And they love it! They all woke up smiling this morning and said that they were comfortable all night long and LOVE their new beds. :) They were very easy to put together, except for the one part that was bent.....it looks like it was bent during manufacturing. It still works fine though and doesn't pose any danger to falling or anything, and it is not noticeable unless you know to look for it, so I don't think I'll bother with taking it back. So here's what we did to make them:
I bought a huge shelf from Sam's Club that is 24" deep, 72" high and 77" wide. It has four adjustable shelves, so I used the beams from one shelf as side rails for the top and middle. I bought some foam from Hancock Fabrics that was already pre-cut and wrapped in plastic (so I didn't have to wrap them myself!), and they fit perfectly on each shelf! They were 3" thick, 24" wide and 72" long. I was going to leave extra room and not cover the entire shelf with a foam mattress, but they are a perfect fit, so I think I'll just leave them. So, now my kids have triple bunks! I plan to add a hanging pocket of some kind onto the wall beside each of them so they can have books and other quiet activities to do when needed. I also want to add reading lights for each of them, ones that will shut off automatically. (Any suggestions?)
The plan is that in a year or so, Jack will move to the bottom bunk, Jacob will move to the middle and Jayla will have her own room and her own bed. (We already have a bed for her but nowhere to put it!)
Jonathan moves around a lot, so his sheet is nearly off, Jayla doesn't move at all....her sheet is almost perfect, and Jacob, well, I need to wash another sheet for him, but he was obviously all over the place too and didn't even come close to staying on his sleeping bag! LOL!
I bought a huge shelf from Sam's Club that is 24" deep, 72" high and 77" wide. It has four adjustable shelves, so I used the beams from one shelf as side rails for the top and middle. I bought some foam from Hancock Fabrics that was already pre-cut and wrapped in plastic (so I didn't have to wrap them myself!), and they fit perfectly on each shelf! They were 3" thick, 24" wide and 72" long. I was going to leave extra room and not cover the entire shelf with a foam mattress, but they are a perfect fit, so I think I'll just leave them. So, now my kids have triple bunks! I plan to add a hanging pocket of some kind onto the wall beside each of them so they can have books and other quiet activities to do when needed. I also want to add reading lights for each of them, ones that will shut off automatically. (Any suggestions?)
The plan is that in a year or so, Jack will move to the bottom bunk, Jacob will move to the middle and Jayla will have her own room and her own bed. (We already have a bed for her but nowhere to put it!)
Here they are enjoying their new beds! :)
I caught a picture of them before they woke up this morning. :)
Jonathan moves around a lot, so his sheet is nearly off, Jayla doesn't move at all....her sheet is almost perfect, and Jacob, well, I need to wash another sheet for him, but he was obviously all over the place too and didn't even come close to staying on his sleeping bag! LOL!
How is it sturdy? Is it anchored to the wall and if so with what?
ReplyDeleteHi, Alyson! It's actually VERY sturdy, and though we never bolted it to the wall, I would recommend it. There were a couple of times it tipped over, but thankfully it was when someone was hanging on it and was able to catch it. We've moved a couple of times and just never did bolt it.
ReplyDeleteWhen we first got this shelf 8 years ago (holy cow, these three kiddos are huge now!!), it was our oldest 3 (of 6 children now). The last time it was used I had the younger 3 boys (out of 4 boys) using it, and now I'm thinking of getting another one of these to use for my youngest 3, ages 3, 5 & 9. I just loved it so much.
You can see more pics of this same bed as we moved it to a different room, then a different house and built a loft up to the top bunk. We didn't have to worry about bolting it then!
http://ourlifeinthewilderness.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-kids-still-love-sleeping-on-shelf.html
http://ourlifeinthewilderness.blogspot.com/2012/04/turning-trash-into-treasure.html
http://ourlifeinthewilderness.blogspot.com/2012/04/boys-room.html
I forgot to mention, after the first time it tipped, I always put a dresser or something in front of one end of it in case it started to tip again, so when it did happen again, it only went maybe a couple of inches, at most. I guess it was easier than bolting it. lol It worked well or else we would have bolted it, but I still recommend bolting it to the wall and don't be lazy like we were. ;)
DeleteWe did something similar with shelves we bought at lowes. We bought 2 and put them side by side it fits a full size mattress (snuggly) but it fits a futon mattress perfect. We taped up all the corners on top and bolted them together. We also built a rock wall on the side so they could climb up
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I love the rock wall idea, too. There's so much you can do with most things that they weren't necessarily intended for!
ReplyDeletethis is perfect. i'm building a small house for youth at church. this is wonderful, and will save money .
ReplyDelete