Why Bunk Rooms Are Always A Good Idea, According To Designers

Whether you spent summers piling in at your grandparents' house or grew up sharing a room with siblings, there's no denying the playful appeal of a bunk room. Though they're typically born of a practical desire to squeeze a lot of people into one space, the result is often so whimsical and lighthearted that its highly-functional nature almost feels like an afterthought. Here, three Southern designers share their top tips for designing bunk rooms that are functional, pretty, and plenty of fun.

Raise the Roof (Sort Of)

“Bunk beds convey a sense of usefulness and, for a lot of us, that childhood dream of cozy places,” says Gainesville, Georgia, designer Maggie Griffin. She tackled this Cashiers, North Carolina, suite (painted Benjamin Moore’s Dakota Woods Green, 2139-20) with the entire family in mind, opting for queen-size beds for the bottom bunks and twins on top. The vaulted ceiling is a saving grace. “An 8-foot ceiling would be very snug for whoever is brave and kind enough to change those beds, but having just a little more headroom makes all the difference,” she notes.

Ride the Wave of Nostalgia

For Ashley Gilbreath, designing a bunk room is a chance to play. “You get to be a little kid again,” she says. “You remember what makes them tick and what would be fun for them.” In this Auburn home, that meant provisioning a hideaway with inviting color (Benjamin Moore’s Mt. Rainier Gray, 2129-60, which reads as a soft sky blue), pleated curtains that foster a tented feel, and shelves of favorite bedtime stories. She admits that the camplike berths pose one pain point: “What do you do with all that extra bedding when there’s nowhere to tuck it?” Her trade trick is a queen-size coverlet cut in two with help from a sewing pro. “You see only one side of the beds, so you don’t need for the covers to be as big as you would for a normal twin,” says Gilbreath. “This way, it’s a lot easier to make them.”

You Need a Hero

“It’s a similar approach as for decorating a child’s room or a powder bath, those areas that allow you to utilize a bit more whimsy,” says Paloma Contreras about this Texas family’s East Coast beach house bunk room. “There’s an element of creativity that gets ramped up a little.” Here, the attention-seeking move was a hero fabric (Potalla by Alan Campbell for Quadrille) that she repeated on the Roman shade and accent pillow. If a custom built-in isn’t in the cards for you, put a pair of queens or a trio of twins in the guest space instead, advises the designer. “It’s the sense of repetition that people find so charming about bunk rooms. You can cheat a little and still achieve that.”