You wake up in a cold sweat, chest heaving like the breath is leaving you at 80 miles an hour. Was it a dream? No, you decide. You realize that in the fragile state of your subconscious that a pressing matter was weighing on your psyche that made itself known in the form of a rather sudden awakening. What’s the matter? you ask. A very good question, indeed. The matter weighing on your conscience is the ever-shrinking free space that is the horror of your room. 

Every day, we sleep, wake, prepare, leave, return, prepare, then sleep once more. This all takes place in the confines of our home, more specifically, our bedrooms. I personally spend a good portion of my time within my feather-light blue walls, which prevents the aforementioned mental avalanche and helps to create an ideal environment for a functional work and rest space. It isn’t the particular hue of drywall that conducts this, however. It is the double-decker structure of work-play equilibrium that sits within its borders: my loft bed.

Her former life as a bunk bed has not been forgotten. She bears the memories of her lower level in the scars of her four legs. The removal of it was an executive decision, indeed. I remember the day my friend bestowed her upon me. It was the day the walls of my room space were released into a new dimension: upwards. 

With a new bunk bed comes new opportunities for storage customization. You may take the mattress off the top and store anything you please in its place. There are endless possibilities! No more are the anxieties that claim you’re “out of room.” We live in the now — a Marie Kondo-future that is swimming with new ways to lessen the load of “stuff” in your home. If you choose to keep your bed above ground, as I did, (which is handy in case of flooding) it is equally as beneficial. Underneath, you may place items of magnitude that would’ve otherwise take up precious square footage in other areas of your room like a desk, vanity, or bookshelf. If you worry of hitting your head, know that an adjustable chair is something you may want to invest in. 

As you recover from the frightful awakening, you ready yourself for the day. Eating a bowl of dry oats, you contemplate: Removing an entire layer of bed structure would be life-changing, but even after my storage needs are met, it won’t change the problem of my barren circle of friends. In response to this, I, your mentor, would explain to you that A) If you have nothing to create your circle with, it is not a circle, it is nothing; you have no friends and B) believe it or not, a bunk bed can fix that!

In the setting of two mattresses, two buddies are able to sleep soundly knowing their friend is within a meter of their breathing space, a fact I find can be reassuring, especially to those leaning on the lonely side, i.e. yourself. It is also a beautiful thing that you can rest together, but have your own space to pillow-flip, blanket-twist, and drool all you please. That’s a tremendously helpful notion! But how will I get a friend to bunk with me? you quander. If you have siblings, let them sleep there! There is precious sibling bonding to be had. If you are a lonely child with no fellow offspring in sight, it is even more unfortunate, for you have zero friends nor built-in friends (aka siblings). Under these circumstances, it is deemed appropriate to kidnap a willing friend-to-be to accompany you on your bunk bed journey.

Bearing all these benefits in mind, you can be on your merry way towards whatever endeavor your day beholds while also living in the enlightenment that a bunk bed provides your existence. It was a pleasure.