Good Toddler/kid's Bed

Hi, I'm L., mother of Rose (4) and Leon (2). My husband and I took to the floor on Japanese futons years ago and love them so much-- and since the kids came we've just expanded up and out. We all sleep in a family bed together. The standard size mattress we use is slightly larger than a twin. We've got six of these mattresses. Two up and three across. They're super comfortable and when we have guests, we simply pull some off of our pile. They only cost about $120 each and come in Navy blue or black. Plus they fold up nicely into mini couches. We got them in Japantown at the little furniture/home accessory shop on the ground floor, street side on Sutter and Webster. Sorry forgot the name,but it's the only shop on that side (same as the Kabuki theatre side). As you enter it's right by the staircase and sticker booths. They aren't usually prominently displayed so you'll have to ask about them. Good luck!

While this doesn't have shelves, it's only $169 (plus the mattress) and we love it. It is the width of a twin bed, very low to the ground and can be set at three lengths, Toddler, mid, and standard twin. Ikea even sells a three part mattress for it :) It is the child's Leksvik extendable bed.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S39847516

My husband has this old futon, which is so very comfortable. We had it in my daughter's room as a couch when she was in a crib -- we used it then for nursing, lullabies, and stories. When she turned two, we opened it up into a bed, took out the crib, and now she uses it as a big girl bed. It's a double, so I can lie down with her if necessary (midnight coughing spells, etc.) and it's a nice cozy spot to sit and read bedtime stories. It's only about 15 inches off the ground and there's room for shallow storage items under it. We love it! So I'd suggest something similar for your little one.

K. in EC

Funny that you posted this. I was in the same boat as you until yesterday. We just bought a full size bed for our 3 year old at Mancini's Sleepworld. It was $349 ($380 with tax) and comes with a free bed frame and mattress pad and the best part is that they deliver and set it up for free. We bought the Sleepworld brand which is made by Cannon. (I think they make towels). The twin was about $50 cheaper. (We think Ikea is crappy furniture - we found this out from experience.) It is better to pay a little more than to buy furniture that will break over time.
Hope this helps.

Hi.
There's a great bed at IKEA called Vikare which was unfortunately out-of-stock the couple of times we went to try to buy one.

You can get a guard rail for it, also named Vikare). The cool thing is that the mattress is in 3 pieces and both the head and foot of the bed and mattress can be folded up when the kid is little and then one or both folded down as your kid gets bigger. With both folded down it's a twin size. The name of the mattress is Sultan Dromma.

The bed frame is $119, rail is $10 and mattresss is $119, so it fits your budget.

Good luck!
K.