What I made : A Pirate Ship Bed!

One of my summer projects (besides trying to train Mr. MarMar & Ms. Coco to use the human toilet) was to build my 6 year old son a dream loft bed! I knew this would take lots of time and hardwork, but if it meant no more sidekicks to my body during the night, then dammit, I’ll do it. And do, I did.

First off, the loft bed is really practical in places where space is limited because the bed is up above and there is space underneath for a desk, sofa, toys area, or whatever. You can even put another bed underneath if you really want. Anywho, this took about 7 hours to put together from a site called College Loft Beds. There are also other cool bunk beds available online.  It says it only takes 1.5 hours, but with a janky-ass drill, it took me 7 hours. Then I stained it a natural wood color since it is going to me a pirate ship. I ordered the fabric for the inside back area from Etsy and it’s a pirate map. Pretty cool! The outside fabric is a faux bois (fancy for ‘fake wood’) out of a material called oilcloth. I had no idea what that was, but I liked the shininess and durability. Apparently, it’s a process that comes from the 1950s and is super versatile.

All the fabrics were staple gunned to the wood, which is why I chose a wood bed. I can change it up anytime I want (or my son wants) with a staple gun. Anywho, the circle windows were decorated with ‘iron’ bars by stapling black grosgrain ribbon. I then added the usual nautical accessories with an anchor hook, a knotted rope, a Playmobile treasure chest, and other pirate paraphernalia.  I knew I wanted to incorporate a fisher’s net into the whole thing, so I thought why not throw all of his stuffed animals in it to keep it off the ground? And yes, there is an Angry Bird in there.

I added details like skull and cross bones ribbons to hide the staples. I got them really, really cheap from Michael’s craft store. The lettering looks like metal, right? They’re card stock paper! Those were in the scrap booking aisle. I like the antique effect it has on the ship and I wanted to personalize it for my son. You know, a touch of speciality. The final touches were a ship helm or navigation wheel up top. Also made of wood, the helm is a perfect 12 inch size for little 6 year old hands. I drilled a hole with my crappy drill (it took 30 minutes) and attached it via a nut and bolt. So, now the helm actually spins! Nice, huh?

And for the finishing touches, I threw on a jolly roger flag and pillow case to make it extra pirate-y! AAARRRRRGH!  Not including the bed, everything cost roughly $150. Sorry, for the long-ass post, but I thought maybe people can get ideas in making a dream bed for their kid so their kids can go the %$#* to sleep.

photos: moi