With this being said, it wasn't fun for me, to tell my youngest to go clean up her room, only to be frustrated with not knowing where to put things. (Not to mention my frustration with having one thing being left on the floor, and looking like a tornado running through it because of that!)
 |
| Well, okay. More than one thing being left behind. (Note my little one peeking out from the end of her bed. I would be too if I had a room that could be featured on 'Hoarders'!) |
Having a small room isn't the greatest thing in the world, but it's something that can be worked with.
So I ended up going online, trying to find a loft bed. However, the beds were either just the right size, but $400 too much. Or just the right price, but made for a room with 12 foot high ceilings.
That's when I went to IKEA, and started looking around. I've heard of the hacks going on, and I was hoping that I'd be able to find something that wouldn't break the bank-- or my sanity!
I found the IKEA Mydal bunk bed, and tried to envision it without the bottom bunk. There were just four posts-- rather than the usual 8. (This makes it sturdier, being that the dowels that usually hold them all together, won't end up splitting apart, when used as a loft bed.)
So for $159, I was sold. (And I brought the online price in to IKEA, who wanted $179 for it at the store. I wasn't bound to pay the extra $20 for something that stated $159 on the printed out shopping list they offer online.)
With a husband not feeling so well, I was left with the task of assembling this by myself. And with a 7 year old around (to occasionally hold one side up, while you're putting it together) it can get done!
And this, is what we ended up with:
And I, by no means, am an expert seamstress. So there was no way I was going to invest in a ton of fabric only to realize that I was four inches off from the bottom hem, etc. I was truly fortunate enough to find the curtains at Target for a measely $7.49 each! (From their Shabby Chic line.)
They are actually balloon shades that I tacked up, and installed on a tension rod. (The good thing with just tacking them up, is that you can take out the stitch later, and use them for windows later on.)
I still have some work to do on the bed. As you can see, the ladder needs a bottom rung. And to make the ladder sturdier, I need to make a run down to Home Depot, to have a full-length post that reaches the floor.
And to keep the tension rod from falling down, I added a plant hook in the middle of the bed, to snap the rod into:
And on top, my kiddo has lots of room to sleep. (Although, there'd be a lot more, if Grandma would stop adding to the stuffed animal menagerie! ;)
The fun part, is underneath. With $30, you can get 3 shelving systems at Walmart that can make a great customized Barbie doll mansion, with room to play!
 |
| (If you happen to blow this pic up, nevermind the fish stick box sitting on top of the shelf. Apparently, this has turned into a Barbie room, after a grocery trip from Costco. (I was wondering where that box went!) |
This project (loft bed and curtains) was just $190. And it's amazing how long my kiddo has kept her room cleaned!
Love it! I am going to attempt a similar hack for my little boy's room.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It has made a vast improvement with being able to get a vacuum into her room once a week! (However, my daughter sees this as reason to bring more in! ;)
Deleteyou did a fantastic job on your hack! can you explain more about how you did it? did you just not assemble/attach the bottom bunk? how many inches is the space underneath the loft?
ReplyDeleteBasically what I did, was assemble the top bunk, and left the bottom one open. (I did however, keep one of the side rails running along the back wall, along with keeping the boards for the head and foot area, for added stability. There is approximately 44.5 inches clearance from the long board of the top bunk, to the floor. Inside, there is 46.5 inches (from the wooden mattress slats to the floor). Once you get one end of the bed done, the other side is a piece of cake. (My 7 year old was holding up the rails, so I could screw everything in, and it basically took an evening to do-- the same amount of time it now takes in making her bed now, lol!)
DeleteHow old is the little girl that sleeps in this bed. I am thinking of something like this for my 4 year old but worried it may be too high and hard for her to manage (although she is a climber and while still in a crib she has been climbing in and out for years, I am just too cheap to buy new beds until they are bigger). There is the ikea Kura bed but it is so low underneath I fear she will outgrow the usefulness of having that space. I have seen trofast shelves from ikea used as steps, do you find the ladder is an issue?
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is almost 8, and she is about 57lbs. I was a little torn about the KURA bed, as I've seen hacks done (particularly, the pretty one someone had done with the black and white damask). However, space was a huge issue, which led me to go with the MYDAL bunk.
DeleteRight now, it's holding up nicely. Unlike the ladders that I've seen with the $699+ bunk beds (where most have rungs made out of particle board), this one is made out of solid wood, and is sturdy.
The safety rail works great. At first, I was a little apprehensive about her somehow flipping around in her sleep and falling off. However, we edged it with stuffed animals, which have worked just fine without any incident. :)
Hi Kimberly,
ReplyDeleteI am interested in knowing how you fixed the curtain. I saw the picture with the rod but I cant see how you fixed it at the two ends of the bed. I would love to have a curtaing going around 3 sids of the bed because my sun loves to hide but I couldn't find a way until now.
Petra