CreativeDad

It’s not easy being creative - sometimes off-the-shelf just doesn’t cut it.

When we were expecting my daughter to come into the world, we decided to move Max into the room next door. Molly would take over his (then) current room. I looked at the move as an opportunity to exercise my creativity.

Within a day, I had a basic plan for a loft bed with a climbing wall and secret room. I often use a CAD program to map out my ideas but I seem to remember this one was done on graph paper instead. Perhaps this was because exact measurements and details weren’t required for a final product. I missed a few things by going by instinct but the final result has been the envy of Max’s friends.

In three installments, I’ll describe how I built this bed - the design considerations, building techniques, and finishing.

1. Pick a space in the room

Where you build the playscape depends on the shape of the room, location of air and electricty, windows and doors, and lighting. It should be easy to visualize the spot - even if it is just a corner of a room. In my son’s room, only one wall had enough free space to hold the loft. This was is probably larger than what most people will be able to fit into a room.

One simple option for space is to build where the bed would normally be located. One wall (along with one or two additional support poles) is enough to start. Something in the middle of the room could work as well but most people will not have that much space to work with. The advantage of “lifting the bed” is you gain some space for playing, for a desk, or storage underneath.

2. Electrical and mechanical considerations

In choosing the space, note the location of heating/cooling ducts, electrical outlets, ceiling features like lighting and ceiling fans. It is simpler to leave these items undisturbed. If you’re comfortable with relocating or reworking these things, have at it.

In my son’s room, I had to relocate the ceiling fan off-center to avoid head gashes and hanging kids. I added additional indirect lighting and installed an electrical outlet in the ceiling.

I didn’t plan adequately enough for the electrical so we’ve had to resort to some extension cords and power strips to provide power on the loft level. I know I could still install some additional outlets higher on the wall but I haven’t bothered yet. Better to plan ahead on this. This will probably not be a problem for simpler structures.

The heating/cooling duct in our loft was extended using some flexible ducting and a couple of duct fixtures. The enclosure built around the duct thus became seating underneath the loft. You can also see an example of my poor planning for this electrical outlet. Certainly NOT CODE!

3. Design some features

If replacing a bed, the loft will need to be at least as large as the mattress. A regular twin mattress is about 40″ by 72″. If your child is younger than 10 or 11, you need something to keep them from rolling off onto the floor. With our loft, I didn’t bother with a bed rail - we purchased an aftermarket rail instead. He’s only fallen off once since we removed the bed rail and, although the bed was moved further back from the edge, it was still in close to the edge on one end.  The fall scared him more than anything else.

The height above the floor is about 42″. I arrived at this number by considering my own comfort in playing underneath the loft, my son’s height at the time, and what looked like a survivable fall. I haven’t looked into any building or safety codes to see if there is a standard height rule because I doubt that such a thing exists for children’s furniture - I’m probably wrong. Obviously, this is an important consideration. I would be more reluctant to built the loft if the room was not carpeted.

Climbing walls, ladders, and stairs

What kind of look or feel are you going for? I imagined a tree or bricks painted on the climbing wall so I used holes in a plywood sheet. By the time I “finished” this project, I didn’t feel like painting anymore. Either way, it was a simple solution. The only downside I see to a traditional ladder is durability since there are more parts and joints that need to stand up to kids.

In my opinion, stairs are wasted space.  However, they make it easier to carry items to and from the upper level.  I’m going to have to install a rope-pulley-basket system for my daughter’s bed because it has a ladder rather than stairs.

Slides

In both my kids beds, I’ve wanted to have some sort of slide. However, they take up A LOT of room. That is, unless you want something steeper than 45 degrees. Then they’re not doing much better than jumping off the loft. Even 45 degrees is steep - 30 degrees is better. Using the 3-4-5 rule, a slide 3-feet high at the apex will extend 4-feet into the room (the sliding area will be 5-feet long.) This would give us a 30-degree slide but, at 3.5 feet height (42″ as above), it would extend close to 5-feet into the room. That’s almost half the length or width of a typical suburban kid’s bedroom.

Sliding poles

Great idea but consider the implementation. It will need to withstand kids slamming themselves onto it and sliding down (or climbing up). You’re welcome to calculate the forces involved in that kind of activity but figure on the pole being fairly stout and heavily secured to the floor and ceiling. Materials are another issue - metal or framing stud sheathed in a schedule-40 PVC pipe? Off the top of my head, there are metal foundation supports that might work for a metal pole.  With the adjustable jack screw on the bottom, they might be ideal for this application.  However you accomplish this, I’m fairly sure you’ll need to reinforce the framing in the ceiling as well as the floor.

Zip lines

Another fun idea but impractical in most situations. A zip-line will require more room than a slide. And like a sliding pole, kids will be arriving at their destination with drywall-busting force. Last year, my son campaigned for one but he soon realized that there wasn’t any room for it.

Hammock

This is simple and a lot of fun.  A hammock may also solve some space issues since it takes up less room than a mattress.  A small hammock will only need about 8 feet between supports and can be taken down during play.

Secret rooms, doors, and hatches

Underneath this loft are two rooms.  One large enough to allow an adult to lay down, the other is 3′ by 3′ and was/is intended to be a secret room.  I left space in the interior wall to hold an electronics panel that I may still build.  The door to the secret room also has a fisheye peep hole just like a hotel room.

If you have the space, a cubby or secret hideaway is almost essential.

I worried about a few things with the hatches and doors.  The hatches are not attached so it is possible for them to fall through the hole at the right angle and whack somebody.  For the doors, just thinking about how kids slam them makes me anxious.  Fingers could easily get caught.  Luckily, in the few years that this has been played on, fingers and heads have not been harmed.

Doors can be a challenge to install.  Using simple utility hinges, I still had to route a recess in the framing for clean mounting.  Floor clearance was a dicey, too, but the friction keeps the doors from swinging freely - making it less likely that fingers will be smashed.

Storage

Bookshelves, cabinets with doors and drawers, chests, secret compartments, etc.

Fantasy design

In both bed systems that I’ve made, I avoided any specific fantasy elements.  I prefer to let the kids use their imagination over installing permanent features like minarets or picket fences.  They can always tape things on afterwards.  Another advantage is that I might be able to get a couple more years of use before they get torn down or disassembled.

Favorite Activities (that I’ve observed)

Jumping off from various heights.  Using a rope to scale the climbing wall.  Three kids sleeping in the “large” room during sleepovers.  Chasing each other through the hatches and over the climbing wall. Playing “basketball” with the large, round window at the top of the wall.

Jumping and rope play are, by far, the most popular and the most dangerous.  We haven’t had any problems but there’s always a chance that someone will get hurt.

In the next installment, I’ll talk about the simple building techniques I used to install this loft into my son’s room.