Playhouse Bed

Have you ever found something on Pinterest that was totally adorable and that you swore you had to try/have?  That never happens, right?!

Well, I found this Playhouse Loft Bed post on Ana White's popular blog and immediately fell in love.

My little girl was fast approaching her 3rd birthday, she needed incentive to spend time in her room (and sleep in it), and I was transitioning her from a toddler bed to a twin bed anyway ... My husband had the tools and skills required to build it ... I have the painting and decoration skills to make it totally adorable ... How could we NOT do this?!

So, we did.  

Following the pattern we downloaded from Ana White's blog, we purchased all of the wood and other materials, and my husband took about 2 weeks, off and on, to complete the build.

I couldn't park my car in the garage until he was ready to take the major pieces upstairs for final construction ...

He did a really good job...

All of the pieces were so heavy and large, we couldn't have done it any other way.

I am NOT looking forward to the day when this bed has to be moved!  It certainly can't be moved out of the bedroom without being taken apart.

These stairs are optional.  You have to make sure you download the correct pattern because there are two versions; one with stairs and one without.  They double as storage, so you KNOW I was all about it!

Once we had the bed built, it was my turn to paint!

I started with the white trim.  It took forever.  I had to do 2 coats, and I had to get in between all of the slats.  It was not easy!

Then I painted the main pieces purple, the primary color.  This is the same purple that I used in the girls' closet (see Girls' Room Makeover).

Then I painted the stair lids dark pink.  This is the same pink used on the walls.

It was a really big relief to have it all done!  I think I took 3 days, on and off, and I had some help with the slats because my hand got so ridiculously sore one night!

A few weeks later, I added a curtain to the window which I made with some really-delicate-and-difficult-to-work-with fabric and hung with a cheap-o white bar.

I added some purple flower embellishments and some simple purple ribbon tie-backs.

I'm really proud of work on this playhouse bed!  We really do nice work together, and I don't know a lot of couples that can say that.  Our little girl loves it ... and our son wants his own!  He sleeps with his little sister most nights now!  (Hey, whatever keeps them upstairs and out of OUR bed, right?!)  Our older daughter wants one too, even though she's entirely too tall to fit under this one.

We put the play kitchen and a bean bag chair inside.  I'd like to build out the inside to look like a little house, but I haven't found the time yet.  I thought about adding some additional decorations like flower boxes on the windows, something for the door, maybe a cute little mailbox on the side, or something that says "Home Sweet Home."  It needs a bit more character, but it's okay for now.  We certainly have bigger priorities around the house.  Maybe when my little girl gets older, she can help me make some additional decorations.

What would I do differently?  Well, if you look at the very bottom of the bed, you can see the wood color showing through by the carpet... that's because the bed was too heavy to lift up and put plastic/paper underneath so I could paint the entire baseboard! Doh!  I would consider painting certain pieces BEFORE final construction, or perhaps painting the entire thing before final construction.  Especially those slats... UGH, that was awful!  I might even consider using a spray paint or a paint gun!

If you ever decide to give something like this try, let me know... it was quite an experience!