DIY children’s bunk bed: drawings, diagrams, photos

Recommendation points

• Bed frame materials
• Ways to connect wooden knots
• Design options (drawings and decor)
• Method for making a bunk bed
• Calculation of materials
• Assembly units

Is there not enough space in the nursery for separate cots? Build your own children’s wooden bunk bed. We have prepared design options for you, accompanied them with diagrams and drawings, we will show the algorithm for making such a bed with our own hands, illustrating with photo and video materials.

A bunk bed for children or adolescents can also be made of metal, but not everyone will get a neat welded structure, and the appearance of such sleeping places is not too childish. Therefore, we will consider making beds from wood and lumber, since these are inexpensive and easy-to-use materials, warm, beautiful and homely cozy.

Bed frame materials

The list of wood materials from which a bed can be made is quite long. Let’s highlight the most common.

1. Array. Expensive material and rather difficult to prepare and manufacture if you have no experience with it. Experience is important here. Although solid wood products are the most beautiful and durable, they still do not use a baby bed for a very long time – children grow up and begin to need other sleeping places.

2. Lumber – edged or planed board, timber – the most common and easy-to-use materials, provided that you are sure of proper drying, otherwise the supporting structure may “lead”.

3. MDF – fibreboard. The formaldehyde emission of the material is at the same level as that of ordinary wood. Dust when drilling, without forming chips. Laminated MDF looks very attractive. An uncoated slab requires additional finishing, such as varnishing. You can order individual elements of the bed in a furniture shop or a sawing workshop: everything will be neatly cut there, the edges will be glued.

4. Chipboard – particle board. Formaldehyde emission is increased without a sealed coating, except for the E1 class board. Easy to saw, but poorly holding screws. Suitable for non-stressed parts such as drawers mounted under the bed base. Backrests can be made from laminated chipboard (Laminated chipboard), decorative panels – the film coating does not allow formaldehyde to evaporate, but it is important that the ends of the plates are covered with a film.

5. Furniture board – a board glued from individual pieces of natural wood. It is beautiful, durable, it even allows threading, but it requires skill in work, since it has internal stresses that must be taken into account.

When buying accessories, you should give preference to steel hardware. Aluminum is much less durable and stiff.

Ways to connect wooden knots

When making a bed, you may need various horizontal, vertical, and corner connections. This can be done in a variety of ways. We provide some of them for reference..

1 – half-tree connection; 2 – connection “in the paw”

1 – complete cutting; 2 – not complete cutting; 3 – steel corner

1 – connection on rectangular keys; 2 – dovetail keyed connection; 3 – connection in a root spike

Design options (drawings and decor)

Bunk beds can be different constructively and be differently decorated. So, the upper tier can be located exactly above the lower one, be located with an offset, leaving room for the cabinet, or be perpendicular to it. The ladder can consist of drawers. Another option is the steps, which are hinged drawer lids. The bed frame can also be supplemented with drawers located under the lower mattress. To do this, you need guides – runners. Sometimes something else is added to the bed: a table, shelves, a pencil case or accessories for sports.

Below are the drawings of some of the beds with basic dimensions.

Now, here are some design ideas that can inspire an original bunk bed. Pay attention to how absolutely “waste” materials are used in some models – slabs, branches, trunks, driftwood.

Bed for real Mowgli and Robinson Crusoe

Hand made fairy tale

Bed – sports corner

Bed – playground

Bed – house

Bed-compartment

Bed for teenagers. Material – laminated MDF

Method for making a bunk bed

One of the most inexpensive materials is pine board and timber. It is from them that we will make a bunk bed..

Calculation of materials

When making a bed, it must be borne in mind that not only a child can sit on the lower bed, therefore the distance to the lower part of the upper bed should not be less than 85 cm. The size of sleeping places in the case of purchased mattresses is determined by their width and length. If you yourself make mattresses from two layers of foam rubber in a cover made of dense fabric, then the sizes are taken based on personal preferences.

The figure below indicates the individual elements of the bed, and the table gives the purpose, dimensions and number of blanks.

1 – vertical stands (legs); 2 – external pads on the racks; 3 – boards of the supporting frame; 4 – upper and lower headboard strips; 5 – headboard center bar; 6 – side barriers; 7 – stair railings; 8 – stairs

Qty	Size, mm	Name
4	38x76x1730	Vertical racks
4	38x76x1730	Blanks for external overlays on vertical posts
4	38x140x2030	Bed supporting frame boards
4	32x44x1850	Longitudinal mattress support slats (not shown)
24	20x76x1000	Mattress support crossbars (not shown), cut in place
8	20x140x914	Upper and lower headboard / footboards
4	20x90x914	Headboard / footboard center planks
1	20x90x1510	Stair railings
3	20x64x482	Stair steps
2	20x90x1800	Railing railing, cut to size during installation

Assembly units

A bed is a piece of furniture consisting of several assembly units, which are then assembled into a single whole. Identical parts can be cut by fastening them with a vice or a clamp, so they will turn out to be absolutely identical. Before assembling, make sure that all wooden parts are clean, smooth and free from burrs. It is better to work with a special sander for wood or a “grinder”.

1. Headboard and footboard

These are two almost mirror-like elements. The difference is the embedding of the railing in the foot as shown in the pictures below.

Headboard and footboard

Detailed layout with headboard and footboard dimensions

Installation procedure: 1 – dowel 8 mm; 2 – the rack and backrests are drilled simultaneously; 3 – this part is attached after assembling all the other parts of the headboard

2. Elements of the supporting frame

To assemble two supporting frames, you will need four prepared boards – the longitudinal components of the frame. For structural reliability, the longitudinal bar must be glued to the board and additionally screwed with screws to the middle of the board thickness. Between the bars glued to the longitudinal strip of the mattress support, transverse slats will be laid – the base for the mattress.

Construction and dimensions of the supporting frame board

3. Details of stairs and railings

The railing of the fence is just a processed board, the railing of the stairs is a board with a sample for mounting on the frame. The fastening points of the steps must be marked in advance, and make sure that the screws for fixing them do not fall on the screws of the frame.

1 – notches 38 mm; 2 – places of fastening of steps; 3 – ladder steps, 3 pcs .; 4 – fence

4. Assembling the frame

The footboard and headboard are connected at the bottom with the planks of the supporting frame with screws. After that, the transverse slats, mattress holders are laid, and the outermost ones are sawn off in the corners for a tight installation. You do not need to fix them. The assembly of the second tier is carried out in the same way..

5. Assembly of stairs and railings

The ladder and the railing are simply fixed to the frame with screws. If desired, the fence can be made from the side of the wall – for the lower and upper bed. Then you need four more slats..

Now the wood can be painted and varnished, the mattresses can be laid – and the bed is ready!

In conclusion, we suggest watching a video about making a bunk crib for real princesses.

Video. Part one

Video. Part two