My mom and I have been working hard at getting Emory’s new loft bed all set up.
Like I mentioned before, we bought the MYDAL bunk bed from Ikea for $159.00.
It is designed to be set up as a bunk bed, but we made the following adjustments:
1. Removed the bottom rail
2. Cut a new piece for the bottom of the ladder
It was super easy and the bed is still very sturdy.
The height is the best part too, it isn’t crazy high like the other loft beds Ikea sells.
Yesterday, we spent a couple hours sewing some panels for the sides of the bed.
We bought some pink satin fabric from a local discount fabric store for $7.00/yard.
We needed 6 yards, totaling $42.00.
We simply hemmed the sides and sewed a rod pocket.
We hung the panels on the front and two ends.
We used inexpensive tension rods to hang the panels, they worked amazing!
And we made sure they could close creating a little “play house” too.
Emory’s new little vintage play kitchen fits perfectly underneath.
There is about 44″ of head room under the bed, which allows her to comfortably stand.
It is so nice to have some extra play room in our small condo!
This picture of my mom gives you a good idea of the scale of the bed, it’s definitely not too tall (which helps me sleep at night!).
I also picked up the rug from Urban Outfitters today for $20.00.
I am still haven’t decided if I am going to keep it or not, what do you think?
Do you like it?
Now it’s time to get our paint on!
I plan on painting the bed a crisp white, I am exhausted just thinking about it.
I also need to paint over the black and white stripes, eeek!
So what do you think? Do you like it so far?
UPDATE: Head on over here to see the finished loft bed. It is white and oh-so-pretty.
I love it and I think it looks beautiful! Keep the rug. For 20 bucks, that seems like a steel!
That is such a good idea and its beautiful too! I love the rug.
I love it! The rug looks great as well. I’m sad you are painting over those adorable stripes though…
I absolutely love it!! I would’ve loved to have something like that when I was a kid! And love the rug, great find!
Super cute. Keep the rug. I bet Emory is eating this all up!
First of, love the rug! Keep it! And second, this is just the cutest little room ever. Definitely keeping this idea for Wells’ big girl room. Just love it!
I love the rug. $20 can’t be beat, but it also looks nice in the room. Great job with the bed! Can’t wait to see it in white.
Love how the room is coming together. I say keep the rug too, looks great in the space and you can’t beat the price.
I felt like an imaginative little girl again just reading this – what a wonderful, magical place! I vote for the rug…it’s perfect for the space and I can’t believe it was only $20. Thank you for sharing your progress!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE that rug! I’m trying to think how I can make it fit into my daughter’s room! I love the loft bed too. Great job! Thanks for your blog, I read it everyday 🙂
I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE that rug! I’m trying to think how I can make it fit into my daughter’s room! I love the loft bed too. Great job! Thanks for your blog, I read it everyday 🙂
I love the rug, the loft bed and the entire concept. What a stinkin’ cute idea!!
Simply adorable! And yes, I like the rug too – great idea :o)
How adorable! It will be sad to see those stripes go, but I love the direction you are heading. Love that rug, I say keep it.
Love it! Can’t wait to see it painted white – loving the rug, too and goodness, your mom looks great 🙂
Love the rug! Keep it.
Love the rug and the bed, though I will miss the stripes. Emory is a very lucky girl. Your mum is rocking those jeans – she looks great!
So cute! It is all coming together perfectly. You and your mom make a fantastic team! I love the rug…I think it is a keeper!
First of all, your Mom’s a stunner. Second, I love the pale pink tent! It’s so perfect for a little girl! Last, I think you should keep the rug – I like the way the greens and browns warm up the space. Looking good!
Adorable! The bed is going to look so good painted white, I’m glad it’s not too tall so your little girl is safe :). And I love that rug, too cute. You have to keep it!
Love the rug…keep it! I just bought a loft bed for my daughter too…had to cut it down six inches last night!
It looks great! I love the rug – it looks great with the curtains! I totally understand dreading the painting part, but the white with those pretty pink curtains will look amazing!
Ok – that is the most adorable little girl’s space ever! When can I come and play? Thanks for the update! Enjoy your time with mom. Jalon
I bet she loves it!! I love it!!
Love it! How is your mom so cute! Love the rug too…
Super cute. I would’ve loved this as a kid. Lucky girl. Her pink chevron pillow is adorable.
Very cute! I say keep the rug – it looks great, and it might be hard to find something else at such an amazing price!
Keep the stripes! They look great with the new scheme. (Unless you have something else up your sleeve, of course.) And I like the contrast of bold stripes to floral rug. Usually I don’t like round rugs, but super cute with the plates.
Fun progress!
Everything is absolutely perfect! I think that is about the cutest rug ever! You are so creative!
I guess I should have read this post before asking my conversion question. Now I know how you did it. I love what you did. I’m going to create a boy’s version for my son who loves castles. I see that there are slats under the mattress. Do those move at all? We have an Ikea bed with slats that then tend to fall off occasionally. That could be dangerous on a bunk bed.
Did your mom have you when she was 10??? 🙂
LOVE the rug! Definitely a keeper!
Looks great – and yes, keep the rug
The room looks great and the rug is perfect!
keep the rug for sure!! and i say keep the stripes! i love the crisp look with the soft….nice balance of hard and soft….love it!
OMG, that is one ROCKIN’ little room!! Emory will be the envy of all her friends!! I would have LOVED that space when I was little – great job and yes, I think the rug works – looking forward to seeing the paint job! ;-))
The rug if my favorite part! Keep it!
Adorable!! Love the rug and is there no way you can keep the B&W stripes in the design? You worked so hard on them!
FUN! I’ve been toying with the idea of moving my boys to one room with bunk beds and turning the other room into the play room. We’ll see. I love the bed and the rug is perfect! I can’t wait to see the finished room.
I love the whole idea of it, especially the curtain on the bottom half. I would totally keep the rug too!
As for the painting of the bed, I honestly like the wooden look (I would usually say to paint it, but I think it adds a beautiful, rustic, textured element to the room). Maybe give it a few days and you’ll like it…and you won’t have to paint it! Either way, her room is adorable! Love your work! –caleyparkdesigns.blogspot.com
You did really a great job and it looks fabulous. Loved this inspiring idea!
Absolutely darling!! I bet she is beside herself having that playhouse! Love the rug! Wonerful job, Danielle (and Mom)!
Love the rug! I think the stripes looks great with the new pink and florals! Keep them! 🙂
Danielle this is all SOOOO cute. You’re like the coolest momma ever! She must love it.
You are one seriously cool and clever girl!! and excuse me, but how cute is your mom in her skinny jeans?!? The bed is awesome and will be amazing. I’ll be sad to see the black stripes go…they don’t jive with the new room direction?
Hi Sugarplum said what I was thinking! Your mom looks like a teenager. Love the rug and the bed transformation I say keep it!
I like how you turned the bunk bed into a loft bed, great idea! The curtains and rug are fabulous! You and your mom rocked, I bet Emory is very thrilled with her beautiful new room!
Jessie
http://www.mixandchic.com
absolutely adorable!!!! and i’d keep the rug for the record!
Oh. My. GOODNESS!!! To die for. I am so coveting this room!!! After I first read your post, I went straight for my 4-year-old’s room to see if we could swing something like this (she has a pink kitchen set very similar to Emory’s white one). She’s got funky-sized walls in her room, so I’m trying to figure out where we can make this work. The price is so right on the bed,and we are itching to get rid of her toddler bed…Sigh.
You’re 27, and that’s your mom? Stunning!
This is great! Could you please tell what is the hight of the secret space under bed?
44 1/2″
Danielle
I just LOVE this room! I’ll be doing the same for my little girl soon.
Hi, there! Just came across your blog after looking for ideas on how to combine a loft bed with a play area. We currently live in a 3 bedroom home. Our 2 girls share a room and we have the third room set up as a playroom. The set up is perfect as is, except we just found out we are expecting #3! So I am trying to plan ahead if in case this one is a boy. If so we will have to combine the girls room and the playroom. That is where your wonderful idea comes in. They currently have a small play kitchen that I would like to fit under the bed like you did yours but I am worried that the height of the kitchen won’t clear the height of the bed. Are you able to give me the measurements of the space underneath the bed? Height and width? The nearest IKEA to us is 2 hrs away so I would love to be sure this will work prior to making the road trip to purchase. I am so glad I found your blog, you have definitely acquired a new follower. Love your style!
Hi Esme,
The height under the bed is 44 1/2″ and the depth is 42″. It works out perfectly for my 4 year old, but I must admit, at times it makes me nervous to sleep up there! Definitely something to consider. Also, we had to make some changes to the ladder since we were not adding the bottom bunk.
Hope this helps!
Danielle
Just came across your post as I was looking around at other curtains under loft beds… Just got one for my three year old….. My question is, With just a tension rod holdign it up… Does it sag or get yanked on and fall?? Did you get one long rod an go across the whole span of the bed or break it up?
Thanks!! And this room is totally adorable!
Tara
Yes, it is just one tension rod. It did start to sag after my daughter pulled on it a few too many times, so we simply wrapped some string around the rod and attached to the top bunk rails. I haven’t had a problem with it since.
Hi there- I love your IKEA hack, it’s great! How did you ensure that it maintained stability when you removed the bottom rail? Did you add something to stabilize it?
We only removed the front bottom rail from the bottom bunk, it has always been very stable and does not wabble at all. Hope this helps!
Danielle
I am checking into getting a loft bed for my 7 year old. I’ve seen pretty ways on the IKEA hack sites for the KURA bed (the reversible weird one that has a blue tent over it.). However, even though she is on the skinny side (43lbs), I want to get something that will last– and one that will accommodate a decent mattress with her princess-and-the-pea issues with the thinner ones. With that said, what do you estimate for the duration of this bed? Is this something that will last for years to come? I’m really nervous, because I see that KURA for $199, and then this bed for just $159. (And it scares me, because of the alteration needing to be done– and I am a total novice!) Thank you for your advice!!!
Good day! Do you happen to have any blogging education or it is just a pure natural gift? Thank you so much in advance for your reply.
Love this!! Did you use a regular twin mattress on here or did you have to buy a special mattress from Ikea? I know some of their mattresses are thinner than a standard mattress and I’m wondering if I use a standard mattress would there still be enough railing to keep my daughter from rolling off? Thanks!!
I want to do this for my 3 year old daughter. But I’m worried that I won’t be able to fit her standard twin size mattress on the top bunk. Does a standard twin size mattress for on the top bunk? Also, how did you stabilize the ladder? It doesn’t reach the floor and its not attached to the bottom.
How do you make the curtain rail?
We just bought this bed for our daughter. I really loved your idea and we are going to put a similar spin on it. Where did you get the mattress. I was looking at the mattress that ikea site suggested but it looks really thin and uncomfortable. Thanks for sharing!