got tucked in properly. Add to that the fact that I had to crawl all over the bed to reach the other side, by the time I was done “making” the bed, I didn’t have a lot to show for my efforts (head bruises aside)! I’m sure all you bunk bed owners out there know the frustration I’m talking about!
You can imagine how excited I was, then to discover that there is such a thing as a “make-free” bed. (I just made that term up, can you tell?). What I mean is there is bedding out there that is super easy to make because all the bedding in sewn together in one piece – fitted bottom sheet, minky top sheet, and top cover. They are called Beddy’s, and they are so cool! I ordered a full-sized set and a twin set from Beddy’s (mine are the Chic White version) and I just can’t believe how much easier it is now to make the beds! Just unzip the top blanket and climb in at night, and when you get up in the morning, zip it all back up! Even teeny little grandchildren should be able to handle making the beds now. Hooray! And when they need to be washed, you can either just completely unzip the top and wash that, or take the whole thing off and wash the set. Yep, I’m pretty excited about the Beddy’s – you’ll have to check them out. I wanted mine specifically to solve the bunk bed head-banging problem, but of course, they could be used on other beds as well. The Beddy’s came with the pretty white ruffled pillowcases, which is all you really need, but I did finish my beds off with some brown paisley quilts for extra warmth and to tie in the dark tones of the beds and furniture, and a few throw pillows for extra color. I love the ease and comfort of Beddy’s! Just wished I’d learned about them a long time ago – it would have saved a few bruised heads!
Since this room is mostly use by the youngest visitors, I decorated it accordingly. I used bright, primary colors (mostly red and yellow), added a cozy spot for reading bedtime stories, a vintage Mickey Mouse alarm clock and some cute little water glasses on a vintage tray.
So far I have kept the wall decorations simple. Right now the only thing I have hung on the walls are some darling Disney-inspired prints from Ritzy Reba above the bed (I love how they reinforce the color palette!), and a little wall shelf to display some toys. I’m thinking down the road I may add a chalkboard on another wall.
The drawer pulls on both the nightstand and the dresser are from a children’s shop that has since gone out of business, but I love how they dress up the otherwise dark and boring furniture.
This kid-friendly guest room has gotten lots of use and love so far, and I hope it will continue to house much-loved little people (and their parents) for a long time to come!
**I was not compensated for this post, however I did receive product from the gracious folks at Beddy’s for my review. All opinions are my own.