DIY SATURDAY :: LOFT BED

With the arrival of Spring come the long list of DIY projects to help you get ready for the summer! This year, our list of projects is a bit longer than usual as we get ready for our first borns graduation from high school and our second summer living in the manse! Since we use our home as an extension of our ministry, we have planned for a few projects that will allow us to comfortably welcome friends and family into our home.

Over the next couple of weeks we are hoping to accomplish some necessary spring cleaning and DIY projects as we prepare for the summer ministry season. One of our first projects is to construct a new loft bed for one of our boys.

Our home is small, but we are working to make it as comfortable for our family as possible. Right now, we have all the kids doubled up in the bedrooms we have. Two of our kids sleep in a room in the basement while our youngest two (brother and sister) share a room on the first floor. But lately we've notice that our one son, who has a number of allergies, has been a little sick than usual. We can't pinpoint the exact reason, but knowing that he is allergic to mold, must and mildew, we suspect that sleeping in the lower level might not be super helpful.

In addition, Logan is getting ready to head off to college. That will also allow us to move some of the kids around a bit so that all are more comfortable. Now do that, we need to reconfigure the bedrooms upstairs. And part of the reconfiguration requires that we build a new bed so that two of the boys can share a room. And since we can't really afford to go out and buy a brand new bedroom suit, we're building a loft bed that will fit around the current bedroom furnisher.

​Watch our short DIY vlog as we build our new loft bed.

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We found the idea for the Loft Bed on Pinterest. And after looking at some pictures, Jay was able to use his drafting training to lay out some plans, put together a materials list and build the bed.

Logan and Asher, came along to pick up the lumber and then help to build the bed. And there's nothing we love more than when our kids get excited about a project and want to help!

​The bed was pretty easy to build. We just took some time to think through what we wanted so that the bed itself was flexible for the space we planning to use it. Like we said, we have a small house, so being creative with how we set up the rooms is important. We need to make the most use of the space we have.
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Materials List:
11 - 4x6x8 wood boards
6 - 2x4x8 framing grade wood studs
2 - 2x2x8 wood strips
22 - 3/8 Carriage bolts w/ washers and nuts
1 box of 2 1/2" wood screws
1 bottle of wood glue

Tools:
Miter Saw or Circular saw for cutting
Drill w/ bits for screws and for drilling holes
A pair of saw horses
C-clamps of some similar for compressing wood
Work gloves to protect against splinters

We picked up all of our supplies at our local Home Depot.
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The bed itself needed to fit over a queen-size bed frame. For flexibility, we wanted to be able to turn the queen bed so that it fit in a "L"-shape as well as "flush" under the bed. We also wanted to be able to add different accessories to the bed such as shelves for books and treasures and eventually, lighting which allow for reading and or illumination.

It didn't take us that long to construct the bed. But we did make sure to take the time to get some measurements and think through the plan. Once we knew what we wanted, the build went quick and smooth.

But not only did we get a new bed out the project, we had some quality time building the bed. Logan and Jay have worked on a number of projects together, so to have Asher helping was fun. But we think the true treasure is in having that time together and watching a project go from paper to finished project. We want to teach our guys that good, hard work leads to positive results.

Later this summer we will be painting the loft bed and adding some of the accessories as we can. All total, it took us about 6 hours to build the bed. Cost wise, we came in around $130 for materials, which we paid for in cash. It's nice to be on a budget where you can put aside some money for project like this.

There will be more DIY projects coming to the blog as we get closer and closer to the warm summer months!

​- the higham family

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