Bunkroom reveal – Ikea Mydal hack

I had a vision to maximise the space in this room with beautiful built in bunks (here is my moodboard). After watching tutorials and costing timber I decided, in the end, that the pull of £30 preloved solid timber bunkbeds was too great to pass up. Aside from the bargain price, I also took great comfort in the knowledge that my children would be sleeping in something structurally sound.

It turned into a labour of love with the project spanning almost six months but the vision remained and I could not be happier with how the space turned out.

Scroll down for notes on how we did it as well as costs…

Paid partnership with Little Greene

We began by covering the four uprights with lengths of pine but, in hindsight, I should have opted for MDF here which would have been more cost effective and would not have bowed the way the pine has – after all, we painted it anyway.

A lot of tongue and groove cladding, some questionable recessed shelf building and a mountain of wood filler and decorator’s caulk later and we had the basic shape. The right hand side we backed in a sheet of 21mm ply which upped the budget but, eventually, the room will be complete with a climbing wall back there too.

Decorative trim and polystyrene coving completed the traditional feel I was going for to be in keeping with the house. As much as it went against the grain to go for the cheap coving, I read it was much easier to work with and, as we had to cut it in around the original coving to avoid damaging or removing it, we did. Let me tell you right now – it was tough enough.

We sanded and sanded and primed and painted both the bunkbeds and the storage drawers, opting for Little Greene paint in this gorgeous Jewel Beetle green (chosen by my son) and Stock for the walls. Little Greene paints are so much more than just beautiful colours; they are also child safe, environmentally friendly, hand crafted in the UK and so, so lovely to apply. We used Intelligent All Surface Primer followed by the, fully washable, Intelligent Matt Emulsion for the walls and Intelligent Eggshell for the woodwork which was recommended to me by a wonderful carpenter who uses it for all his painted projects due to the beautiful, high quality finish. I can confirm.

Those ceiling stripes were a challenge best tackled as a team but between us and a lot of green Frog Tape we got some exquisite lines. Top tip – peel the tape off when your final coat of paint is still wet to achieve the crispest of lines.

The final embellishments came in the form of these stunning, solid brass handles – an investment but, as I hear interior designers say again and again, upgrade to quality hardware to elevate your project. I just love them.

HOW MUCH IT COST

Bearing in mind we had a lot of tools already, we did manage to save on that aspect. Overall, I would say this is definitely a DIY friendly project I would encourage you to tackle yourself if you have the time. And if you do not have the time, a simple lick of good paint alone could really up your bunkbed game.

DIY built in bunkbeds
£342*

M&J TIMBER
£140 (pine lengths)

B&Q
£107 (cladding, wood filler, caulk, ply, wood screws, pins & cornice)

FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE
£30 (solid pine bunkbeds)

IKEA
£65 (under bed storage)

LITTLE GREENE
Paint was part of a partnership

FROM THE ANVIL
Handles were a gift from the brand

*I have not included the decor here but if you scroll to the very bottom of this feature you will find a full list with all the links I could find.

The small matter of a cupboard with a child sized hole in the floor (directly down to the kitchen below) to be lined and made safe, some curtains and the climbing wall to complete and we have a room ready for the tinies – I cannot wait to see their reaction and am just imagining their sweet chats from one bunk to another in their new old home.

I hope you like it too – any questions at all please ask in the comments and I will be happy to help if I can.