Girls Bunk Beds

An inexpensive children’s solid wood bunk bed room makeover, without a lot of effort! Perfect solution for families with multiple kids or fun Twin Over Twin Bunk Beds at grandma’s house.

Learn how to take wooden bunk beds in a more feminine direction with these tips!

A Feminine Bunk Room

I often take a laissez faire approach to decorating, allowing rooms to evolve over time. However, when we bought the lake cottage, I was anxious to get to create a dreamy bunk bed room for the girls at the lake cottage.

This modern lake house is the perfect home for us, with great views, an idyllic location and the right floor plan for our little family. However, when we purchased it, it needed quite a lot of updating.

I needed at least that one room to feel complete and homey! Read more about my favorite Lake House Decor.

I was also excited that moving quickly in this space gives me the opportunity to take you on the journey. Decorating the space from start to finish is really difficult to show when my typical projects tend to span over a couple years.

First, let’s take a peek at the before:

You can see that the space is tight and a bit dark, with just a single small window.

Quick update: we’ve now completed many of the rooms in the lake cottage. You can see the full before and after tour here – which is of course still in progress! You can also find more details on the bedrooms in this home here and here.

Girls Bunk Bedroom

I have a complete list of sources for the items used in this room at the bottom of this post. This will be helpful if you’re looking for a specific piece of information.

However, keep reading if you’d like to know more about the steps we took to accomplish this sweet bedroom with solid wood bunk beds!

Decorating this room was a little more challenging than some spaces, because I was planning from our home nearly four hours away. I neglected to take measurements when we were previously at the lake cottage and had to guesstimate based on a few snapshots I had taken.

Where Do I Find Wooden Bunk Beds?

The very first decision we made in this room was that we wanted twin over twin wooden bunk beds. With three little girls in our family, we knew that this was a space where memories would be made for years to come.

I wanted it to feel like a slumber party all the time, and what’s better for sleepovers than bunk beds?

I wanted something simple, modern, and slightly raw and rustic feeling. I knew I could play up the more feminine details of the room for a fun play on textures and styles.

We settled on these solid wood bunk beds from IKEA. They felt sturdy and timeless. I loved the look of the raw wood, and I knew I could balance that more rustic wooden bunk bed style with feminine additions to the space later on.

The IKEA bunk beds are also inexpensive ($150) and relatively easy to put together (says the girl who enjoyed the lake while her husband and nephew constructed them).

How Do I Decorate With Rustic Bunk Beds?

• First, start with a blank slate. Empty the room.
• In our case we had to remove a dated wallpaper border and prep the walls.
• Next, paint!
• We loved this sweet light fixture but wanted a slightly different color. We painted it, too!
• Bring color or texture into the flooring with a rug or patterned carpet if possible.
• Bunk bed setup: this is a two person job!
• Choose fun bedding. These duvets can be alternated because they have a different pattern on each side, which adds interest.
• Add accent furniture. As a minimalist, I chose a pretty dresser that acted as both storage and bedside table.
• Personalized wall art is the ultimate addition to help warm up your space and make it your own.

Blush Pink Paint Colors

Having double wooden bunk beds consumes a lot of space. Pair that with a basement bedroom and things can appear small and dark. These two factors made choosing a paint color that works with the space even more important. 

As you know, there’s always a wide array of colors to choose from, including some very pretty pastels. While I certainly could have chosen a more high contrast color, I wanted this room to feel soft, pretty and feminine.

I narrowed it down to two pinks and tested swatches, opting for the slightly darker of the two, Grandad’s Girl. (from PPG Paints.) Isn’t it sweet?

Feminine Bunk Room Ideas

I stressed over what to put between the bunk beds – a chest, a bench, a dresser, oh my! I really began regretting that I didn’t take measurements before our last visit to the lake cottage, of course.

However, I took a chance on this beautiful dresser, and I’m so thankful I did. It was just the right fit, in the most beautiful French blue hue, with soft closing drawers and a plug in for accessories that makes it double as a night stand.

It’s the centerpiece of the room. When we put it in the girls’ room, Chris asked if we could get one too. Win.

Can You Layer Rugs On Carpet?

As you can see, in the earlier images of this room we used this large jute rug to hide the old carpet. It’s an inexpensive way to update a room when you’re not ready to replace flooring just yet!

We added this soft jute rug to minimize the carpet and add texture. While not everyone agrees with layering a rug over carpet, I find this to be a great inexpensive solution to warming up spaces throughout our homes.

This can be helpful if your carpet is tired and dated, like the one in this room. We weren’t ready to replace it just yet, and the rug bought us some time. (See the more of this room after we replaced the carpet, right here.)

Nautical Details

You may also notice that I incorporated a few nautical light fixtures as a nod to our lakeside location. These fixtures add charm, along with a map of the lake I commissioned an artist to create for the girls.

I selected a flush mount light with a canopy that draws the light down, to minimize the dated ceiling texture. The nautical sconces are actually outdoor lights that we had rewired and then painted in a soft pale green.

Patterned Bedding for Feminine Bunks

In addition to color, the patterned bedding makes the girls’ room feel playful. I had their pillowcases monogrammed to bring in a little detail and another touch of color.

Monogramming the pillowcases takes it up a notch and really helps the room feel special.

Sources