Bunk Beds and Loft Beds - Building Your Own vs. Buying Ready Made

There are a lot of good reasons why you might choose to build your own bed, instead of buying one ready made. The most commonly cited reason, which may or may not be relevant to you, is the price. Building a bed tends to be much cheaper then buying one ready made, although if you buy second hand you can get a good, rugged bunk bed for under $150. You might be able to get a new one at that price, as well, but I seriously doubt that any bed you buy that cheaply will be well made enough to be worth having. As you know, if you want quality, it will come at a price... Unless you buy it from someone else.

Alternatively, if you don't want to buy a bunk bed, you can always build one yourself. While it can be difficult to get a good bunk bed new at a low cost, bunk bed kits are much more readily available and you can usually put them together without much effort. You can even just buy the plans for a bed, and get the materials yourself. So let's have a look at some of the reasons you might want to build your own bunk or loft bed.

In the first place, as I've already mentioned, kits are easy to put together. Not completely effortless, but you don't have to be an expert woodworker to do it. All you need is a bit of basic knowledge, and some standard tools that you'll almost certainly have lying about anyway, such as a hammer or screwdriver. If you've bought a full kit, then all you need to do is start assembling it, otherwise you'll have to pick up the lumber first. Just stop off at your local home hardware store, and they'll have what you need.

And of course, constructing it yourself is the best way to ensure it meets your requirements. With something you buy, especially something wooden, you can never be entirely sure of the quality. However if you construct it yourself, you can test each part as you assemble it.

After the cost, the next most often cited reason for building rather then buying is for pleasure. I'm sure you've noticed that building something can be fun, a lot more so then simply ordering it. More then that, you can expand it to a full family project and get your kids involved as well. If you don't want to have your kids involved in building the bed itself (maybe their too young, or just not very good with hammers), you could do it as a surprise gift. Children will love that you put so much effort into building something for you, and will be proud to announce to their friends that their parents built their nice new bunk bed for them.

Another reason, which I've already said something about, is that only when you build something yourself can you be sure it works as you intend it to. Whatever you're looking for in a bed, you know that when you put it together yourself you can make it exactly what you want it to be. When you buy it, you have no such guarantee. Be careful not to change the designs too much, though, as you could end up reducing the structural stability. This is really not something you want to do, especially where your children's safety is potentially concerned. On the other hand, even keeping to the plans for construction exactly, there is a lot more opportunity to alter the designs with the use of pain, stencils, stickers, or whatever else you want to use. This is especially useful if you need to match some other furniture, or just not clash with your carpets. Think about it.

There are a lot of plans available for you to choose from, so it shouldn't be too hard for you to find an appropriate one for you. The range available does not just cover the different types of bed itself, but also all sorts of accessories and alterations. For example, you could get one with some storage space, such as drawers underneath it, or in the case of a loft bed even a full closet! There are hundreds of variations, so just pick whichever you like the most, and then figure out what changes you want to make to it.

In conclusion, you may want to buy a low cost bunk bed in some situations, particularly if you just need it for a short time, or you need it very quickly. If you're not comfortable using basic tools, then building a bed is not for you, although I'm still not sure I would advise buying one.

Building a bed, though, is not just about the cost. It's also about bringing you together as a family, and making a home that you can be proud of. It's about stamping your own personality and individuality as a family onto your furniture, so that you can look in your kids bedroom and think, I made that... no other child has a room quite like mine.

By: Patrick Oakley

Patrick Oakley is a professional carpenter with expertise in creating furniture that makes efficient use of space. To this end, has recently begun providing bunk beds and loft beds over the internet.

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