The loft bed.

I made a loft bed. Well, we made a loft bed. My Poppy and I. I really can't take all the credit for that one. Maybe not even a full fifty percent of the credit actually. Poppy worked like a Trojan and I bring her in for all of my heavy work. I am only five foot one and one half inch tall. This leaves me at a slight disadvantage when it comes to big girl jobs, so Poppy runs to my rescue. 

My little girl has just turned six and was becoming far too big for her junior bed. She has one of those tiny little box bedrooms which is a real pain to furnish. Not enough room and too much child. Add to that the fact that purchasing a pre-made loft bed is an expensive business and you have a recipe for disaster. So we made this:

That's my squeaker, ready for bed.

This project was not our own design, but one which we adapted from Ana White. She's a genius - if you haven't seen her site, go and check it out this instant! There are lots of free plans available and they're all accessible and rated depending on your ability and price range. Fantastic.

We have placed the ladder in a different location to allow for the funny dimensions of Squeaker's room. She still has lots of space for storage underneath and absolutely loves being up high. I did have initial concerns over whether or not she'd be confident sleeping on high (with visions of her saying "Sorry mummy, it's just too high, now i'll have to sleep in your bed FOREVER" it was with trepidation that her new sleeping arrangements were revealed) but my fears were unfounded. Never before has she played quietly in her own room, but now she sneaks toys up the ladder with her and spends hours quietly amusing herself. Mummy did the dance of joy.

The total timber cost for the project was £140 and it is a staggeringly solid piece of kit. I can get up there quite comfortably to make her bed or read her stories. I enjoyed the build with Poppy, but the paint finish was an absolute chore. By that point Poppy had gone home and I had hours of exceptionally dull work to complete with only the Foo Fighters for company. Don't get me wrong, Dave Grohl's company is not to be sniffed at, but is no substitute for putting the world to rights with a pal.

Without paint, it was still pretty but I very definitely needed a hard wearing finish to put up with the hammering it was going to take from my excitable six-year-old and her equally excitable friends and so followed sixteen hours of painting...separated into four hour sessions with sixteen hours between each coat. In the end, I did the unthinkable and decided that the finish was 'good enough' and left out the last coat - for the sake of my own sanity. I'm still glad I did.

This is the almost finished product. I still plan to make some curtains for beneath the bed frame so that she can have a fort of her very own, but I keep forgetting to buy new fabric.

As she gets older, that Ana White designs allow for a desk and bookcase to be built in underneath, but I figured I'd give her some extra play room for now. Pictures will follow as I get around to making curtains and bunting and garlands of flowers :-)