The perfect space-saving bed for your little ones

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.