2024 Author: Beatrice Philips | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-18 12:09
Children's loft bed is a compact analogue of products for adults that optimizes space equally effectively: it frees up useful space and increases the capacity of the room. Most parents place high demands on the quality of children's furniture, giving preference to solid wood products. And everything would be fine, but many are confused by the price of the issue, because ready-made wooden beds are not cheap. Others are satisfied with the design and price, but not happy with the quality characteristics of the product.
The way out of such situations is the independent manufacture of an attic bed from an array. So you can avoid big expenses - once, make a furniture complex of the right size - two, which will correspond to the aesthetic preferences of the child - three. The models presented by us are universal solutions that the smallest owners of nurseries, preschoolers and teenagers will be happy with. Your task is to determine the size and follow the instructions.
Peculiarities
Compared to a bunk bed, where a couple of sleeping places are provided, the loft bed has only one sleeping surface, located on the second tier. Its design is characterized by extreme simplicity. The product is represented by a frame, a lounger, design elements - safety boards, stairs, headboard, footboard.
The first floor will be used for:
- working area;
- playground;
- sports complex;
- dressing room with a chest of drawers or wardrobe;
- a place to relax with a sofa.
To organize a functional work segment, sports unit or safe play area, it will be necessary to carefully calculate the load on all parts. As for the design, in beds of small height, the sizes of pull-out elements - tables, stairs, storage systems will need to be measured out to a millimeter. Otherwise, difficulties will arise during operation.
In high beds, the filling of the lower tier implies such an arrangement of pieces of furniture so that access to the drawers remains free, and the doors of the cabinets can be freely opened and closed.
What material is better to choose?
The choice of material for a loft bed implies two possible options - with a frame made of metal or made of wood. Arguments for making a wooden structure rather than a metal one:
- ease of processing;
- assembly speed;
- weighs less than a metal product;
- does not require the use of special equipment, and to build a metal bed you need a welding machine.
Pros and cons
Furniture craftsmen have always preferred wood - a natural material with many practical advantages. Advantages of wooden furniture:
- strength, reliability and durability;
- low thermal conductivity, perfectly retains heat;
- environmental friendliness. Wood is a material created by nature itself, therefore it is completely harmless to the body;
- health-improving effect - filters the air, neutralizing the effect of harmful substances, which contributes to the creation of a healthy microclimate in the house;
- external attractiveness. Each tree has its own unique pattern, its contemplation is a visual pleasure;
- organically complements any interior;
- fills the house with a natural delicate aroma;
- tactile comfort - gives a lot of pleasant sensations upon contact.
The disadvantages of the material include the fear of a humid environment and temperature extremes, therefore, the solid wood must be treated with protective compounds.
Varieties of wood varieties
- Beech and oak - high-strength, durable materials, but their cost will be appropriate. Alder and linden are rarely used. The most affordable option is solid pine. Pine saturates the air with phytoncides, which inhibit the growth of bacteria, reducing the risk of colds. It has a beneficial effect on the nervous system and normalizes the emotional background.
- Solid pine it is considered a fairly soft and pliable material. Therefore, mechanical damage - scratches and dents due to careless use inevitably lead to the loss of the appearance of the product. The softness of the pine directly depends on its age. The older the tree, the stronger it is.
Tools
The frame is made of a wooden bar, the minimum section size is 80x100, preferably 100x100 mm. Sheathing, railings, stairs are made of rails with a thickness of 20-30 mm. For the manufacture of the bottom, plywood is used, although it is best to equip the structure with a finished rack bottom, where the battens are fixed with lat holders. This bottom is sold in furniture stores.
Fasteners:
- furniture bolts;
- universal screws;
- adhesive composition for carpentry work.
Of the tools used:
- circular saw;
- drill screwdriver;
- hand sander / fine-grained emery cloth;
- clamp;
- a hammer;
- tape measure, ruler;
- laser / water level.
Drawings and diagrams
Even a design as simple as a loft bed has several options. The difference between the two lies in the pinning method.
Basic models are represented by design solutions of three types:
- independent structure with four supports , for the placement of which you can choose any place in the room, but the room must have a sufficient ceiling height;
- with wall mounting system - a stable structure, where the frame part has two supports.
- with ceiling mount system - the most original version of the bed. There is simply no two-tier frame part here, and the sleeping surface is fixed to the ceiling. Teenagers are delighted with this option.
The popularity of the first modification is due to the ease of implementation and relative portability.
Ladder options
Another fundamentally important point is the installation of the stairs.
Ladders can be placed:
Vertically , which is beneficial in terms of saving space, but the safety of this option is questionable. It can be mounted on the right side, on the left, at the end, and sometimes just on the wall. This placement method is suitable for schoolchildren, but not for the smallest children.
Inclined - in addition to the traditional straight lines, there are radius staircases. They are simpler and safer. The convenience of a ladder depends on the angle of inclination, the larger it is, the more comfortable it is to move along it, which, however, also affects the occupied area. Ladders are often made removable.
For these options, flat steps are a safe solution, not round ones.
Ladder modules - roll-out and stationary . In this case, drawers act as full-fledged steps, from which the module is formed. These are the safest options, since the steps are of a standard size, and the march has a familiar slope.
Runway models are a hybrid of modular and sloped staircase options . The platform is installed at a height equal to ½ the height of the bed, equipping the podium with a short inclined ladder. In order to save space, the podium itself is equipped with a built-in storage system.
Determine the size
When choosing sizes, take into account the age of the child and the dimensions of the room. Mini attics with a low sleeping surface are ideal for children aged 2 to 5 years. Their dimensions are 70x160, and the height is at least 80 cm, maximum - 120 cm. For schoolchildren, it is already possible to consider both one-and-a-half and double versions of beds with dimensions of 90x200, 140x200 cm, with a height of 1.8 m.
When creating a drawing, one must not forget about the scale, this simplifies the calculation of the required amount of materials.
Manufacturing and assembly
In accordance with an individually developed or ready-made drawing, the required amount of materials is calculated. You can use the services of sawing in the store, or you can do it yourself.
Work order:
- Grinding structural parts with a grinder or sandpaper. Sharp corners, chips and irregularities should not leave a trace.
- Treatment of boards and bars with an antiseptic.
- Drilling holes for fasteners during installation. You don't need to drill them all at once.
- Treatment of holes with adhesive immediately before joining parts.
- Assembling the frame part from four supports and a frame from bars with a section size of 100x100 mm.
- Formation of the frame from the support bars and outer boards of the side-limiters, fixing the racks with screw connections or metal corners.
- As the assembly progresses, it periodically checks the accuracy of the vertical compliance with a square.
- The reliability of the structure will provide additional fastening of the supports at the ends and in the rear with the help of rails, placing them at a height of 0.3-0.4 m.
- Stuffing the rails on the support beams. When calculating the required number of rails, the estimated load serves as a guide.
- Formation of fences by fixing the rails to the supports. In height, the protective sides most often reach 0.4 m. For kids, the fences are filled more densely, installing, in addition to two or three longitudinal boards, a similar number of transverse boards.
- Ladder manufacturing - vertical / inclined with subsequent fastening to the frame. The steps of the staircase are placed at such a distance from each other that the process of moving along them is as convenient as possible for the child.
- Finished product processing with two layers of matte / transparent varnish. Each layer requires drying for at least a day. To change the shade of wood, stain is used.
Important nuances:
- When selecting lumber, be sure to pay attention to the degree of drying . Humidity above 18% is unacceptable. A product made of such wood quickly dries up, cracks and deforms.
- The best option for the fastening connection involves a tenon-groove docking, which is considered the most durable and reliable . If you have a milling tool, do not neglect the possibility of forming tenons and drilling holes under the fasteners with a router. The assembly is carried out on an adhesive composition and is duplicated using self-tapping screws.
- When calculating the size of the bed, the size of the mattress must be taken into account . There must be at least 2 cm gaps between the safety sides and the soft base on all sides.
- During installation, do not forget to use a level, it is best to use a laser level to check right angles .… At the slightest deviation, immediately correct the shortcomings, since it is precisely such defects that are the cause of the instability of the entire structure.
Color solutions
In this matter, do not forget to ask the opinion of the owner of the loft bed. If adults are quite satisfied with the natural color of the wood, then the children's abodes may have a different opinion on this matter, which will have to be reckoned with. Girls will surely like light pastel colors - pink, yellow, pale green, lilac, not to mention the universal pure white color. For boys, a darker palette of gray, blue, brown will suit. The priority for teenagers is silver metallic and black.
Interesting loft bed ideas
The photo gallery contains original loft beds for children of different ages.
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