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The perfect space-saving bed for your little ones

Leisure time and family time
Project
A space-saving bed made from Kallax shelving units in a children's bedroom with toys around it.
Lots of storage space: our idea for a children's bed made from shelving units
  • Difficulty
    easy
  • Cost
    100-200 £
  • Duration
    1-3 h

A space-saving bed in your child's bedroom frees up the whole room for your little one to play in. This is perfect because, as you know, most kids love playing more than they like sleeping! Tidying up afterwards is no problem with the 2-in-1-bed: there's so much space for big toy boxes, which means everything can be quickly packed away.

You need
Step17

Put together the shelving units to form a square

Two oak-effect Kallax shelving units are screwed together using metal brackets, suitable screws and a cordless combi drill.

Screw together the shelving units to create a square.

You need:
Cordless combi drill
, 8 small brackets, 32 self-drilling screws: 4 x 50 mm (D x L), 2 IKEA Kallax shelving units: 147 x 77 cm (L x W), 2 IKEA Kallax shelving units: 77 x 77 cm (L x W)

Finding storage space for your child's bedroom can often be tricky – so here's a solution: make your own space-saving bed from shelving units. For our one, we've used four Kallax shelving units from IKEA. Arrange them in a square, positioning the two shorter and two longer units opposite each other. First, screw together a longer and a shorter shelving unit to form a corner. Once you've screwed together all four shelving units to make a square, that's it for step 1.

Step27

Measure the wooden slats for the bed

A pencil and a steel square are used to draw a line marking where to saw.

To ensure you saw in a straight line, use a pencil and a set square to mark up where you should saw

You need: pencil, tape measure, Set square, smooth-edged boards for the slatted bed base and the frame

Build the slatted bed base for the space-saving bed using 12 wooden slats (70 x 10 cm). To ensure the mattress doesn't slip off, build a frame out of four wooden panels – two of which should be 160 cm long and the other two 66.4 cm long (based on 70 cm minus double the thickness of the boards). Mark these dimensions on the wood using a pencil.

Step37

Saw the wooden slats

A wooden slat is cut using a Bosch NanoBlade saw. The wood is held in place using screw clamps.

Cut the wood to the correct size

You need:
NanoBlade saw
, screw clamps, protective gloves, safety glasses, face mask, work gloves, ear protectors

As soon as you've measured everything, clamp the wooden slat you want to saw tightly using the screw clamps. This ensures that it doesn't slip when you're sawing. Put on your protective gear, place the saw on the wood and saw along the line you marked earlier.

Step47

Sand down the wooden slats

A wooden slat is sanded down using a multi-sander with a rectangular sanding plate.

Sand down the wood after sawing

You need:
Multi-sander

Sand down the sawn-off edges evenly using a multi-sander so they are ready for painting. Use screw clamps to hold them firmly in place so they don't slip while you're sanding.

Step57

Paint the wood

A wooden slat is sprayed white using a green Bosch paint spray system.

Paint the slats for the mattress frame white

You need:
Paint spray system
, floor protector or cover sheets, a stirrer to mix the paint, white 2-in-1 paint

You can now paint the mattress frame in your child's favourite colour or in white, if preferred. When using a paint spray system, cover the floor beforehand with a protective sheet or floor covering. Then put on your protective gear such as your safety goggles, face mask, ear defenders and work gloves and spray the paint evenly over the wood. Alternatively, you can use a paint roller and a tray.

Step67

Put together the slatted bed base

The corded ribbon is secured using a green Bosch cordless tacker.
A corded ribbon is placed 5 cm away from the edge of the wooden slat.
The corded ribbon is secured using a green Bosch cordless tacker.
A corded ribbon is placed 5 cm away from the edge of the wooden slat.

Staple the corded ribbon firmly to the wooden slat

Lay the corded ribbon on the wooden slats for the slatted bed base

Staple the corded ribbon firmly to the wooden slat

Lay the corded ribbon on the wooden slats for the slatted bed base

You need:
Cordless Tacker
, 2 corded ribbons, 12 wooden slats: 70 x 10 cm each

Put together the 12 wooden slats you have sawn apart to form a slatted bed base. For best results, lay down the slats around 3 cm apart from each other.

Lay the two corded ribbons lengthways on either side of the wooden slat. Place them around 5 cm from the edge of the slat. Then staple the ribbons to the wood using two staples on each side.

Tip
Tip
use a piece of scrap wood to measure the distance between the slats, to make your DIY slatted bed base even more precise.
Step77

Assemble the wooden frame

The slatted bed base is placed in the white wooden frame.
A silver bracket is screwed onto a white wooden slat.
White wooden slats are arranged in a rectangle on top of the Kallax shelving units. In front of these is a steel square
The white wooden slats are secured to the shelving unit from below using a cordless combi drill.
The slatted bed base is placed in the white wooden frame.
A silver bracket is screwed onto a white wooden slat.

The last step: adding the slatted bed base

Assembling the frame is similar to assembling the shelving units: simply connect them together using brackets

Lay down the wooden slats and clamp them using screw clamps and a long wooden slat to hold them in place

Screw the wooden slats firmly onto the shelving unit from below using suitable screws

The last step: adding the slatted bed base

Assembling the frame is similar to assembling the shelving units: simply connect them together using brackets

You need:
Cordless combi drill
, pocket rule, Set square, safety glasses, wooden slat, pre-sawn slats for the frame, 4 brackets, 16 self-drilling screws: 4 x 20 mm (D x L), 4 self-drilling screws: 4 x 50 mm (D x L), long wooden slat, home-made slatted bed base, mattress

Now you're almost there. Your little ones can already start looking for a toy for their new bed. The four painted slats will become the mattress frame. Screw them together using the four brackets and four screws per bracket. Position the frame in the middle of the shelving units. Check that the distance from the frame to the edges is equal on all sides to ensure you've positioned it correctly, then secure the frame to make sure it doesn't slip.

Tip: it helps if you lay a long wooden slat on top of the frame and hold it in place using screw clamps. Then you can put in a screw into each corner of the frame from below (but don't forget to measure it out beforehand!). You can pre-drill each corner so it's easier to put the screws in straight. Then you just need to slot the slatted bed base you built into the frame and lay the mattress on top. Congratulations, the space-saving bed with storage for your child's bedroom is now complete!

Do you want to get your kids into DIY? Here are a couple of DIY toy ideas that you can try with them.

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