Amazing DIY Bed Ideas
November 15, 2021
In this blog, I will share with you, some of my favourite ideas for all those incredible DIY bed ideas you see on social media. Almost all of these images have been found on my daily trawl of Pinterest, and where possible, they link back to the original owner or article. You'll find it all here, bunk beds, loft beds, beds tucked into a little nook under a sloped ceiling... basically, if it looks creative and fun, it makes the cut. I've tried to cover all interiors styles, from minimal, clean Scandinavian inspired interior design, to flouncy floral, Liberty fabric lovers (and everything in between!).
Let's start with this beauty above - I found it via thehavenlist.com - designed by E. Interiors, you will swoon over this beautifully paired back style house. The predominant colour throughout this room, and entire house, is white - and I love it! They have added a softness by using slatted wood and rounding the edges of the railings on the top bunk. They don't show it, but I expect there is a handy storage area to the left hand side of this loft bed - building these beds can be such a great way or either segregating areas in a room, or making use of the height, to provide more flooring space for little ones to get their toys out and play. If you go for an all white paint style, then you may want to add a little colour with soft furnishings, here they have used natural fabrics and pastel tones. Adding throws to the bed with textures on, like the "kantha" style blankets used here, means you can keep colour schemes pale, without it feeling stark.
Oh. Wow. If this doesn't give you inspiration on how to fit eight, that's EIGHT children into one room, and still save floor space for playtime, then nothing will. This stunning beach front home was featured on Better Homes & Gardens, you can drool over the rest of the house here. If you look closely, they have crammed storage into as many places as possible. Storage drawers under the beds, and even clever pull out drawers under the stairs. Another feature I love, totally unrelated to the loft beds, is they have had cushions covered in indoor-outdoor fabric... how practical is that around little ones!
If you lust after the New England style above and are looking for beautiful bedding for your child's room, then hop on over to our blog all about bed linen for kids - and find out where to buy this gorgeous bed linen below (it's my absolute fave!).
Now, I appreciate I haven't shown you any teeny-tiny bedrooms yet, but the triple bunk idea above is beyond perfect for anyone struggling with a small kids bedroom. You'll need a higher than average ceiling height for the three beds, but two is perfectly achievable with most standard ceilings. If you're decorating a small bedroom, keeping the colours simple, and using natural wood and fibres to accessories is a great way to maintain a feeling of light and space.
....but how does one go about building a DIY bunk bed I hear you ask! Well, Sarah Sherman Samuel kindly documented her simple bunk bed, with curved facade. She's clearly a lady of perfection, as apparently, she freehand painted those stripes on the ceiling... that is dedication! Sarah's DIY step by step is clear and easy to follow - but if you didn't want to build the bed frame, there's nothing stopping you from having a professional cut the curved facia and an end board out of MDF for you, and fix it to some existing bunkbeds - then just add some curtains in a fabric of your choice! Et Voila! Designer bunk bed look on an IKEA budget. Here's the finished result... want to know what colour Green Sarah has used here? Well, it's "Oakmoss" by Sherwin-Williams - UK comparable colours are; Green 05 by Lick Paints and Bancha by Farrow & Ball.
If I've sparked your imagination, and you fancy having a go at creating an IKEA bunk bed hack, then I would recommend using their MYDAL bed frame. At only £179, it's budget friendly, leaving you more money to spend on MDF and/or a handyman... I'm very tempted to give this a go in the studio myself!!
Now, these guys are a favourite of mine... Mr Build-it and Mrs Style-it - quite literally the most perfectly suited couple for DIY and interiors projects. Alex and Irina are the faces behind the duo, they absolutely love everything to do with building, renovation and design. Alex builds Irina's ideas - and I've been lucky enough to feature in their nursery! Today though, it's all about their boys room and the beautifully simplistic DIY bunk beds they built.
Isn't it gorgeous! I love how they have used the tongue and groove, or Shiplap as our US counterparts may call it. Painting everything white makes the space feel larger, it also allows the bedding to stand out more as a feature. I'm a fan of having safety bars on the top bunk - I remember when I was little, I loved sleeping on the top bunk, but if those bars weren't there, I would definitely have rolled out of bed during a dream or something. The two bars of natural wood that Alex and Irina have used is not only practical, but stylish - that, coupled with the chevron wood effect used on the pull out draws on the bottom, ties the design in beautifully. Without these little touches, it would look plain and stark - I always advise adding detail and texture when using an all-white scheme.
Tap HERE for Alex's DIY blog on the beds
Tap HERE to see Irina's styling on Instagram
Right, I feel like I've waffled on at you enough now, so below are some of my favourite DIY kids beds that I've found on Pinterest recently... as, let's face it, we're all here for the pretty pictures!
But if the idea of making a DIY bed doesn't appeal, then I can highly recommend the bunk bed below - it will still add magic to any child's room, and is a lot easier to build (if you like to avoid verging on a divorce when it turns out either you or your spouse isn't DIY crafts-person of the year). The images below are shoppable, so tap on anything you'd like to shop - annnnd you can buy it with or without the canvas curtain / play tent underneath (but personally, I love the tent bit!):