When we decided to move into this house we started looking for creative storage/bed combo ideas. We found great toddler loft beds, under bed storage, and platform twin beds, but nothing that really would work for the space we were working with. We really needed to be able to combine everything together we possibly could. Cameron worked at a furniture store (and got a great employee discount), and they had a supplier that would do custom designs, so we took advantage of that.
Now, while looking for ideas on how to make this house work we found posts with storage solutions, only to find they were solutions only if you had a fat wallet. That was frustrating. And now I feel like I'm kinda doing the same thing here at first, but don't get out your throwing tomatoes yet! If we were braver DIYers/furniture customizers, and had a bigger area to craigslist/thrift/yard sale from we could have probably done this much cheaper by doing it ourselves. But we didn't trust ourselves, so we went the just-pay-for-it route. We were able to raise the $900 needed for this with a combined moving sale with did with Em and Chip, and we still think it was worth the money, but we realize that price tag definitely doesn't put this in the cheap DIY options. Don't throw tomatoes at me! I don't show this to you all to say "Neener! Neener! Look what we have!" I show this to you because maybe it'll give someone an idea for what they could do if they are in a space bind.
The pieces all assemble into the one combination of our queen bed, Darrow's toddler bed, 1 dresser, 2 shelves, and 1 cabinet. But for someday when we aren't all in one bedroom they can be disassembled into a dresser, a large shelf, a small shelf, and a cupboard (and one piece of plywood that the mattress actually sits on).
And because showing it to you is just easier than trying to explain, here's a walk-through video:
So there it is! If you're interested in our "plans" and "design", you can find our layout with measurements here.
Well, that's our room! I've been waiting to decorate much until the bed was here, so now I get to start that journey! It looks pretty bare in there with only these three pictures on the wall:
Eventually I'd love to take advantage of the vertical space we have on the wall at the foot of the bed, and maybe over the closet, but for now our system works. I love having the laundry "station" there at the foot of the bed. It's easy to fold the clothes and be able to immediately put them in drawers if I turn the left and hang them up if I turn to the right.
Well, that's our room! I've been waiting to decorate much until the bed was here, so now I get to start that journey! It looks pretty bare in there with only these three pictures on the wall:
Eventually I'd love to take advantage of the vertical space we have on the wall at the foot of the bed, and maybe over the closet, but for now our system works. I love having the laundry "station" there at the foot of the bed. It's easy to fold the clothes and be able to immediately put them in drawers if I turn the left and hang them up if I turn to the right.
The white bins for my fabric in the closet are from Ikea, but if you don't have one in the area there are some similar options on Amazon* with the Suncast Recycle Bin Kit
or the 24-Quart Stackable Bins with Hinged Lids
.
And in case you were wondering...the shoes have their own built in shelves on either side of the closet...it's perfect!
good job - I know the challenge of living in a small space - once we had 3 kids a move was mandatory. When I was your age I could do a platform bed - now I have trouble getting in and out of a regular bed without killing myself. These new gigantically tall mattress/box spring sets are a dangerous thing for me
ReplyDeleteThis bed could be interesting in a few months when I'm near the end of the pregnancy (I wasn't pregnant when we designed this and we didn't even think about that factor at all). We're glad we don't have to be on a bed this tall the rest of our lives!
DeleteDo you follow the blog IKEA Hackers? They have such great tutorials, and plenty about making small spaces work.
ReplyDeleteI don't follow it, but we looked through a lot of posts on it when we were trying to come up with ideas and plans. They do have some great ideas! I need to go check them out again and follow them.
DeleteThis is a wonderful look at working in a small space!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's a start for sure! We're slowly figuring it out!
DeleteBoy we lived in some place, in our early marriage with kids, that would of came in very handy .
ReplyDeleteI am highly intrigued with this series! I'm also wondering how you will get up on the platform bed when you get bigger in your pregnancy, and fit in the baby in the bedroom. I also live in a smaller house (although twice as big as yours! :) - 1200sq ft) with two boys and a home office. I'm always looking for ideas for sharing space and organizing. I find the key is purging. We are constantly figuring out if we buy things, we ask ourselves, do we really need this? and if we do buy it, we have to get rid or something to make room. (toys are a big issue, esp. as our boys grew older and share a room, hence toy space!)
ReplyDeleteWe're on the lookout for a good folding step for when I get bigger that will also fold up in the day so that Darrow can't climb up on the bed and fall off. I have ideas for fitting the baby in, but we'll see how they work when we put it all into play in March! I'll definitely be doing an update then on the space issue, lol.
DeletePurging is definitely key! I have 3 boxes of toys, clothes, and decor to sell/get rid of already after only being here 4 months. We're definitely learning to only keep what is most meaningful and most useful!