A children's room in Hong Kong: bed, desk and floor to play on

Hong Kong children's rooms are often the smallest bedroom in a small flat, and they need to do three demanding jobs: sleep, study and play. Freestanding furniture can usually manage two.

Lift the bed, keep the floor

A raised bed at 1500mm with a desk and shelving beneath returns the entire footprint of the bed as usable floor. We build the structure into the wall studs or floor, not as a free-standing bunk, so there is no sway.

Design the desk for the actual homework

A 1200 x 600mm surface at the right height for the child now, on a carcass drilled to be raised twice as they grow, lasts from primary through secondary.

Storage at child height

Everything a child is expected to tidy away should be reachable from the floor. Deep, light drawers at the base, with the adult storage above.

Safe edges and safe finishes

All exposed corners are radiused, and we finish with a low-VOC hardwax oil that is safe once cured — worth specifying in a small, air-conditioned room.

Build it to be reconfigured

The same carcass is designed so the bed platform can be lowered and the desk widened when the child is fifteen, rather than replaced.