My five-year-old daughter saw my wife browsing Pinterest, and long story short, I ended up building this bed/playhouse/slide/dresser/bookcase for her room:
I planned it out in SketchUp. It’s an original design inspired by a number of beds online, and the slide is based on The Wood Whisperer’s bunk bed slide. (My SketchUp file is available here.) If you’d like to build your own, I made a 40-page set of plans and you can get the PDF on Etsy.
The stairs have built-in drawers, so they double as a dresser.
The bottom three drawers don’t run the full depth of the stairs, so there’s space at the back for books and baskets.
There’s another bookshelf built into the space underneath the slide. One side is accessible from inside the playhouse…
…and the other side is accessible from under the slide.
The slide is made of melamine, the structural portion of the bed is poplar, and most everything else is MDF. The cedar shingles were left over from my Infinity Wishing Well project.
From start to finish (although not including the time to design it), this project took 107 hours over two months — well worth it, considering my daughter will spend at least 3,000 hours using it every year.
That’s amazing, Chris.
I love this!!! I tried opening up your plans, and it wouldn’t allow me to.
Hi Karli, the link is working for me now; try copying and pasting this URL:
https://www.chrisfinke.com/files/downloads/Bunk%20Bed%20With%20Slide.skp
love this! Trying to see if my hubbie can build one by Christmas. :P I can’t open file either. Can you send link as PDF?
Hi Mary, I emailed you the SketchUp file directly. Hopefully that works!
Perfect.
Be looking for something like this for ages.
Been looking to buy one but can’t seem to find the right one in the UK.
What you have done is perfect, can you send me link and I’ll see if I can get someone to make as the link above doesn’t work.
What happens when you click on this link?
https://www.chrisfinke.com/files/downloads/Bunk%20Bed%20With%20Slide.skp
You should get a file to download that you can open with SketchUp.
I would love to build this for my son!!! The plans won’t open though
I can’t open it either. Could you email me it Sheilabreslin0603@gmail.com
This is perfect!! I as well can’t get the links above to open if you could email me as well I’d appreciate that!
I’ve emailed it to you; let me know if you have any problems opening it.
Cam someone email the plans to me
I’ll email you.
Ich finde das Haus super. Können sie es mir bitte auch per Mail schicken?
Yes, I’ll email it to you now.
I own a in home daycare and have been looking for ways to go up to help with 6 feet social distancing. This is the perfect addition to our large playroom with some extra bracing and support. Will you mind emailing me your plans I’m struggling with opening the other. Thanks so much we appreciate you so much.
Yes, I emailed it to you just now.
I can’t seem to open the files? This is the most amazing bed I’ve seen 😍. Could you email me the plans, my 3 daughters would love this!
mmr8356@gmail.com
I would also love if you could send the files to my email! jemoda3@gmail.com
I’ve emailed you the SketchUp file just now.
Hello Christopher!
I have designed my own loft bed for my twins and wondered if you wouldn’t mind sharing how you made the slide. This is the only thing I am struggling to figure out even after reading and watching videos.
I followed the Wood Whisperer slide plans pretty closely (https://thewoodwhisperer.com/videos/bunk-bed-with-slide/). The slide is basically just a piece of melamine held between the two sides inside a groove:
And the top of the slides is resting on the two sets of legs that are on either side of the bookshelf.
The legs are half-lapped into the slide rails.
It was definitely the trickiest part, both because of the angles and the weight of the finished slide.
I would love the file for this design.
Sorry my email is smith_aj10@yahoo.com.
Thanks!
I e-mailed it to you.
Trying to compare costs with deciding to either buy a new loft bed (with stairs & slide) or doing a DIY, how much did you spend on materials? (Keeping in mind I have no tools)
If you don’t already have the tools and/or woodworking experience, I think buying one will be your best bet. I think I spent at least $300 on the lumber (although that will be location dependent), and you can get something similar on Wayfair for $600 (like https://www.wayfair.com/Harriet-Bee–Stairway-Twin-Over-Twin-Bunk-Bed-With-Two-Drawers-And-Slide-X117702761-L1074-K~W006691650.html ).
Or, if you’re in the southern Oregon area, we could make a deal for the one I built, since my daughter has decided she’s now too old for something so fun :)
Update: I found a copy of the receipt from when I bought the poplar, and it would cost about $425 today. Plus a sheet of melamine for the slide, two sheets of MDF for the stairs, and wood and hardware for the drawers would bring the price to at least $600.
Hello Chris.
Can you send an email with the plans please?
My email is Pedrom_marques@hotmail.com
Sure, I’ve sent them to you.
Hey there! Is there any chance I could get the pdf as well? Desperately needing stairs plans like that! Thanks so much! Brieanncraven@ gmail.com
Sure, I’ve emailed it to you.
Would love a set of plans I can open. Thanks
Sure, I’ve emailed them to you.
I would love the plans the links doesn’t work for me!
I’ve emailed them to you.
Hello! Very good design ! Is it possible to get plans for my little monster! Thank you very much!
oguzhanbozdogan@gmail.com
Sure, I’ve emailed them to you.
Happy New Year. My lil grandson said THIS is the bed he wants. Would you be so kind as to email the plans, please? Especially interested in knowing the slide height and length. Thank you. Caidan.ice@gmail.com
Sure, I’ve emailed them to you.
I would love the plan as well kobeethepoodle@gmail.com. Really appreciate it!
I’ve emailed them to you.