DIY Unique Built-In Bunk Beds!

Pregnant with #4 in a three bedroom house, we find it’s time to start stacking kids!  So, this weekend, we built one of two bunks! 🙂  Here’s the process… not tutorial, sorry.  We had to jump through some pretty unique hoops to build these beds, but if you have a handy husband, maybe you can figure it out too!

The inspiration for this project came from Pinterest – where else!?! Here’s some photos.

Photo Credit

Photo Credit – not sure where the photo is on this site… it’s where Pinterst brought me.

For our “Blueprints” we used Microsoft Publisher.  Did you know that you can zoom waaaaay out in Publisher and create actual life-size to scale “blueprints” of sorts?  You’ll get all your measurements just the way you want them!

Here’s a shot of the empty closet.  I have the top section of a desk stuck up on the shelf for extra shelving.  It’s screwed to the wall.

The kids a re fairly excited for this project to begin!  We’ve been collecting supplies for quite a while & they are more than ready for their “bunk beds”!

Phase 1

Demolition.  The closet was 4 inches too short for the toddler mattresses, so we dug into the wall for the extra space.  On the other side of this wall is a tiny hall coat closet.  We (“we” being my husband with the power tools, and me behind the camera!)… we had to cut through the first layer of drywall, remove the studs, rebuild the wall’s structure, and build the bunks.  Thank God I have a handy husband!

The completed “hole in the wall”… now to remove the studs and rebuild the structure of the wall.

Phase 2:

Construction!  Here’s the bottom bunk frame… about 12″ off the floor to make room for some “drawers” and other storage underneath.

Measuring for the top frame

Installing the top bunk platform… about 30″ from the bottom one.

And then Gramma showed up for a visit and was more than excited to help!  Yeah!

Phase 3:

Shelving

We scavenged these headboard style shelves out of another shelf I’d found in the thrift store free pile!  This wasn’t in the original “plans” but I’m glad we added them!

Phase 4:

Ladder & Railing

While I was at the store buying some “Hot Mud” (Fast drying drywall mud for all the dents in the wall from the demo part), Jesse built all this for the ladder & railing!

Finished Ladder & Railing

A view of the shelves

Phase 5:

Sanding.  Thankfully a neighbor had an electric sander we could borrow!

Phase 6:

Painting… Almost done!!!

Color #1 Finished

Color #2

Color #2 Done… That means the painting is done!!!!

Phase 7:

Toyboxes… we had two but they were too tall, so Jesse cut them down about 4 inches allowing them to be “drawers” under the bottom bed.

Phase 8:

Bedding and a final photo shoot… and two proud parents! 🙂  Yeah.

Here’s a view with the entertainment center turned play kitchen (which a friend of mine blogged about in case you’re interested).

BTW:  Test subject #1 says the beds turned out perfect!

We don’t yet have a toddler mattress or bedding set (I love this frog one and this train one!) for the bottom bunk (working on that), so I stole a patio chair cushion from the back yard.  It’ll do as a “reading nook” space until we get a mattress & move LaLa in here! 🙂