Your child is ready for a bunk bed or a high bed. The mattress, the frame and the colour are easy to picture. Then comes a smaller question that matters more than most people expect: how will your child get up there, and down again, every single day?
With LIFETIME you can choose between a ladder and a staircase. Neither is "better" in general. The right choice depends on your child, your room and how you use the bed. Here is how to think it through.
The ladder: compact, classic and playful
A ladder is the most space-saving way to reach the top bunk. It sits close to the bed, leaves more floor free in the room, and gives the bed its classic, playful look.
LIFETIME offers a straight ladder for the bunk beds and high sleeper beds in the Original collection. It is the most compact way up, and it keeps the look of the bed simple and clean.
On the family bunk beds, 90/120x200 cm and 90/140x200 cm, where the lower bunk is wider, the ladder is slanted, depending on how wide the lower bunk is.
A ladder is a good fit if:
- the room is small or the floor space is tight
- you want a clean, simple look
- your child is confident climbing and the bed is mostly for them
The staircase: wider steps and room for storage
A staircase gives a wider, more stable step to stand on, and it is often the choice when a child is climbing up and down a lot, whether for play, bedtime stories or at night.
The LIFETIME staircase is more than a way up. It is available for the mid sleeper bed 128 cm, the high sleeper bed 152 cm, and the high sleeper bed 177 cm and bunk beds. The stair elements combine access to the bed with storage and a bookcase, and the steps have soft-close closures and an opening at the front, designed to help protect small hands from pinching. It is a way to give toys, books and bedding a place of their own, right where they are needed.
A staircase is a good fit if:
- you want built-in storage and fewer things on the floor
- you want a sturdier, more comfortable way up and down
- the bed will be used by different children or by friends on sleepovers
- you have the room for it, since a staircase takes more floor space than a ladder
Four questions to ask before you choose
- How much space do you have? Measure the floor around the bed. A staircase needs more room than a ladder.
- How old is your child, and how confident are they? Always follow the age guidance in the product instructions for the top bunk (you can read more about safety and certifications), and talk to your child about how to use the bed safely.
- Do you need extra storage? If the room is short on it, the staircase can do double duty.
- What look do you want? Both options are made to fit the bed and its design. A ladder feels light and playful, a staircase feels more like a piece of furniture.
Built to grow, built to be changed
A LIFETIME bed is designed to grow with your child, and the same thinking applies here. Beds in the Original collection are modular, and you can rebuild your LIFETIME bed over time, so the access to the bed is not a decision you have to get perfect on day one. As your child grows, and as the room and the family change, the bed can change with them. That is the idea behind buying fewer things that last longer.
Not sure? Start with the room
If you are still undecided, begin with the floor plan (our 3D room planner can help) and the daily routine: where will the bed stand, who will climb it, and what does the room need besides sleep? The answer to that is usually the answer to stairs or ladder.
Explore the options:
