Modified jr. camp loft bed TRANSFORMED my daughter's small room!

This was a labor of love for my 7 year-old daughter. I LOVE the plans, and modified them a bit to make it work in her small room. Modifications include:

-- Made it six inches higher than the plan calls for. My daughter can stand up underneath (probably for another year), and there's still plenty of height for her to sit up on the bed, even with 8-foot ceilings.

-- I added a book case under the stair landing. Again, her room is small, and the goal was to take advantage of every available nook with the room redo. I love how they came out. I used adhesive wallpaper as a shelf liner and on the outside portion under the steps, and reinforced the shelves with a piece of wood that I screwed into the top of the frame (using my beloved Kreg jig).

-- I got really lucky with the dresser on the left side of the bed. It fit *perfectly*. It's a Hemnes dresser from Ikea, in case anyone wants to do the same. My six-inch height addition allowed the six drawer version of that dresser to fit; otherwise the three drawer would have worked. I added the same adhesive wallpaper to the drawer faces to dress it up a bit more... really pleased with how that turned out, too. So much so that I did the same thing to her desk.

-- To give me peace of mind, I added MANY L-brackets on the underside of the bed, and also used two additional 2x4's from head to foot. Every joint was made using my Kreg (did I mention that I love that thing?).

-- Cloud'esque adhesive wallpaper was added under the bed. I like the look, but that particular wallpaper was tough to apply smoothly. If anyone is considering doing the same, I suggest only using thick paper... it won't crease and will save you many four letter words.

-- I strung "fairy lights" under the bed, possibly excessively. :-) My daughter loves them, and enjoys telling Alexa to turn them on/off (by use of a smart plug... they're really cheap these days).

-- I also installed what we call "reading lights" (as they're known to Alexa... separate smart plug) underneath, as that space is now the go-to reading area at bedtime.

-- I painted it white and made the stair landing a grayish brown stain.

I can't say enough about how much I love this site. The plans -- including the ones for this loft bed -- are all easy to follow from both instruction and materials perspectives alike. And the finished products are all great. I also made a desk from plans on this site, and am going to get working on some outdoor furniture soon. This plan in particular COMPLETELY TRANSFORMED my daughter’s small room into a space where the whole family loves to hang out before tuck-in.

The day my daughter inevitably outgrows her loft bed (hopefully several years from now) will be a sad day indeed.

Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Behr Antique White paint in semi-gloss.
Custom mix of gray and brown stain for stair landing.
Adhesive wallpaper bought at HD and Amazon (for the cloud paper)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate