Hanging Beds ~ Big Boy Room ~ WFMW

Well, I guess they're really growing up.  I just took down the last crib in our house.  I can't believe all of my babies are in "big beds".  The baby's still young enough to be in a crib, but we had to do something about the sleeping situation in our house....or rather the situation in which there was a huge lack of sleep in our house.  With 3 kids in two small rooms (think 10x11) we had to get really creative with space.

When the Baby was born, Tank was still in his crib (he was only 17 months) and Bug was in a toddler bed.  We had this bed made for her (her toddler bed had to be converted back into a crib for the Baby) because it provided toy storage underneath the bed.  We are all about creative use of space.

For the past few months, Tank's been kind of uneasy; he was in need of a big bed, too.  Originally we were thinking bunk beds for the boys, but then I stumbled across these plans on Ana White's web site, and I had to have them.  You should really check out Ana's site.  She has so many wonderful - FREE - plans on there.  We built BOTH of these beds for $175 total, in one weekend, with 3 littles running around.  We altered the plans just a very little to make them lighter (weight, not color).  Here's what we did. . . please get the full, exact plans at the link above.

I'm putting the price of the wood next so you have a guideline of what to look for.  We had to search for this. . . there are lots of different grades and types of wood, you don't want cabinet grade - they're like $4-6 per board!

For 1 bed we purchased:

• Five 2x4x8 ($1.87 each)
• Thirteen 1x4x8 ($1.96 each)**
• 3" Wood Screws, (3) 1# boxes
• Paint
• 4 eyebolts
• 25 feet of rope (you'll probably need less than this)
• Wood glue (we had this on hand, but you need it, so it's going on the list)

** This was the main change we made to the original plans.  We used 1x4s for deck boards instead of 2x4s.  We are also using 1x4s for a Wall Mount

Start by cutting your boards.  You need:

• 2 - 2x4s at 82 3/4" (Frame Sides)
• 1 - 1x4 at 82 3/4" (Wall Mount)
• 6 - 2x4s at 42 1/2" (Frame Joists)
• 12 - 1x4s at 84 3/4" (Deck Boards)

The pile for 2 beds looked like this:

Build your frame.  Start by marking your Frame Sides.

Then screw the Frame Joists in were you marked.  You want 2 screws in each joist.

Make the rectangle, then go back and add in the "inside" joists.

Finished Frame

Next you deck it.  Easy peasy, right?

Well, yes and no.  You want to remember to keep the boards square and the spaces even, and you have to both glue and screw (I swear the bad part of my brain giggles every time I say that, but I mean actually drilling a screw into wood) each deck board into place.  I can't stress enough how clear and detailed and absolutely necessary Ana's plans are.  You'll want them for this part.  I attached the outer 2 deck boards and then worked my way across the middle.

Here's what it looks like when construction is finished.  It's sitting nekked on saw horses ready to be dressed.

Sand the whole thing - it helps to use a belt power sander - and round the corners (hopefully preventing ER trips in the future).  Vacuum or brush all the sanding dust off and paint (or stain).

Then sand and paint/stain again.  You should also paint the extra 1x4 that is for the wall mount.  Let everything dry overnight.  Even if you're impatient, like me, you should really wait for it to dry all the way.

!DANGER! - okay, that might be extreme, but I really want to express here that these beds are heavy.  If you have any doubt about hanging them...please get help.  Someone could get very seriously hurt if they are hung incorrectly and fall.

We followed Ana's instructions to hang the bed but added a wall mount.  Use the "extra" 1x4 that was cut at 82 3/4".  Find the height you want to "hang" your bed.  Use a stud finder and hang the 2x4, drilling it into each stud it crosses (you'll want to use a level here as well).

Butt the Frame Side up against the wall mount and drill the frame into the mounted 1x4.

We are hanging the bed in the corner, so we also added a mount on that side.  This takes a LOT of the weight off of the eyebolts and rope. 

Creative use of small spaces + inexpensive DIY building plans work for me!

Check out what's working for everyone else!

Design Dazzle