A Blue Loft Bed for My Son

Guys and Gals, I am here today to tell you that you can build a loft bed for your child! However, unlike most of the tutorials you find on my site, building this loft bed is not one of them. Instead, loads of gratitude goes to Ana White and her fabulous plans for building a loft bed. You can follow her plans for the build. I assure you, they are detailed and easy to follow.

The only modification I made to the plans was to move the ladder to the foot of the bed instead of the side. What I will show you is how to color stain the bed blue in two simple steps. I’m absolutely in love with the Minwax Express Color wiping stains. They go on super easily, and clean up is a snap with soap and water. Then you seal it as easily as you stained it. Coolest product EVER!

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Materials:

• Minwax Express Color Wiping Stain – Indigo color
• Minwax Express Clear Low Gloss Protective Wiping Finish
• Rubber gloves
• 2 Old Socks

Preparation:

After building the bed, fill all screw and nail holes with stainable wood putty. Sand your bed down until you have a smooth surface. Wipe off any sanding dust with a damp rag.

Instructions:

Put on the rubber glove, then slip the old sock over your glove. Pour a small dollop of Express Color onto your sock.

Wipe it onto the wood. A little goes a long way. I ended up using two tubes of Express Color on my son’s loft bed.

After the Express color has dried, poor a dollop of protective finish onto the second clean sock. Spread it evenly over the bed.

Allow the finish to dry. It usually dries within 30 minutes to an hour. Repeat with another coating for added protection.

The color on the bed is really beautiful. Especially because it allows the wood grain to show through.

Remember my son’s bookcase that lights up? It fits perfectly under the loft bed. You can read how I turned an old Border’s bookcase into a work of art here.

I bought the Austin red bean bag convertible bed chair from Overstock.com. It was a bit of a splurge for me, but the quality is really good and it fits nicely under his loft. Plus, my son really loves to curl up and read on it. And he has a spot for a friend to sleepover now.

I bought the bedding from IKEA and the star quilt was a special gift from my son’s Grammy.

I also scored the mirrored locker in the scratch and dent section at IKEA. I’ll show you how I built a base and mounted it to the wall later.

My son’s room is really coming along. I can’t wait to show you another tutorial next week. It’s perfect for a growing boy.

Disclosure: I was introduced to the Minwax Express Color at a conference last year. After trying some on a sample board, I knew I wanted to use it on a project. Minwax graciously offered to send me a few tubes for my son’s bed. I was not influenced by the few tubes of product. I was not told what to say. All opinions expressed are my own. In short…this stuff really rocks and I’m not just saying that because the product was shipped to my door.