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  • Writer's pictureBeth Fratt

Bunk House

Updated: Jun 24, 2020


My In-Laws have a place in Sun Valley, ID. It is my daughters’ FAVORITE place to go. And it is such a complete contrast to Las Vegas. It is a small town…and I mean small. They can catch a free bus into town and walk around, hang out at Starbucks, and spend hours in the kids section at the Library. Best part…they don’t need me to go with them! The other big difference is the weather. In the summer, it stays pretty consistently in the 80’s. Often we will get 20 minute thunderstorms in the afternoon. And in the winter…SNOW! Can you see why they love it so much. Oh how we have been blessed to have a place to get away to in the summer. And I doubt my girls ever would have learned to ski or snowboard in the winter if we didn’t travel out there almost every year.

The house is a great three bedroom home. It was perfect for my in-laws and their two kids growing up. But as those kids got married and had children of their own, the space got a little tight for the now 12 person extended family. Downstairs, there are two bedrooms and two bathrooms. And in 2012, I was lucky enough to get to redo all of those spaces.

This week, I will share with you my favorite space; the “Bunk Room”.

This space had just two beds in it when we first got married 18 years ago; a twin and a full bed. By the time I had my third baby, my MIL upgraded the twin to bunk beds. But then my SIL started having babies. She also had three girls. And this room that only slept 4 and had storage all on one side, needed to grow without getting any bigger. I hate it when that happens!

So here are some before pictures

The bunks were pivoted to the north wall to make space so they could get the built ins out. They usually sat on the west wall. These beds are fantastic! But they were just too big for the space.

A view of the corner window. The blue tape indicates how far the loft bed will come out. There just wouldn’t be enough space to keep these.

Dresser

Part of the reason the beds were on the west wall was so that these dressers could fit under the window. My MIL got these the year before, and they work great. They just don’t fit while the bunk is on this wall.

This wall that isn’t painted had custom made built ins that were designed around the full bed. They were great, but got a little cramped when we were there for the summer. I usually lined them with the girls clothes. Unfortunately, the paint store was closed the week of Thanksgiving (when we upgraded this space). In the end, it was the only thing we couldn’t actually finish in the room. And that wasn’t awesome. We were so hoping to get it all done in one shot.

Here, you see that the door opens right onto the closet. the bunkbeds were on the right side of the door. While it gave us the extra bed, it made the entrance to this room feel tight and cramped. When an entry is cramped, no matter how big the room is, it still feels small. Your entry way is like your first impression…it’s hard to shake the feeling that the room is big once you start small. So here we go-a transformation in one week!

See the design plans here

The set up here

and the reveal here

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