I would recommend a higher bed whether ensemble or any style of base with top mattress or pillow top. I have had serious spinal injuries since 25 (I'm now 40) I would advise any bed reaching around 70cm in height regardless off style. There are a few things that I would advise, overall height around 70cm or a little more, most important to consider is comfort. Do not worry about aesthetics when choosing bed as your sleep is more important to your overall health. So if you can afford the more comfortable bed go for it. As for putting on sheets etc, the weight off mattresses is not really a big deal as it is your sleep comfort that is important. With pillow top mattress with a fitted sheet needing a 45cm fitted sheet are easy to find and purchase from same place bed is purchased. In Australia all bed sheet supplies are available for pillow top with 45cm drop fitted. Percale last longer and are around $100 per set and 1000 thread count. Spotlight have great sales and choices as well as Pillow Talk. I have found Adair's to be quite expensive in comparison but that is up to you to decide. I hope you have many a restful nights sleep. But do not worry about weight of mattress as you need your sleep to live healthy and it is an investment for around ten years so how it looks and weight of mattress should be last on list. Designers may disagree, but our bedrooms are normally our sanctuaries and it is rather easy to make any bed style work for you and decorate to your style.

Luke, This is a hard poll Although I voted timber as we have an amazing hardwood sleigh bed that we love, iron beds can look sensational too!!! I wouldn't hesitate to choose beds for our spare rooms when my home is finished, that combine both features with solid timber and strong steel set into some sort of design!!!

Didn't need to be fixed end to end, they are just fixed to the same uprights as the decking on the front (leaving a gap the width of the upright in between the weatherboard and the decking face). I can take some photos if you'd like. The best tips I can give is to string line your uprights for both the straight line AND the height. Also, don't use the same blades and drills to cut the weatherboard as you do for the wood... Weatherboard needs diamond blade bits as we later found out (after ruining our saw blade and drill bits).

It probably depends on where you live. If there are lots of families then i think the 4 beds would be the preference, 3 brms are a lot more common so often 4 commands a premium. An ensuite is always desirable but i would probably just look at converting the linen into another toilet. And create built in storage in all the beds