Maxtrix Kids Playhouse Loft Bed with Tent and Slide

Notes

How do you make a perfect playhouse? Well, you start with the Low / Easy Rider loft bed from Maxtrix Kids (where do they get these names?) -- in case you're wondering about the difference, the Low Rider comes with the straight ladder, and the Easy Rider with the angled one. Then you lift the bed off the floor just enough to create a fabulous play space underneath -- perfect for reading, playing games, or just daydreaming -- yet with the mattress still low enough so as to make it suitable for smaller kids too without setting off any safety concerns. Of course, the playground underneath the bed is not nearly as much fun if it isn't curtained off, so that's pretty much mandatory. Then you add the tent that mounts on top of bed and makes the structure look like a regular little house. The final ingredient is the slide; perhaps not an obligatory component, but it does bring in oh so much fun.

The curtain and tent are made of 100% cotton and are detailed with doors and windows that actually open and close. They are attached with hook and loop tape for easy on and off and come in multiple color combinations. The images below (click on thumbnails to enlarge) show most of the available solutions. Note that only the under bed curtains are depicted (no tent), but for the purpose of choosing color that should do fine.

All wooden parts (loft bed plus tent) are made of solid birch hardwood, which bodes well for their durability. In addition, Maxtrix offers a 5 year limited warranty for factory related defects (materials and workmanship).

Maxtrix pays special attention to safety: their products meet all mandatory and voluntary regulations and even exceed some of them, such as the safety rails height and the bed weight limit.

All Maxtrix's loft beds for kids come with two types of ladders: the straight and the angled. The straight ladder takes less space, so it might be a better option for smaller rooms. It also doesn't get in the way when cleaning takes place and kids won't trip over it when running around. The angled ladder, on the other hand, offers a more comfortable and easier climb to the top bed, but at a cost of taking up more space. In addition, it comes with a sturdy metal handrail which is a rather unique extra safety measure. It is altogether a somewhat fancier option, so it's not a surprise that it also costs a bit more. Note that both types of ladders feature extra wide grooved steps for a safe and comfortable access to the loft bed, and can be mounted on either side of the structure. Click on thumbnails below to check them out.

As is the case with all Maxtrix beds, the Low Rider and Easy Rider loft beds come as part of Maxtrix's adaptable room building system. How does that work? Thanks to the innovative ROCK LOCK™ leg extensions, a regular bed can be converted into a Low, Mid, High Loft or Bunk Bed. Bed conversions are easy and safe as Maxtrix's system compresses the leg extensions onto the bed legs, via a steel bolt, and includes set screws that wedge themselves into the bolt opening -- the result should be a rock solid connection.

But bed conversion is not where the customization aptitude of this system ends; rather, it merely opens up the myriad of possibilities. For example, let's say you've started your journey with a day bed for a toddler. As the child grows so do his/hers needs and wants and in a couple of years you find that lifting the bed into a low loft version -- which is done easily and inexpensively just by adding the extension legs and ladder -- makes a lot of sense; the kid can handle a low loft by now and the gained space below the bed is oh so much fun, especially if curtained off. You may even decide to increase the fun factor by adding a tent or a castle add-on, perhaps a slide and, why not, the tower veil to complete the picture. Then in a couple of more years the school starts and priorities change again. The underbed curtains go off and are replaced by a roll-in student desk and storage drawers to hold all that school stuff and additional clothes for a budding student. And maybe, just maybe, you'll want to lift the bed a little higher still, into a mid loft or even a high loft to be able to fit even more stuff underneath. Or, in case life decides to throw you a curve ball and presents you with another (unplanned) offspring, that space will come as a godsend to place another bed in. So, as you see, this system truly does grow with your -- and your children's -- needs.