apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Sorry, no recommendations for a builder, except to say that custom would be the best way to go if you plan on staying there for a while. Also wanted to give an idea of how big to make it.

Friend of mine lived in straight studio and made his own loft bed to span the entire width of the main room at one end of the room. He made it high enough to walk under (how high are your ceilings) so that he had access the the bathroom that was at the end of the room and also so that he could hang his clothes at either end (a walk through closet if you will) with room for dresser below each set of hanging clothes.

Your layout may not allow you to do the walk under and through to another room (bathroom or kitchen) but if you have the height I would definitely go full width. It will also make the structure stronger because you could brace the vertical posts against the walls.

No builder from me either, but I have to add that my downstairs neighbors have a lovely adult-looking built-in loft. It's all stained a shiny, rich brown, and the stairs are open cubes for extra storage. Beneath is extra closet space and a small built-in desk. They didn't build it, but it definitely is a nicer piece than most of those utilitarian jobbies you see all around. Definitely think about your loft as more than just a short high space for a mattress. I clipped out a picture of an apartment in brooklyn that had a large, king-sized loft with space for sleeping, surfing and watching TV, if that's more your thing...

If you get a hold of the book, Living Large in Small Spaces- Expressing Personal Style in 100 to 1,000 Square Feet, there are some great bed ideas in there. I'm remembering one that retract into the ceiling by a pulley system.

Unless you have very high ceilings (at least 12') I don't think a loft bed will look very good. In order to make it not feel like sleeping in a coffin, you will only be able to leave a "crouching" height space underneath.

If you do have high ceilings, consider building what I call a "living cube". Instead of a simple loft bed, build a large box with a sleeping space on top, and storage and a sit down desk notched in underneather. The desk area is recessed, meaning you are not actually under the cube, only your workspace is. I've seen a few of these, and they look far better than loft beds. Put drywall&paint/nice paneling on the "cube" and it becomes a statement rather than a college age solution.

If you don't have a high ceilings go for a good murphy bed.

IKEA has loft beds that can be combined with workstations. The beds cost around $200. A friend of mine had one and I thought it looked pretty nice, especially for such an inexpensive bed. Search for TROMSÖ at IKEA's website.

The ladder can mount on the left or right side of the bed. The space under the bed can be utilized by installing TROMSÖ work station

WOW!!! I've known Luke for 25 years, since were kids.... We're like brothers. We were room mates for several years and worked together on many different types of jobs. I recommend him 100%. Trust me when I tell you he's a great guy, very bright, creative, hard working, and totally trustworthy. Oh, yeah, he's a real character, too...... His last name is spelled LOWNDS.

I forgot to add something earlier.....
When Luke and I were room mates, we moved into a funky railroad flat on Amsterdam Avenue and 105th St (boy, did that place need work!). We each built loft beds - mine was built from old decking from my father's penthouse, and Luke found a section of an laminated, curved oak spiral staircase (!), which he proceeded to build his bed around. It was an amazing piece of work, I'm telling you. He'd sit under that bed and play jazz on his guitar. It was great.

So Lisa S. Were any of these suggestions helpful? Do you have high ceilings?

reasonable safety question.

i'm looking for a loft bed as well and checked the ikea TROMSO unit which seems acceptable enough - except that i have a queen size bed which measures approx 78" x 60", where the TROMSO says it can only handle a mattress 74.5" x 53" (a "full/double" size).

do you all think it would be obscenely unsafe to try to plop my mattress on this loft? it'd be in a corner, so theoretically the extra width and possibly height could be reinforced somewhat by the apartment walls?

i'm not looking to fall to my death really, but ikea is so cheap and easy.. thoughts?

About the TROMSO unit: Don't buy it! I have one myself, and it was a huge mistake. very wobbly, even without the added stress of a queen-size mattress. I'll be selling mine and getting something else...

I just purchased the tromso bed and it is AMAZING!! I live in a tiny apt and now it looks like a mansion. I was weary by the other reader that it is wobbly, but mine is not at all - and I'm 22 years old! Great purchase - IKEA is the BEST :)

Has anyone recently assembled the Tromso loft bed? We have different end cap then what is in the instructions? Help please if you can.

I'd like to recommend this loft bed maker: http://www.mcwoodworksinc.com/ , he often has listings on ebay for a little cheaper than the price on his site. I wish I had found out about him before I purchased my own loft bed! I wouldn't suggest one if your ceiling height is less than 10 feet.

I went to Ikea and tested each loft bed by shaking them. Everyone of them was pathetically wobbly except for the Fjelldal. Some of them had 1" deep legs! That's simply idiotic; they'll topple over in no time. But the Fjelldal is a full size loft bed with 64" clearance from floor to bed which is too much for my room.

Have you ever thought about a Murphy Bed or Wall Bed? They deliver the same benefit by getting the bed out of the way so you can use more space. Checked out www.wallbedfactory.com they have a lot of pictures so you can get a feel of what a murphy bed is.

They're pretty cool

http://www.woodenlofts.com/ has excellent beds. They also sell the plans on their site. They make them up to a queen size and they can really do anything you want.

You guys all need to try this guy (his company) in Brooklyn/Manhattan.
His company only hand builds custom loft beds, and are really nice. I needed a bed same week and he fit me in, and delivered! I didn't have to put anything together. Nice ladder, edges, and soft sanded edges really did won me over. Highly recommended!

Sticks for Stones Woodworking, Inc.

Ok, a few weeks ago I went with the last comment - and had a great experience with Stephen / Sticks for Stones custom loft beds! I got what I wanted, a solid product; strong, stable, and way better looking then the other guys. I just wanted a loft bed with an adult look in the specific space I wanted that was safe. I got it with Stephen, he's a pro, really. It came assembled and he installed it within 90 minutes. I had my whole day set aside, but he was right - needless to say I had a lot of free-time that day and a wonderful experience, and loft bed to boot!