DIY Loft Bed + Desk

*This post contains affiliate links* For another take on this project, see my teen girls’ room loft bed build.

This post won’t be super detailed because this was a complicated build and I don’t have the first clue about how to tell anyone how to build it due to our sloped ceiling and the fact that I didn’t go by plans at all. I just made this up as I went with the help of Tyler, who made sure it was structurally sound and not going to just fall off the wall.

Building the Loft Bed Frame

I started by making a frame for the build out of 2x4s. Tyler made sure it was all screwed into studs with lag screws.

But look! We got it together and it can hold my weight!

I continued with the framing. I made the desk area and headboard area.

I got the frame done and we ordered a full sized mattress to fit. I was excited how it was turning out…

…but Mia wasn’t convinced. She didn’t understand how I was going to make these 2x4s look good.

Sometimes I wish I could just project what is in my head onto a wall so her and Tyler could see what I am thinking, but it doesn’t work like that so she was going to have to trust, wait and see!

Reframing the Window

I then started working on the framing of her window. It was just drywall before so I removed the sill, added a new frame to it and painted it Alabaster by SW.

Adding the Shiplap

I then moved on to buying tongue & groove shiplap and adding it to the build. I painted the shiplap in Tricorn by SW before attaching it to the frame. I planned on filling the nail holes and then touching up the shiplap once it was all installed.

After that I switched gears and focused on the window frame. I spray painted it like I did my master bath window but this time I made sure I had plenty of drop cloths. I used a spray primer and a black satin spray paint. I also added electrical tape to the glass in a pattern to make it look paned! Seemed like a super simple and cool idea and I think it turned out really good!

Once that was taken care of I continued with the shiplap around the window. This is the last piece going up!

Building the Stairs and Railing

Another thing Tyler helped me with was the stairs to the loft bed. I was really new to DIY at the time and he wanted to make sure it was strong since Mia would be using it constantly. We also tested it and it would take A LOT of weight to break these stairs!

He also helped me with the railing up top.

After that was all done, I started working on her headboard area. I ended up adding a box up there so she would have storage, this was Tyler’s idea and I think it was a great one! We can’t waste perfectly good space! So what would have otherwise been a covered up cavity of space was turned into a toy/blanket/pillow storage box with a desk style flat top for anything that she would want to use it for!

There was so much shiplap! This is where I used a bunch of scrap pieces to cover the outer leg of the loft bed.

There were what seemed like a never ending amount of nail holes to fill and touch up, I like to use spackle for this because I can just wipe the excess off with a baby wipe instead of having to sand it.

Finishing Touches

Then I added trim to the edges of the shiplap to give it a more finished look. Don’t worry, this was just a test fit. I planned on painting it black before nailing it on.

Once that was done, it was time to add shiplap to the “ceiling” of the loft bed. This was the last piece I had to add and I was super excited to get it finished. This loft bed took me a long time!

Then just a few final touches on the loft and it was done! Like this trim piece, I could have left the 2×6 exposed, but it just looked unfinished to me. So I picked up a 1×8 primed pine and painted it Tricorn Black to complete the look on the front and side, I just brad nailed it into place and it held just fine.

Here’s a quick video of the whole process.

And then it was done! I’m so proud of how this turned out. It isn’t anywhere near being perfect, but I think it’s pretty dang good! Here’s a before just so you could see what I was working with, along with a cute picture of Mia before she became a teenager.

We even added lighting because, why not???

For the links to Mia’s room tap here.

Next up, I built Mia a dresser from scratch!