Yesterday, I got inspired. Ok, I was inspired for a while already, but yesterday my inspiration got renewed.
I decided to make a loft bed for my kids.
You see, they have a teeny tiny bedroom, as part of our teeny tiny house. Floor space and storage space is very minimal in my home, and especially in the boy's bedroom. No room really to play on the floor because it was all taken up by mattresses. We wanted to get the mattresses off the floor and make the bed into a loft, allowing there to be floor space for storage and playing beneath the bed.
Yesterday I drew up plans, today I went to the hardware store and bought the supplies, and then Mike and I spent all day building the bed. We're exhausted!
I think the bed looks terrific! The boys love it as well!
My boys like sharing a bed, so they'll be sleeping together on the top bunk.
However, since we know that at some point they will grow out of that, and will want their own beds, we made the bed in such a way that we can fit another mattress underneath, kind of like a bunk bed. This'll also give us place for guests.
But since floor space is at a premium in our home, we don't want to keep that mattress there all the time, even when it won't be used. So we'll be storing it on its side under there, making more room on the floor for when both mattresses aren't being used.
I decided to make a loft bed for my kids.
You see, they have a teeny tiny bedroom, as part of our teeny tiny house. Floor space and storage space is very minimal in my home, and especially in the boy's bedroom. No room really to play on the floor because it was all taken up by mattresses. We wanted to get the mattresses off the floor and make the bed into a loft, allowing there to be floor space for storage and playing beneath the bed.
Yesterday I drew up plans, today I went to the hardware store and bought the supplies, and then Mike and I spent all day building the bed. We're exhausted!
I think the bed looks terrific! The boys love it as well!
My boys like sharing a bed, so they'll be sleeping together on the top bunk.
However, since we know that at some point they will grow out of that, and will want their own beds, we made the bed in such a way that we can fit another mattress underneath, kind of like a bunk bed. This'll also give us place for guests.
But since floor space is at a premium in our home, we don't want to keep that mattress there all the time, even when it won't be used. So we'll be storing it on its side under there, making more room on the floor for when both mattresses aren't being used.
But wait- the project isn't finished yet!
We have more plans, to make this bed even more fun for the kids, and make it a great playspace!
That, though, will have to wait for another day. This was enough work for one day!
Another day I'll share the building plans for the bed, instructions on how to build it, and step by step pics that I took as we built it.
Have you ever built your own furniture? What was it?
Do you have a bunk bed or a loft bed in your home? If you live in a small space, what do you do to save floor space?
Anyone else's kids insist on sleeping with each other?
Tags
building
crafts
DIY
extreme frugality
frugal strategies
husband
kids
made from scratch
minimizing
projects
tiny home
I love it. Your style is a lot like the bunks we bought for the kids many years ago. They took a beating and were used in many configurations. Before we bought those bunks, in a prior apartment we had no room for guests either so we had a mattress on its side in the baby's tiny bedroom. It worked just fine for that time. I bet your boys are thrilled with their new bedroom arrangement!
ReplyDeleteThanks! This also reminds me a bit of the bunk bed I had when I was a kid.
DeleteYou have no idea how thrilled the boys are- they brought over the whole neighborhood today to check out their "bunk bed", and were asking over and over and over "is it bedtime yet?!?!?"
That's awesome! Really beautiful, well done. We have a loft bed with a closet and desk underneath, all attached. We got it for really really cheap including the mattress. It was the show model of the store. The bedroom it's in is also tiny and it frees up so much space!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I appreciate it! Loft beds are totally cool! I was thinking of building a book shelf underneath, but changed my mind and opted for making it open so there is room to lay down that mattress when needed...
DeleteHow much did the wood cost? Did you get it pre cut to size?
ReplyDeleteWhere I live, wood is very very expensive. The wood and everything cost around 175 dollars. But checking out the prices at home depot, it would cost less than 50 dollars for the needed wood.
DeleteWe cut the wood, didn't get it precut.
I am in awe of your creativity, energy and abilities. Great job.
ReplyDeleteRelated, I know your space is quite small. This fall my husband and I are going on the first leg of our retirement plan. We will be living in the UK on a canal boat for the next 2 to 3 years. We will have about 250 square feet of living space and all the essential spaces. However, storage will be an issue as well as keeping things organized so it doesn't always look cluttered and even smaller. Any ideas you would like to share? Oh, BTW, we need to do this on the cheap since we can't bring the things used home with us at the end. Thanks. and congratulations again on a job well done.
My only basic tip is declutter like mad, and use vertical spaces for storage.
DeleteGreat job! It looks awesome!
ReplyDeleteThank you Nicole!
DeleteIf you built up the sides a little taller on the top you could just use two mattresses on the top and have even more room on the floor. They look great btw.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what you mean by that, having two mattresses on the top- do you mean have two levels of beds, both well off the ground? The ceiling in the room is VERY low, as it is the top is not far from the ceiling- there isn't room for yet another bed on top.
DeleteThanks!
I think s/he means that you could store the second mattress under the first one and give the boys as extra comfy bed. That'll only work if the two mattresses are the same size, of course.
DeleteI think s/he means just place one mattress directly on top of the other, to store the extra one there. It might make the bed quite soft, and will only work if the mattresses are basically the same size.
DeleteIf she means that, its not an option. We have two mattresses up there- one is 75 cm wide, and one is 1 meter wide, and the 1 meter wide one blocks the door, but the 75 cm one doesnt. Which is why we made the narrower one on top, and the wider one at the bottom that can be picked up to make room.
DeleteI wonder, what kind of joints did you use to secure the base of the bed to the posts? If they are just nailed on it could be very dangerous.
ReplyDeleteNo nails in this. It's all screwed with thick, long screws. We also used some heavy thick metal joints, which i'll share in the post detailing how we made it.
DeleteWe put a loft bed in my daughters small bedroom and it made all the difference. She loves all the floor space to play. You did a great job building the bed. Looks great!
ReplyDeleteDo you have any pictures to share?
Deleteyou can put the mattress vertically betweem the wall and bed
ReplyDeleteThat's really nice! I also had a loft bed for my son, to give him space for play and a desk underneath. Wow, I can't believe how expensive the wood was - brutal! I'm a nanny to 22-month-old triplets who have just moved from cribs to beds. I recommended loft beds to their parents but they opted for regular ones. Now we have basically lost the entire room for play space - it's wall-to-wall beds! Sigh...
ReplyDeleteI have 1 girl and 2 boys ages 8, 6 and 3 sharing a small room. They have a bunk bed with a third mattress that we store under the bottom bunk during the day and slide out at night. They don't usually end up sleeping in their own beds, but they like to have their personal space when they want it. Especially my 8 year old girl. Years ago, I had four little ones ages 2, 2, 3, and 4. They slept crosswise on a full-sized futon, they loved it
ReplyDelete