This is one of my favorite projects to date!
Martin, our boy doll wanted bunkbeds like this one below.
These were made by American Girl.
I have searched on ebay and they go for around $50 to $100!
SO, as usual, I began thinking about how to make something similar on the cheap.
I was meandering around our garage and saw this length of metal shelving...hhhmmm.
This is a 12 x 6 foot length of shelving with the front edge.
I used bolt cutters, small tie wraps & shelf end covers.
Each crosswire of these shelves is about 1 inch, so I counted out 20 spaces and cut as close as I could to the small cross wire.
I counted out another 20 spaces and (or about 20") and cut again.
File and round smooth all the ends not being covered by the little white caps BEFORE assembling. This took some time and elbow grease but was worth it. Note all the places I put tie wraps in the picture here.
Smooth rounded ends after filing.
2 pieces x 20 inches and 2 pieces x 14 inches.
I put the white end covers on all the bottom feet of the bed.
2 spaces from bottom attach the bottom bunk.
2 spaces from the top attach the top bunk.
AS you can see in this picture I used the tie wraps to hold the bed pieces together, but wire would work just as well. I left the turned edge of the shelf to create a natural barrier around the back and sides. The more tie wraps or wire twists the more stable the bunks will be.
AND HERE IS THE END RESULTS!
SIDE BY SIDE COMPARISON!
American Girl Version $50 - $100 on ebay. Homemade version approx $10!
Most importantly Martin is VERY happy with his new bunks!
AND the final version with race car spreads.
To see Martin's room all finished click here!
AND the final version with race car spreads.
To see Martin's room all finished click here!
That turned out great! What a fantastic idea.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I think it turned out great too. Actually better than I thought it would!
ReplyDeleteWow! Super groovy! My friends Danny and Jason would like that!
ReplyDelete*From Julie's doll mom:*
What a fabulous idea! I'm duly impressed!
Thank you! WE had fun thinking it up. I was impressed too, I am never sure how some projects will turn out. : )
ReplyDelete