{Boys Built-in Bunk Beds} Kottong Homestead

We have three boys (each 12 months apart in age) who share a room and (for the most part) love it! When we designed their bedroom in our new home we made sure to give them the biggest room with a big walk-in closet. We had always planned on doing some sort of built-in bed set-up so I made sure to have two walls (aka no windows or doors in the middle) to accommodate.

Original Layout when we were in the process of building

Originally, we had a bunk bend and trundle bed from our old house and thought about creating shelves around the existing beds to make it look more custom. However, upon moving into the house our youngest (and only) daughter insisted on sharing a room with her brothers…. This changed things because I hated that her bed was a pull-out on the ground. Also, the beds we had weren’t the best quality and over time the drawers started coming off their tracks, dents & dings, and the normal wear-and-tear 3 very active boys do started to show.

So we (or I) decided it was time to start designing a new set-up and to motive my husband into this project… I sold our current bunk & trundle at my mom’s garage sale in the summer! Ha-ha, this move may have been a little over-zealous on my part because we now had four mattresses on the floor and zero immediate plans to rectify the situation! Then my husband’s work schedule got unexpectedly crazy busy & he was gone a lot more than he was home– not great timing! Thankfully, that fall my father-in-law step in and ask if he could help!

| Before |

So I don’t have a great “before” shot like I normally take before embarking on projects. This is mainly because the space was never really put together… to my standards anyways. The boys didn’t really care if anything was on the walls and honestly most decorations had accidents from nerf gun wars and run-away bouncy balls! It was functional for their sleeping needs – and that is all that mattered, I guess. In these two pictures you can kind of see the original set-up:

Bunk bed to the left and trundle bed to the right —>

… oh and my goofy kiddos posing before bed time!

| The Design |

Firstly, it was important that each kid had their own individual space. I grew up sharing a room with my two sisters until I was 16… so I know first-hand having your own area can make all the difference when you have a shared space! So individual beds and some sort of shelving was a must…which leads me to the second item: Storage.

My kids have SO MANY knick-knacks & “treasures” and needed a place to store and contain them! Originally I thought wanted a stair case instead of a ladder – because that’s how our old set-up was and it worked for little kids. Then we realized the kids were older now and using a ladder instead of stairs gave us more storage potential … we could now put shelves/cubbies on both ends of each bed!

Then came the style: My boys are huge into Star Wars (lol, mainly lightsabers! What boy isn’t into a sword that lights up?!) and I have made and accumulated a few Star Wars pieces over the years that I knew I wanted to incorporate. However, I wanted this “permanent structure” to be a bit more timeless. So rather than going full space-age… the goal was to keep it neutral and masculine and switch up the décor with their growing interest. To achieve this, I wanted to do neutral colors and add some wood elements to warm it up. I also wanted the design to be simple and modern, which to me translated into symmetrical clean lines. Even though I know my daughter will eventually lose interest in the novelty of sharing a room with her brothers (& thereby making only three tenets in the space), I still wanted to go with four beds to achieve a more symmetrical look. Plus we have their cousins stay with us all the time, so the extra bed will come in handy for friends and family sleepovers! Aesthetically pleasing And functional – win-win!

| Progress Pictures |

I had quite a few scattered ideas and drawings of what I hoped to achieve, and my father-in-law rolled with it all and took it from there! He spent most every weekend for weeks piecing together the beds and I loved watching it progress! He did such an amazing job making my vision come to life. We made minor tweeks along the way, making this truly a one-of-a-kind custom piece.

I (of course) had to install a little shiplap in each bunk – couldn’t resist!

| Painting & Stain |

For the shiplap, I used a color and brand of stain that I’ve never worked with before and I instantly regretted my decision to go so dark. I am not sure if I got a “bad batch” but there was so much color in the stain you could barely see the wood grain. After doing one bunk I immediately attempted to sand off the color and start again (I know, I should have used I tester piece of wood before applying it directly on the wall… but I’ve seriously never had this happen before!). Anyway, as I vigorously sanded the stain, I noticed it was starting to look worn & distressed … which I was really liking! So a happy accident was born! For the rest of the bunks, I added some lighter walnut to the stain (so I wouldn’t have to sand as much on the other bunks) and continued the stain-then-sand technique. I think the worn look adds to the masculinity of the space and really warms it up.

When it came time to pick the paint I went back and forth on the color. I originally wanted white but was quickly over-ruled by my husband and boys… apparently that was one of thee worst ideas. Ever. My oldest wanted red, my middle wanted blue and my youngest son wanted black… oh and my daughter was told (by her loving brothers) she didn’t get a vote – but threw out pink just because… So to compromise, I went with gray – seems fair right? The walls in the room were already Anew Grey (as is most our house) and I didn’t feel like repainting the whole thing, so I went with a slightly darker, cooler tone: Dorian Gray (SW7017). It has just enough of a contrast from the ceiling and walls that it seemed to work.

I decided to spray the beds – and holy-moly was that some prep work. It took the greater part of the day taping the shiplap, ceiling, walls, light fixtures – but oh so worth it! Spraying took a fraction of the time! After letting it dry overnight, I did a second coat and just like that – it was done! So much easier then rolling and brushing all those nooks!

After the tape was removed, I decided to add the navy blue (Naval SW 6244) accent wall again (the old accent one was now covered up with the beds!). It really adds more dimension to the space and I had the extra paint laying around – so why not?!

My father-in-law finished making the drawers after I painted, so I hand brushed them – Look at the size of these guys! So much storage!!! I love it.

He did such an amazing job!

| Textiles & Decor |

One of my favorite places to shop is IKEA – especially for the kids. Its affordable and I get so many ideas walking through their show rooms… my husband on the other hand: loathes IKEA. His biggest fear is losing me in their massive warehouse and being stuck in there for hours with no end in sight!! So needless to say, he was so thrilled when I planned a date there! It was probably one of our quickest trips – but it was successful! I found some plaid bedding that worked well with the Pottery Barn Star Wars sheets the kids already owned… then I had to get the rug that “matched” the bedding… and the pillows… and the shelf ledges… obviously! It’s a cycle that I love… but my budget maybe not so much!

Then I went to work creating a few custom wood signs for the boys shelves! They turned out so cute!

For the curtain rod – I decided to have a little fun with the finials. I bought a wood rod & finals from Lowe’s and painted the globes white and added a little craft pain to make them look like BB8 – a super fun and easy way to add a little charterer to the room (when they get tired of Star Wars theme I can always replace the finials – super easy!)

We kept one of the dressers from our old set and I decided to paint it to go with the theme too.

The last step was the ladders/railing – we got those custom welded by a local welding company and they turned out better then I could image!

| The Final Product |

Look how amazing these beds turned out! My father-in-law out did himself! My kiddos are so lucky and in love with their new bedroom!

| The Amenities |

Each bunk comes with two sets of shelving

…and a hidden compartment to fill with all their treasures.

There are also two separate outlets in each bunk: one in a bookshelf, and one on the shiplap wall that has a switch to control their reading light:

It took us several months from start to finish to get this one done – but so worth the wait!

I ended up with some pretty happy clients 😉

| Links |

Bedding: Sheets & Pillow cases are from Pottery Barn Kids, Flannel Duvet From IKEA

Star Wars Droid Kids Sheet Set: https://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/star-wars-droid-sheet-set/?pkey=s%7Cstar%20wars%7C115

**MOSSRUTA** Duvet Set: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/mossruta-duvet-cover-and-pillowcase-s-dark-blue-check-00454680/

Lighting: We got the wall sconces from Lowe’s for each bunk – I cannot find them on their website to link – but they are just wall mounted (plug-in) sconces with a 40w-LED bulb – the kids love them for reading in their bed. The Navy Pendants are from Pottery Barn.