How I Made the Loft Bed Hideout

Hey! It's a rainy rainy day here today, so please forgive my less than good photos in advance!

Last year, we purchased a junior loft bed for our oldest son.  It's not as tall as a regular loft bed, so I can still lean over it to kiss him goodnight, and made the bed, and so on.  We have a small house, so it is a great space saver.

The bottom is too short for the boys to walk under, so they use the space underneath as a place space, hideout, quiet time, or whatever they need it for.  To make it more private (and fun) I added a curtain. Now it's the Boy Cave (at least from the inside).

See how much of a cave you can make it?  Don't worry, there's lights under there too - scroll down for a pic.

Want to covert your loft bed too?

Here's what I did.

Get a set (2 pieces) of pole mounts.  They look like this white circle - but you can find them in many colors.  They're in the general hardware section of most Walmart/Target type stores, or you can find them at the hardware store if you ask.

Buy or repurpose a tension mount shower curtain rod, any color.  A normal sized curtain rod worked perfectly, to go along the length of a twin mattress (from the ladder edge to the end of the bed).

Get some 3M type poster mounting strips - I used 2 for each pole mount, 4 total.  Follow the directions to attach them to the bed, then peel the backs off and attach one pole mount where you want each end of the curtain rod to go.  I placed mine as high as I could on the legs of the bed, since I knew there would be a little bit of a gap from the curtain clips.

Remove the rubber stopper ends from your curtain rod, then fit the tension rod onto the pole mounts as tightly as you can.  The pressure will help set the 3M strips.

I used curtain clips to attach the fabric to the pole.  You can buy these at the hardware store, WM/Target, etc.  They come in many finishes.  Mine didn't have any sharp pieces on them, they just clamp over the fabric.  I used 7 to attach mine, and they come in packages of 10 I think.

The great thing about the clips is that you can change out the fabric any time you want, you don't have to make a rod pocket on the curtain, and it's easy for the kids to push the curtain aside on the rod.  Here's a terrible picture of mine.

Measure your space for the fabric - you want it to hang the full width of the space, and the height is from the clips to the floor.  Cut your fabric to allow for seam allowances, and hem all the edges. Or not, it's up to you.  I bet you a beach towel would be a fun alternative. You could even trim an old or thrifted shower curtain down to size. I used some home decorating fabric from Ikea.

Remove the curtain rod, place the curtain clips over it, and attach your fabric.  That's it!

My kids love playing behind the curtain, or having a minute to themselves away from the world. I can't blame them. I've been spotted under that bed a couple of times for peace and quiet.  I have a string of rope lights under there and a sheepskin rug too.  It's a cozy hangout.

The blue lights are big hit too.  A $3 garage sale find put to good use.  Let me know if you try this setup!