IKEA hack: yellow toddler bed

  In our previous home, the girls slept in a bunk bed. In the new house, India has a loft bed above the closet, so we wanted to get a toddler-sized bed for Karis, to free up some floor space. Finding a stylist yet affordable toddler bed is no small feat.  Most toddler beds look like converted cribs in cheap white wood. I found a few modern toddler beds I really liked, but I wasn’t about to spend nearly $1000 on a bed she would only use for a few years. So these guys, while great-looking, were not an option:    

One day while perusing Pinterest I cam across this bed. I’m not sure if it’s toddler-sized or not, but I loved the idea of a yellow painted bed.  I started wondering how I could customize a little bed like this without breaking the bank.

  Then I found this simple white SUNDVIK bed at IKEA. It’s small-scale, and I liked the lines. It was only $124.  I decided I could paint this yellow and create a cute toddler bed for Karis.   I picked out a bright yellow paint at Home Depot and we set it out and painted it before we assembled it.

Mark assembled it in the front yard. Then we realized it was too big to fit through the door, so we took it apart and reassembled it in the room. Rookie mistake #1. Karis was very excited about her yellow bed. She wore a wig to celebrate. Rookie mistake #2: we got the bed in the room and put her toddler mattress on it, only to realize that IKEA’s version of a toddler bed is about a foot longer than a standard toddler bed. Because of course it is.  I really wasn’t keen on buying a new mattress and then being forced to buy new bedding as well, so we decided the best solution was to pull off the two side pieces, hack off the ends, and re-attach them.  It worked. Karis loves her new bed and she and India spend much of their day playing on it. I love how bright and cheerful it is in her room.  Total cost: $124 plus a $20 can of paint.  And a little elbow grease, of course.