In Review: Superior Classic Bunk Bed By Little Folks Furniture

Our Superior Classic Bunk Bed, Solid Beech  by Little Folks Furniture, available in White or Dove Grey, is a firm favourite with our customers who want a safe and sturdy, solid hardwood bunk that also converts easily into two single beds.

But, don’t take our word for it. Hear what one customer actually thinks…

We recently chatted to Fiona Campos, stylist at Little Folks Furniture, who bought  a Superior Classic Bunk Bed, Solid Beech, Dove Grey by Little Folks Furniture for her son earlier this year, to find out what she really thought of her purchase having lived with the bunk bed for several months now. We also wanted to understand how and why Fiona and her husband made the decision to opt for this particular bunk bed for their growing family. 

NEST:  We’d love to know what made you select this particular bed?

FIONA: Having worked with a lot of Little Folks Furniture products on a professional level, I’ve been able to see first-hand the superior quality both in terms of timber and build. So, I knew I wanted to invest in a hardwood Little Folks Furniture bed of some sort, but wasn’t sure which product option to go for.

My husband and I went around in circles for a while, deliberating over the different bed types, and writing lists of how each could help us as a family.

In the end, we decided that the Superior Classic Bunk Bed, Solid Beech, Dove Grey best suited our needs. Before this, we had been contemplating a Cubix Mid Sleeper Bed, as this felt a little more suited to a younger child (we have a little one who is almost 3).

However as expecting parents, once we found out that baby number two was going to be a boy, we decided that bunk beds answered not only our immediate challenges, but also future ones too. This bunk dismantles into two full size adult single beds to suit your child’s changing needs or accommodating visitors in a guest room later on.

NEST: What were the initial challenges you needed to resolve?

FIONA: Up until 2 months ago, our toddler had been sleeping in a toddler bed, which was a converted cot bed. Since we needed to convert the bed back to a cot for our second baby, we had to decide how to make the transition from toddler bed to full size single for the older child, but we also needed to consider future plans.

Living in a typical 1930’s 3 bedroom semi-detached house means that we have a large second bedroom, but a small third box bedroom, which is much better suited as a nursery or study.

Finding out that we were having another boy meant that the siblings could share for some years in the large second bedroom once the nursery phase was over, and so our decision to opt for a bunk bed over a mid sleeper or high sleeper was made.

NEST: Have you assembled the bunk bed as a whole, or have you just assembled one of the beds for now until you need the rest?

FIONA: Our initial thoughts were to just assemble one of the single beds, and then keep the other bed and ladder in storage until we need them in a few years’ time or to possibly even assemble the other bed and have two singles in the bedroom together.  

However in the end, we decided to bite the bullet and assemble the whole lot as a bunk bed, all in one go. This choice meant we released extra floor space in the bedroom for additional storage and play. Now our son really enjoys all the free play space in his room, rather than always being downstairs in the play room.

Our son (almost 3) isn’t much of a climber, and he really loves the enclosed ‘den like’ feeling of having the underside of the top bunk above him. I guess it’s almost like a little sanctuary for him in a way.

We wanted to set up the bunk from the outset but to stop him climbing we did not fit the ladder steps. So for now there are no steps on it and therefore no way of him getting up to the top bunk. Even without the ladder steps included the bunk’s stability is still rock solid!  

So far so good, and our son hasn’t even attempted to climb up to the top. He knows and understands that when the time comes, he will be able to sleep at the top, and his little brother will sleep underneath him, but for now he seems pretty happy with his ‘big boy’ bunk bed.

The lack of treads on the ladder has also paved the way for some interesting imaginative play. So far, the ladder frame has been a door for a house, a ship and a space rocket (all from his own imagination). It has made a really cute reading nook too!

NEST: Have you decided to use the trundle for storage or sleepovers?

FIONA: We bought a trundle mattress, and have used the trundle bed most nights so far over the past month. A few times when our boy has been unwell and wanted us in the room, and sometimes when he wakes before 6am, we’ve taken it in turns to go in there and sleep in the trundle, to encourage him to stay in his bed – and it has worked every time!

Honestly, the mattress is fantastic and is more comfortable than our own bed! It’s so useful to have the bunk set up with an extra bed. Before I became a parent myself, I could only perceive its usefulness as a sleepover function for friends and family, however having actually used it and slept on it a fair few times already (even at 8 months pregnant!), it is by far one of the best and most practical purchases we’ve made in recent times.  I’m now a self-confessed trundle bed addict and convert!

NEST: What advice would you offer other parents who are ready to buy the first ‘big bed’ for their child?

FIONA: Start thinking about it as far in advance as you can, and do some research, Make a list of must-haves, whether that’s storage space, sleepover beds, space for one or two siblings to share, colours, materials, etc.

Measure the room and check it again. It’s surprising what you can fit into a child’s bedroom, especially when looking at multi-functional beds.

Consider investing in a solid hardwood bed, as these are likely to last much longer than a softwood pine bed with knots. The beechwood substrate also provides a good foundation for a lovely paint finish – so there aren’t the problems of “knot bleeding” and discolouration that you can sometimes get over time with painted pine. Buying into the quality of hardwood is also a great way of considering your environmental impact, as you’re buying once rather than adding to the waste of the ‘Fast Furniture’ ethos.

It was really important for us to get this decision right, and for our toddler to fall in love with his new bedroom. It was a big change as not only was he moving from a small nursery room into a large double bedroom, but also into a brand new bed, and then a few months later a new brother would be coming along too.

We needn’t have worried though! By starting the process early, talking a lot about it with him, including him in conversations, and showing him photos of how his new bed would look when it arrived, really helped with this transition.

NEST: Sum up your son’s new bunk bed in 3 words…

FIONA: Solid, gorgeous and practical!

Some top facts about our LFF Bunk Beds:

• Little Folks Furniture is exclusive to Nest in South Africa, so you won’t find this product anywhere else.
• Did you know that some of our customers buy our bunks almost as a by-product, preferring to assemble as two separate twin beds for the first few years, and then building it up into a bunk bed afterwards! That’s what we call forward thinking!
• Even the mattress bases on the bunk beds are made from solid hardwood. This means they can easily support an adult sleeping on them as single beds (perfect for the guest room, or sleeping in with ill kids!)
• You get a better and more durable paint finish on hardwoods. This is because the wood isn’t soft and so it doesn’t dent that easily plus you don’t have wood knots. This is why painted Pine often shows knots which bleed through the paint over the years. This is one of the primary reasons why LFF prefer to manufacture using high quality hardwoods.
• Bunk beds need to be safe and should be designed to meet stringent safety standards. A lot of bunks available on the market do not meet the required and approved safety standards in full – despite claiming to do so. All bunks sold at Nest pass the relevant child safety standards and come with a warranty.

Shop all our Bunk Beds here > https://www.nestdesigns.co.za/products/furniture/bedroom/bunk-beds/