Over the next six weeks Tony and I will creating built-in beds in a shared bedroom for our two sons who are now 7 and 2.5. We chose to do this bedroom as part of the One Room Challenge because our baby is no longer a baby, and it’s time to get him out of the crib and into a real bed. I have had this idea in my head for a lot of years, and it’s finally time that we get to work on it!
I’m going to get to the very bad “before” pictures, but first let’s take a look back at the room so I can set up the story properly…
July 2016
Let me bring you back to about a year and a half ago when we were in the middle of building our house. During the framing stage we decided to decrease the height of the front hall closet and increase the amount of space in the boys bedroom. Ever since we designed our house, I thought this would be a perfect little nook to create a loft bed for our oldest son.
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September 2016
A few months later we had my brother drywall our entire house. This is how the boys bedroom looked with fresh new drywall. Can you picture a full wall of built-in beds yet?
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October 2016
We installed the hardwood flooring shortly after that. I painted the room a very light blue/grey paint, but as it usually happens with me I ran out of paint about halfway through the second coat. We also finished installing the trim and interior doors, but I never got around to painting it in this room.
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The Present
Fast track over a year and this is how the room looks now. Pretty much in the same state, except full of stuff. The furniture is all mismatched, the rocking chair is left from when I used it in our daughter’s nursery, one dresser has a broken leg, the crib is basically falling apart, the curtains are too short, I’m using a blanket for an area rug, and the entire room just seems to collect junk.
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The Plan
The plan is to build a platform for a bed about 4 feet off the ground in the nook area above the front hall closet. We will build large steps leading up to the bed with drawers for storage. Then we’ll build a solid wood desktop using reclaimed wood and an epoxy resin coating. We’ll reuse the bed that we already have (the bright green one pictured above) but prime and paint it so the entire wall is one seamless set of built-in beds with lots of storage drawers.
Other than that I will:
- Do a second coat of wall paint
- Finish the trim, including caulking, filling nail holes, and two coats of paint
- Find one large dresser to replace the broken one
- Replace the curtains
- Make matching bedding
Lidia says
April 5, 2018 at 10:13 amJess I can’t wait to see your plan come to life!! It’s going to be awesome!
Jen @ Jenron Designs says
April 5, 2018 at 1:34 pmHey girl!!! I love the idea of building a platform bed! This is going to be a great upgrade for your space! I am so excited to follow your design journey this season, Jessica!!!
Emy says
April 5, 2018 at 6:50 pmA platform bed sounds cool! I’m looking forward to following along!
Susie says
April 5, 2018 at 9:09 pmThis room has great bones and your ideas are fab! I’m so excited to follow your progress though this series. XO ~~Susie from The Chelsea Project
Darlene says
April 6, 2018 at 11:46 amThis is great! Looking forward to the process and outcome!
Melissa says
April 6, 2018 at 3:06 pmCan’t wait to see how it turns out! Seems like you have a great vision for a fun room!
Natalie @ Nelidesign says
April 8, 2018 at 7:49 amLot of things on your list! Can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Taryn says
April 8, 2018 at 7:57 pmSo exciting! Can’t wait to see all of your ideas come to life!
Sonja says
April 10, 2018 at 1:26 pmIt’s such a great space to work with! It’s going to look fantastic when it’s done and feel so good to cross those to-do’s off your list!
Jessica | Petal + Ply says
April 10, 2018 at 9:39 pmMy boys share a bedroom too! Boys bedrooms are so fun. Can’t wait to see what you do with their space!
jessvanderveen@gmail.com says
April 10, 2018 at 9:55 pmThanks so much! It’s great when kids can share a room.
natashawashington says
April 10, 2018 at 11:14 pmThis is going to be such a fun space when it’s all done! I love the idea of a platform bed with storage in the steps. Boys bedrooms are such a fun space to get creative! Can’t wait to see how it all comes together!
Dara says
April 11, 2018 at 7:01 amWhat a cool idea! I’m exited to see how the beds turn out! My boys share a room also so I’m always looking for inspiration.
Susanne says
April 11, 2018 at 11:25 amJess that is such a neat idea!! I can’t wait to see how this turns out, great planning ahead on your part when you built your home 🙂
Lela says
April 18, 2018 at 1:47 pmAll of your plans sound like their building toward an awesome boys’ bedroom. The storage ideas sound fantastic so that you’re not accidentally tripping over toys in the middle of the night! (I can’t be the only one who has done this, can I?) Anyway, excuse me for blabbing on with a fellow mom, but I can’t wait to see how the room comes together.
Jessica Vanderveen says
April 18, 2018 at 9:20 pmWe’ll see if they actually put their toys and clothes away! I’m not really counting on it 🙂