Children’s furniture

Our latest lookbook features 10 compact children’s bedrooms that use bunk beds to conserve precious space and make more room for play.

By stacking two beds on top of each other to form a single unit, bunk beds can free up floor space and create a greater sense of privacy in shared rooms. Loft beds, which are raised high above the floor, can help to achieve a similar space-saving result.
Examples in this lookbook include a three-tiered bunk bed in a rural Chilean cabin and a birch plywood unit in London’s Barbican that integrates not just two beds but also a fold-out desk for doing homework.
This is the latest in our series of lookbooks, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing kitchens with social seating nooks, statement skylights and living rooms with sculptural furniture.
Photo is by Ståle EriksenBirch and Clay Refugio, UK, by Rise Design Studio

Rise Design Studio used bespoke birch plywood joinery to help maximise the space in this London garden flat, which the practice remodelled and extended to accommodate a family of four.
In the kid’s room, the material was used to create an intricate bunk bed, which sits perched on a platform housing a small play area and numerous drawers.
Find out more about Birch and Clay Refugio ›
Photo is by Michael SinclairA Room for Two, UK, by Studio Ben Allen
In this children’s bedroom, two beds are stacked on top of each other within an architectural plywood structure, which bisects the room to conserve both space and privacy.
The result are two “miniature houses”, each with its own arched doorway and built-in desk, while the steps leading to the upper bed double as shelving.
“Inspired by the painting St Jerome in His Study by Antonello da Messina, our departure point was to create an installation that is as much a small piece of architecture as it is a piece of furniture,” said Studio Ben Allen.
Find out more about A Room for Two ›
Photo is by Mariell Lind HansenAlbergo Miramonti hotel, Italy, by Boxx Creative
Albergo Miramonti is a renovated 1950s hotel in the Alpine village of Corteno Golgi that was overhauled by London studio Boxx Creative to maximise the space provided by its poorly organised floorplan.
Family suites now house roomy single and double bunk beds, designed to prove that compact living doesn’t mean sacrificing comfort or taste.
Find out more about the Albergo Miramonti hotel ›
Photo is by Bruce DamonteMylla Hytte, Norway, by Mork-Ulnes Architects
Pinewood lines both the interior and exterior of this home, which overlooks a lake in the Nordmarka woodland north of Oslo and was designed to resemble a traditional Norwegian “hytte” cabin.
The same plywood used to panel the walls and ceilings also forms a number of built-in furniture pieces, including a bunk bed for the family’s two children as well as benches, shelves and a dining table.
Find out more about Mylla Hytte ›
Photo is by Stephen Kent JohnsonOne Manhattan Square apartment, USA, by Jamie Bush
American designer Jamie Bush made bold and liberal use of colour to help liven up an off-the-shelf bunk bed from Casa Kids in this mustard-hued room.
This helps the interior blend in with the rest of the apartment and its sculptural 1970s furnishings, set on the 60th floor of the luxury residential skyscraper One Manhattan Square on the Lower East Side.
Find out more about One Manhattan Square apartment ›
Photo is by Felipe UgaldeBL1 and BL2, Chile, by Umwelt
Chilean studio Umwelt designed this home with expansive windows for a young family that just moved from Santiago to the beach town of Cáhuil in order to help bring them closer to nature.
The kid’s room houses a three-tiered bunk bed that looks out over the rolling countryside, while other rooms offer sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean.
Find out more about BL1 and BL2 ›
Photo is by French + TyeRoom For One More, UK, by Studio Ben Allen
In order to add an extra bedroom to the beloved flat of a growing family in the Barbican estate in London, Studio Ben Allen inserted a full-height timber volume at the centre of the plan. This houses an office area with a fold-out desk on one side and a bunk bed on the other.
The new kid’s bedroom can be separated from the rest of the apartment using a sliding door, and the teal-coloured steps leading up to its bed can be pushed back to form another small desk for doing homework.
Find out more about Room For One More ›
Photo is by Olivier-Martin GambierHouse for a Photographer, France, by Alireza Razavi
All of the floor space in this kid’s room is designated for playing, as double-height ceilings allow the sleeping area to be raised up in the form of an oversized loft bed for two.
Architect Alireza Razavi also installed a similar mezzanine level over the home’s dining area that houses a post-editing room for the owner, who is a professional photographer.
Find out more about House for a Photographer ›
Photo is by Jeff CateHudson Woods home, USA, by Magdalena Keck
New York interior designer Magdalena Keck recruited a cast of American makers and artisans to design custom furniture pieces for this holiday home in the Catskill Mountains.
Among them is a chunky timber bunk bed that blends in with the wood-panelled walls and pays homage to the property’s natural setting.
Find out more about Hudson Woods home ›
Photo is by Maxime BrouilletFahouse, Canada, by Jean Verville
Jean Verville nestled a double-width loft bed inside the steep gable of this cottage, set in a forest near Quebec.
Wooden ceiling beams are left exposed and matched to the light wooden bed and the floor, which stand in stark contrast to the home’s blackened steel cladding.
Find out more about Fahouse ›
This is the latest in our series of lookbooks, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing kitchens with social seating nooks, statement skylights and living rooms with sculptural furniture.

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