Sharing a bedroom is a childhood staple in many homes and I grew up sharing with my sister. While we didn’t always like it, I do think it helped us work through our issues since neither one of us had anywhere else to go. Plus, let’s face it. When it’s storming and scary, nobody wants to be sleeping alone! Now that I’m a mom, I actually love the fact that our kids share bedrooms. We have a “girls room” and a “boys room”. But, with five of our own kiddos and a foster baby in the home, we need to use our space wisely. One way to do that is with the Simmons Tristan Bunk Bed from Big Lots.
Sending a big Thank you to Big Lots for this awesome Tristan Bunk Bed!
When scouring the Big Lots website, I came across the Simmons Tristan Bunk Bed. I was immediately drawn to the deep chocolate color, as I thought it would go nicely in our boys’ room. Since this particular product is available in stores only, we loaded up and drove a few towns over to Big Lots. After entering the store, we headed to the back where there was a huge furniture display. I was surprised because I hadn’t realized that they offered such a great selection! Off to one side, we located the Tristan Bunk Bed and a worker quickly helped us get one loaded onto a cart.
As we stood there looking around, we noticed the Zeopedic Classic 10″ Twin Gel-Infused Memory Foam Mattress-In-A-Box. It was also on display and when we sat down, it felt so nice! Since we were now going to be one mattress short in the boys’ room, we decided to go ahead and purchase this mattress since we were already at the store anyway. So now we had some majorly excited boys on our hands but they’d have to wait till the following day when my husband had time to assemble everything!
After un-boxing all the pieces, my husband and the boys got busy working. Strangely, he actually consulted the instructions before beginning! When I questioned that, he said there were enough pieces that he figured he better follow along. Lol.
The directions included lots of clear pictures along with a few words which made assembly really easy, skill wise. Every piece was put together correct on the very first try and even though it took a little time, a bed was taking shape!
The only tool needed that wasn’t included was a screw driver. While we did use a manual one, it took enough muscle that I wouldn’t have been able to get the screws in that held the slats down. So we recommend using a battery powered one if you have it. One nice feature was that the slats were connected together with a strap so we just had to unroll before securing down.
After the bottom bunk was done, the boys got to work on the top. The top was a bit harder since it includes the railing system but they just took it step by step with no issues. Once complete, we lifted and set the top bunk onto the pegs to secure it on the bottom. This step seemed daunting but also went well.
After securing the top slats, the final step was to hang the ladder. I have to say that I love the space saving feature of having the ladder attached to the bed instead of jutting out at an angle! While it makes it a little more challenging for me to make the vertical climb, the extra space it saves is totally worth it.
In total, the assembly time came in to just over 3 hours. Again, it wasn’t hard, just time consuming putting all the pieces together. Now, the excitement was too hard to contain and the kids had to check their new bed out before we could even move a mattress onto the top bunk!
Now, it was time to unbox the Zeopedic Classic 10″ Twin Gel-Infused Memory Foam Mattress-In-A-Box. It’s hard to believe that a twin sized mattress could actually be in that box, although it was definitely heavy enough. (Thankfully, the box was actually on wheels for moving!) As we opened, we saw that the mattress was actually vacuum sealed in the bag. They did include a cutting tool to free it though. As soon as a slit was made, the mattress took shape.
While we had originally purchased the mattress to go on the Simmons Tristan Bunk Bed, it just wouldn’t fit. So our 9 year old son happily accepted it on his bed instead! Every morning since we got it, he makes sure to tell us how nice it is! My husband has even taken a couple naps on the new mattress to give it a try and really likes it too.
All in all, we love the selection available at Big Lots. So many great things from furniture to decor, food, toys, and more. We love both the Bunk Bed as well as the mattress and you can also head over to my Fall Decor Review to see some more great items they offer too.
Buy It: Head over to Big Lots to see for yourself the great selection of products they offer or to locate the store nearest you. The Simmons Tristan Bunk Bed currently sells for $299.99 and the Zeopedic Classic 10″ Twin for $239.99.
Connect: Don’t forget to like Big Lots on Facebook and follow them on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest for all the latest news and promotions.
I’m a city girl turned country by my awesome husband and we have three busy boys and two darling daughters. I love spending time with my family, reading Karen Kingsbury novels, and catching up with friends while our kiddos have play dates. I’m blessed beyond measure and can’t wait to see what God has in store.
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This post currently has 12 responses.
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kathy downey
I really like the bed,sleeps two and takes little room! Great review thanks !
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ellen beck
Thats a nice looking set of bunk beds! Oh how I miss our Big Loys store! We had one here and they moved. I never understood why as they had a great business and everyone loved the prices. I am hoping one day they come back. Such great values. I bet the kids love their new beds!!
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Jeanine Carlson
I haven’t bought much at Big lots but this bed was a great deal. Thanks for reviewing!
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I really likke how sturdy these beds look. They have plenty of slats on the bottoms so there isnt the ‘sag’ from beds not made as well. It looks like they went to gether easily. Plus, they look terrific.
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Dotty J Boucher
This is such a nice set, I love the color you chose and that mattress, how amazing is that, I love that you don’t need a crane any more to bring a mattress into the home and love how easy this one was to set up.
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Lara Blue
Awesome review. Thanks, I am considering the mattress 😉
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Kathy
Curious why the mattress wouldn’t fit on the bunk. Is it too thick or larger then a normal twin or?? Thanks
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It was just a little too wide. We did get it to fit in a different bunkbed we have that is just a little bigger but we still had to cram it in.
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Adrienne Nelson
We bought the zeopedic bed in a box at Big Lots in Richlands, VA. After sleeping on it for a couple of nights my husband developed a very extensive red raised rash (hives) on is back and chest. Also thought it may be the MyPillow we bought him. We checked reviews for the pillow and found others had the same problem. We threw the pillow away(Cost was $50) But the rash got worse because we had the Zeopedic bed which was comfortable for him but he was suffering with the widespread rash, sinus and chest congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breathe. I took my receipt back to Big Lots and my husband actually showed the salesperson the horrible rash on his upper chest. She was very helpful and gave us a refund of our money. Because of her help, we bought another Serta mattress to replace the memory foam bed in a box. Big Lots was very helpful, but please do not buy the bed in a box for many people are developing allergic reactions to these memeory foam beds. Go online a research all the negative reviews. The beds release 61+ toxic chemicals including formaldehyde. Be aware!
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Tracy daCosta
Is there any chance you still have the instructions for this bunk bed set that you could share with me?
Big Lots is a good place to find furniture for a good deal. I like how you showed how many cross members there were to the bottom of the beds. I like how it has good support. Thanks for the great review.