Jean Carroll
We built this triple bunk bed for our sweet neighbors, who have triplet girls! I know I’ve been posting teasers of this build on Instagram stories for months, so thank you for being patient with me as I took my sweet time getting the tutorial and plans up. This is also a smart solution for grandchildren or multiple kids sharing a room.
These beds fit a twin size mattress and with the total cost of lumber ringing in at just under $200, building it was not only fun, but cost-effective too! So, are you ready to make your own DIY triple bunk bed? Once you build all of the components, you’ll take all the parts into the room for assembly.
We built the bed custom to the triplets’ space – if you’ll notice in the photo above, there’s a slant in the ceiling. Just FYI: the plans don’t reflect this custom feature – all of panels (front, back, and sides) are the same height at a little over 7 feet tall. Be sure to pre-drill all pilot holes to minimize the risk of wood splitting. After all, Tamra and I spent quite a bit of time together – she helped build and paint the whole thing – 9 months pregnant and all!
Now that all of the components were built, Tamra and I sanded and painted all of the parts Benjamin Moore Simply White. I made a quick template out of cardboard so that the bolts were all attached in the same place for each bed.
We pre-drilled the holes through the 2x4s and 2×6 bed boxes and inserted the carriage bolts, washers, and cap nuts. *Pro Tip: cut a couple of scrap 2x4s to 29 3/4 inches long and clamp them as shown below, to support the mattress boxes in place during assembly. Adam and Tamra attached the ladder to the bed by pre-drilling pilot holes driving wood screws from the inside of the railings.
We chose to place the ladder on the side for the most streamlined design.
Last but not least, Adam is doing a quick strength test – he weighs a little over 200 lbs. Another thing worth mentioning: we didn’t feel comfortable having those ceiling fan blades so close to the top bunk bed, so we switched out the standard ceiling fan for this remote control LED fan from Stile – the blades aren’t exposed and it’s a much smaller profile, which works best for this room.
Huge thanks to the generous folks at Beddy’s – they provided the bedding for this project and they’re offering my readers 15% off when you use the “HOUSEOFWOOD” coupon code! Tamra made the curtain tie back bows – aren’t they cute?
