Materials: Kura bed, Kura tent, Trofast Frames (3)
Description: The bed is the Ikea Kura bed with optional tent attachment up top. I had painted all the blue panels of the original bed with chalkboard paint and the natural wood frame with semi-gloss white paint when we first bought the bed. The bed now sits on a plywood platform (2 cut pieces actually since one wasn't quite big enough) that rests on three Ikea Trofast frames. The plywood is also supported in the back and under the slide by 2x6 wood screwed into the wall studs. I also added the vertical support and horizontal bed guards for the lower bunk to keep kiddos from rolling out in the event of a sleep over.
We built the slide ourselves using 2 sanded 2x4s, an 18 inch wide scrap of plywood left over from the bed platform and an 18 inch wide piece of what I believe is intended to be dry erase board. The slide is 7.5 feet long and starts pretty high up so it is steep but apparently quite fun. At the top of the slide is a platform for him to climb onto before sliding down the slide.
Underneath it all is wide open space for a secret hideout (shhhh, don't tell him I told you). It is accessible by crawling under the slide.
See more of the Kura bed with slide.
~ Julie, Seattle, WA
great bed but I would be really concerned about taking a tumble off the slide and through the window. I am nearly sweating now just thinking about an over excited little boy jumping on the slide too fast and the glass breaking
ReplyDeleteHi - I replied to all three comments in one big comment on Ikeahackers. Fear not, the window is double pane and he can't get up enough speed to go through it.
DeleteMy son would love this. My daughter too. How did you support the slide?
ReplyDeleteIf you check out my blog, you'll see that someone else asked this as well and I gave a pretty detailed response. Basically it's screwed into the bed as well as the supports for the platform at the top of the slide and those supports are screwed into the wall studs. we also have several 2x2 vertical supports under the slide that go all the way to the floor.
DeleteHi Julie,
ReplyDeleteNice setup, just a couple of questions, how do children use the slide, and what lighting system are you using there?
At the top of the slide, there's a platform where he can sit before sliding down. My son mostly climbs up the slide (that's the benefit of having your very own slide, mommy says it's OK to climb up it) but he can also climb up into his top bunk then over the edge. It sounds unsafe but being in a corner, he's really comfortable with it.
DeleteAs for the lighting system - we have one rope light under the top bunk to light the bottom bunk and the light is attached to the Ikea Dimma switch so we can customize the glow. It is my new favorite place to read books before putting him to bed. There's another rope light in the fort under it all.
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ReplyDeleteHi Julie! Did you prime or sand the bed before painting?
ReplyDeleteDId you use an indoor wall paint? About to paint my Kura white and would love any advice on how you did it!
Thanks!
Cindy
CindyJ - I'm sure this is WAAAAYYYYY too late to reply but I don't get any sort of notification when someone posts so I had no idea you had a question. BUT, just in case someone else does have the same question - I didn't sand first but I did prime all the pieces with Kilz with the green label (low odor/voc) before painting with Behr untinted gloss. I always have a can of this stuff on hand. I did the work out in our garage and had plenty of time for it to dry before moving it the pieces into his room. If you're going to paint in the child's room, I suggest a low or no VOC/odor paint. I'm a fan of Olympic's version.
DeleteI primed and painted everything before I assembled it. I'm sure you could also prime and paint after.
DeleteCan you put another photo that shows hpw the slide is connected to the bed
ReplyDeleteMelis - hopefully something in this post will help: http://www.buildsewreap.com/2012/05/bed-to-beat-all-beds-specs.html
DeleteIf this still doesn't clear it up for you, leave me a comment there and I'll see what I can do for you. I don't get any sort of notification when people leave messages on Ikeahackers.net.