Cabin Beds 101

When looking at different sleep options, comfort and durability are of the most importance. But many times you also need a particular bed to do double-duty; maybe also serving as a storage place, or a work center for a child’s room. Especially if you are living in a smaller home, apartment, or if you have two or more kids sharing a room, the size of bed can be a very important factor in choosing a piece of bedding furniture.

When doing your shopping for a “cabin bed”, make sure the sales person you are talking with understands exactly what you are looking for. Many people who do not have much experience in the bed model industry will tell you there is no difference between a bunk bed and cabin bed, but they are wrong. There are many distinct differences between bunk beds, cabin beds, cabin loft beds, cabin bunk beds and log cabin beds.

Confused yet? I hope not too much to keep reading.

There can be several different features between cabin beds and bunk beds, and these will vary based on designer and model. However the most definite contrast between these two types of popular beds is size. For the most part cabin beds are not necessarily built with smaller bedrooms in mind. While a decent cabin bed or even cabin bunk bed may fit your needs, they are not always the smallest option available for bedrooms.

Most cabin beds include secondary goals in addition to being a place to sleep. Many times a large workspace will be found built into a cabin bed, as well as drawers and cupboards for storage. Some cabin beds will even have stairs - that double as drawers - leading to a top bunk instead of a ladder. There are also many cabin bunk beds that have a full size mattress for greater comfort for adults.

On the other hand bunk beds are almost always in the single mattress size, with very little, or no extra storage included. The original bunk bed was designed to save as much floor space as possible, which means keeping the unit as tight as possible in both width and length was paramount.

Qualifying a potential bed for your child as a cabin bed can mean taking your time to learn more about the bed in question.  As a rule, children’s cabin beds will include rails around the actual bed surface for safety.  This will be especially true if the bed surface is at an elevated level due to activity or storage space below.

When it comes to kids beds, many companies will feel the ability to decrease the building standards they use, making the bed weaker than the adults beds the same company may release.  We feel this is a mistake and strongly encourage you to ask about weight limits for any cabin bed you may consider.  The world’s best quality beds – kids or adults – are all built to hold up to and above five-hundred pounds.  Having a quality designed kids cabin bed is the most fun when Mom and Dad can play on it too.

The area of cabin bunk beds is an interesting one as many of the differences between true bunk beds and cabin beds can become blurred.  Again, bunk beds are designed to save space, while cabin beds usually focus more on a total-bed and storage solution.  When you start looking at cabin bunk beds, you may be able to find both.

In keeping with this page’s overall theme of cabin beds, we want you to also be aware of the existence of larger bunk beds designed with adults in mind.  In fact, with a little dedicated searching, you can find three-level cabin beds that all feature full size mattresses.

A cabin loft bed can be defined as an elevated bed that includes some sort of work, play or storage space beneath it. Cabin loft beds are the most popular custom-built beds in the world because of the unique spaces they reside in. Cabin loft beds are very popular in theme bedrooms for smaller children as they can be a central part of the decorative look of the room. We have seen many high-end bed designers such as Sweet Dream Beds design cabin loft beds that resemble castles, sports fields, tree houses, log cabins and more.

But if you aren’t looking to spend several hundreds or thousands of dollars, there are also many cabin loft beds available in standard furniture stores. In our neighborhood we were able to find cabin loft beds with desks, cupboards, drawers and even built in bookshelves available for under a thousand dollars.  Almost all cabin beds come in a twin bed mattress size.

As is the case with cabin bunk beds, truly defining what you mean by “log cabin beds” is important in your search and shopping decision.  Many times people will be looking for a cabin bed, made with decorative logs, but be directed towards beds designed for log cabins.  See the difference?

Many bed retailers around the country, and world, can offer you several options in cabin beds with alog-cabin style.  When searching for the correct bed for you, make sure your dealer shows you all available beds from all manufacturers, not just models available in store.  Don’t be afraid to write down the names of cabin bed manufacturers and do research online for yourself.