A Bunk Bed for My Superheroes

UPDATE

Based on some excellent feedback, I’ve made some changes to the design. The front rail was a bit troublesome from both a design and stability perspective. I’ve replaced it with 1-1/4″ tube steel posts extending from the head and foot of the top bunk, with angles that mimic the back “X”.

What do you think of the changes?

Nightcrawler

With four kids and only three bedrooms, not counting the master, we knew early on that someone was going to have to ‘double up.’ Now that they’re ages five and three, we decided that they were ready. So, how to fit two young boys into a 11′ x 10′ room? Bunk beds!

Gambit

I wanted something that was fun and would captures the boy’s imagination while maintaining a sense of style and taste that could last for years. My boys followed what I assume to be a fairly common progression. First there was Spider-Man. And while he is still a favorite, through the 80’s “Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends” they were introduced to Iceman and ultimately some of the other X-men. The instant Nathan saw Wolverine, he was hooked. So an X-Men-inspired design would definitely be a hit.

Professor X

For inspiration the wife and I sat down to one of the modern X-Men movies. The actual inspiration for the design didn’t arrive until the very last scene with Patrick Stewart seated in his high-tech wheel chair in the wood paneled school. Seemed like a great idea to marry the high-tech curvy and angular lines of the chair with the old-world style frame and panel. So I sat down with SketchUp and began drafting out a plan.

Beast or Dazzler?

And here’s the completed design. You be the judge…beast or dazzler?

The completed bed design

A view from the front

Side view off drawers and X-panel