For the next installation in our Real Home Inspiration Series, my friend Kimie from Kimie Pruessner Photography is telling you all about her amazing shared kids’ room and playroom with a DIY closet bunkbed. When I first saw it, I thought it was the coolest and most practical space. She turned the closet in to a bunk bed, leaving all the floor space for play. This series is all about real homes and real people with creative and inspiring but lived in, unstaged spaces. I’ll turn it over to Kimie. Enjoy!
I am so honored to be on the blog today! A huge thanks to Becca for having me (isn’t she awesome?).
When I’m not photographing my littles, cooking, or planning other children’s portrait sessions, you can often find me engaged in some DIY project. This closet-bunkbed playroom is one such project.
I’m not sure why, but since becoming a homeowner, I’ve become mildly obsessed with building beds inside closets. The cozy, tucked-in look and feel… the space-saving aspect… I’m not sure what it is, but I just love them.
It’s hard to believe now, but my second child was only 16 months when he started sleeping in that bottom bunk bed! My oldest was not quite three when she started sleeping in the top bunk. I love Cocalo bedding. This style is Alphabet Soup, and I adore the bright colors, particularly for a mixed gender room like this one.
…With that in mind, I purchased plywood boards from a big-box home improvement store, painted them each a different color matching the Cocalo Alphabet Soup bedding, and anchored them to the wall using simple (but strong) L brackets. These shelves are life-savers when it comes to keeping toys out of the kids’ reach.
The curtains in this room were custom made (by my mom!) the week after my third child was born. We used the valence from the Cocalo Alphabet Soup set and attached it to a couple yards of coordinating fabric. Couldn’t be simpler.
One thing I love about this room is all that open floor space. I have resisted my every urge to fill that little space under the bottom bunk, because I love seeing clean carpet under it. And I love that the kids can play hide-and-seek under there, too.
Although I want the kids to ask permission before getting down every toy they own, I definitely do not want them asking me to come turn on the light in the morning. They wake up far too early. These lightswitch extenders are a must when your kids are little.
Do you have a favorite element of your kids’ rooms? Please share below! Keep up the good work, mamas, and leave some love in the comments below 🙂 ~Kimie
Thanks so much for sharing your home with us, Kimie! If you are looking for more inspiring spaces and photography tips, check out Kimie Pruessner Photography on Facebook and Pinterest. Kimie is a studio and natural light newborn and child photographer in Richardson, Texas.
That looks really cute! I love how cozy the bunk beds are. Where do you keep their clothes? And what are the darker blue fabric tube things on the wall?
Kathryn – Thanks for your comment! And great question. I keep all the kids’ clothes in a different room (we call it “The Green Room”). They get dressed there (my oldest is only 4) and then go play or sleep in the bunk room. I do it that way because when my oldest was a toddler, she LOVED taking all the clothes out of her drawers and depositing them throughout the house. I finally realized I need to have the clothes totally separate so that I can organize them and put away laundry while the kids are napping/sleeping.
The darker blue tube things are their little sleep rolls. They’re from Costco, and they love them! They drag them all over the house to have “sleepovers” in various rooms :).
Hi! Do You have mattresses on them? I definitely need to have hubby make these!
Wow! Love it!
Love the idea about sewing the valence on to a solid curtain! I definitly have a few of those I can reuse now!