Since moving into our house I haven’t been happy with the boys bunk beds. I didn’t like how awkward it was to crawl up and snuggle with Jack and I was always scared of someone falling off the ladder. So we split the beds into two twins which left them no room to play.
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When we got new bedroom carpet a few weeks ago, we had to disassemble the beds to move them out. That’s when I came up with the idea to build the boys the perfect bed. After years swooning over all the plans on Ana White’s blog and reading her book “The Handbuilt Home” this was the perfect opportunity to try our hand at some furniture building. Thankfully when I cautiously presented the plans for the Jr. Loft Bed to Matt he was even on board! So we sold the old beds and prepared for our biggest project to date: The DIY Kids Loft Bunk Bed with Stairs
Although nothing about it was difficult, it was time consuming, and consumed the greater part of two weekends. We followed the plans on Ana White’s blog pretty close, other than narrowing up the stairs by a few inches due to a furnace vent that would have been in the way. We bought all of our boards at Menards which came in just under $100 including the large piece of plywood. I spent chunks of time throughout the week getting all of the boards sanded. Then we spent a Saturday getting all the boards cut to the proper size. Then it was a week full of giving all the wood 2 coats of Bulls Eye primer and a top coat of high gloss cabinet paint.
The boys were SO excited the whole time we were building it and love it. Masey calls the whole bed his “top bunk”, even though he sleeps on the bottom. They also have dubbed the area under the platform the “hideout” and think they are invisible when they are hiding in there.
I installed Ikea Kramare lights next to each of their beds to use as booklamps.
I also installed the Ikea Kvartal track system around the inside of the bottom bunk. I used these clips from Ace to hang these Ikea curtains that I altered.
One convenient coincidence was that the boys lego play tray fits perfectly under their stairs!
I think I may revive the gutter bookshelves and put one next to each of their beds, but I’m still contemplating that one! For now I’m just happy that they are safe, they have room to play, and there’s room for Matt and I to snuggle them both every night.
I also LOVE how great their Pirate Quilts that I made them look with these curtains!
If you want to see how to make the quilts click here:
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Virginia says
May 17, 2013 at 12:07 pmToo stinkin’ cute! So are your boys! The bed looks like so much fun! I love the curtain fabric, and those quilts are to die for, LOVE IT ALL!
Jessica McGurn says
May 29, 2013 at 4:00 amThanks so much!!! It was all a lot of work but it is so worth it to see their joy!
DesignGeek says
May 20, 2013 at 7:32 pmMy husband and I have been contemplating something like this for our boys’ first bunk bed. I really like your version and I think I will have to show this to him. Thanks!
Jessica McGurn says
May 29, 2013 at 4:01 amI totally recommend any of Ana White’s plans. Let me know if you end up doing it!
Monica Pruett says
May 24, 2013 at 2:28 pmI think we may do something similar when our boys are older. 🙂 Pinned this! I think my MOPS friends would love this! Join us for Family Fun Friday. Share your posts with 100+ bloggers and 400+ readers. If you have time, please link this at:
http://happyandblessedhome.com/category/family-fun/
Thanks!
Monica
Inspired by you says
May 25, 2013 at 4:29 amI think my daughter would love something like this. It looks great!
Jessica McGurn says
May 29, 2013 at 4:02 amThanks so much, my boys are loving it! I contemplated adding a slide, but that might have resulted in more playing than sleeping!
Jennie Larsen says
May 27, 2013 at 10:40 pmso very cute. I love it. Jen
Jessica McGurn says
May 29, 2013 at 4:02 amThanks a ton for stopping by!
Carrie Davis says
May 30, 2013 at 4:12 pmThis is so cute! What a great way to add more space to a room! Pinning this for when my kids get a little older! I’m stopping by from Create it Thursday–have a great day!
CarrieThisHome.com
Leslie Lambert says
June 6, 2013 at 1:21 pmCongratulations…this post was featured on Create It Thursday this week! Thanks for stopping by and linking up such a fabulous creation! Check it out here: http://www.lambertslately.com/2013/06/create-it-thursday-5-plus-features.html
Tammy Morlan says
August 4, 2013 at 1:50 pmThis is awesome, it gives me inspiration to make one for my grandson 🙂
Jessica McGurn says
August 5, 2013 at 8:35 pmThanks! He would love it. 3 months later my boys still think it’s the coolest thing ever!
momoftwoboysSR14 says
December 27, 2013 at 3:02 pmGetting ours started this weekend and our boys are going to love it can’t wait!!!
momoftwoboysSR14 says
December 27, 2013 at 3:03 pmGetting ours started this weekend and our boys are going to love it can’t wait!!!
Cassondra Pierce says
June 19, 2014 at 2:34 amDo you have an actual plan w/ measurements for this jr loft bed ? If so send if possible…. Thanks
Jess says
June 19, 2014 at 4:03 pmI used Ana White’s plans from here: http://ana-white.com/2012/07/plans/camp-loft-bed-stair-junior-height
Megan says
July 11, 2014 at 6:24 pmCurious to know what you assembled outside and what you assembled inside to be sure everything fits in door frames! 🙂 Going to start this project this weekend!
Jess says
July 11, 2014 at 7:33 pmWe assembled the stairs and stair platform outside, as well as both the headboard and footboard pieces of the bed. Then once we were inside we did the horizontal pieces that attach the headboard to the footboard. Hope that helps!
Sarah says
August 1, 2014 at 1:48 pmDid you use a bunkie board or attach extra slats? I am working on my plans right now-love your version! Do I use 39″ slats and attach them to the cleats horizontally?? Or is that what you used the plywood for? Thanks for your help.
Jess says
August 1, 2014 at 9:27 pmI used a large piece of plywood that we attached to the cleats, but I think a junkie board would work just as well. It would probably be easier to cut, attach, and haul than a huge piece of plywood. I’d love for you to share pictures when it’s done!
Erin says
November 2, 2014 at 2:49 pmYour brag post caught my eye at Ana White’s site. We need bunk beds for our girls, but putting a bed under the loft like you did would save on lumber costs. Is there a frame or platform under the bottom mattress? My girls are older (11&9) so I want them to have beds to grow into but don’t want to spend $300-$500 to build full bunk beds. Pretty soon the baby will need to move from her pack n play to a toddler bed (we’ll then need to build a bed for the previous toddler) so the girls’ room is in need of some space saving solutions! Right now it seems like wall to wall beds!
Great job! I love the curtains, fun colors, quilts and everything. Ana White’s plans have made our house much more functional…six kids in a small house with a tight budget & we can still have decent furniture. I love the brag posts so I can see what great things others have done, thanks for posting yours!
Kelly says
December 6, 2014 at 9:46 pmHi there! I came across your blog on Pinterest. We, too, have this loft bed in our daughter’s room. I want to add curtains as you’ve done. However, I can figure how to mount the Kvartal rail to the bed. How did you attach the rail? Thanks.
BrightGreenDoor says
December 8, 2014 at 8:52 amThere are little cylinder pieces from ikea that you mount to the bed, then you tighten the rail only those cylinder pieces. Here is the link to the ikea install video if that helps? Good Luck! I remember it being complicated too.
Living EssentOILY says
July 5, 2015 at 8:24 amI would love to know what kind of wood you used for this bed. We are wanting to make this for our little boy, and no where does it say anything about the kind of wood anyone used.
BrightGreenDoor says
July 5, 2015 at 10:03 pmWe just used quality 2×4’s that we sanded and painted. GOod luck with your project!
Brittney Walker says
July 8, 2015 at 3:47 pmMy husband and I want to build this bed however I cant seem to find any measurements. if it is at all possible could you send them to my email at brittneyr.pwalker@hotmail.com
BrightGreenDoor says
July 13, 2015 at 1:46 pmAna White gives all the details on her page. Click here to see them: http://ana-white.com/2012/07/plans/camp-loft-bed-stair-junior-height
Jessica Folsom says
December 26, 2016 at 3:08 pmThis is so great! I do have a question though, do you think you would be able to dissemble it if needed?
BrightGreenDoor says
December 26, 2016 at 3:29 pmYes, we actually did disassemble it when we moved. We kept certain portions together, but took apart what we needed to. Thanks!
Jen says
April 8, 2018 at 6:58 pmOn Ana whites blog I notice it isn’t a bunk bed. What other changes did you need to do for the bottom bed? It is just a mattress on the floor?
BrightGreenDoor says
April 9, 2018 at 12:40 pmYes ours was just a mattress on the floor. I’m sure it would be fairly easy to build into an actual bed frame on the bottom though. I would just add supports all the way around like on the top bunk.