Building Two Incredible Loft Beds (Loft Bed) plus Ladders and Shelves! 2026

Building Two Incredible Loft Beds (Loft Bed) plus Ladders and Shelves, it is built with simple carpentry of construction lumber (2×4 and 2×6) and plywood, it is incredibly solid.

And almost as soon as I built it, my oldest son moved into a room of his own... And he wanted a loft bed, too.

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It features a second bookshelf, a desk and a secret compartment, and is designed for someone with long legs, more books and who doesn't worry about sleeping on a cloud...

Step 1: Design: Loft Bed #1

One end of the high cloud bed (hereinafter referred to as #1) is a ladder/shelf combination. It has an angle of 4:1, which is equivalent to 14º distance from the vertical. It has six steps and six shelves, it can hold almost three linear meters (10') of books.

The bed is as far off the ground as it can be and still retains headroom overhead, with 8-foot ceilings (important for the occupant to sit up in bed).

The ladder and bookshelf are pretty future-proof, I hope, comfortable enough for an adult to climb, and we all need space to store books.

Step 2: Design: Loft Bed #2

The other loft bed (#2) has a mitered rail instead of a cloud, and since it is in a larger room, it has space for a desk and another shelf next to the bed.

It also covers a redundant fireplace, providing the opportunity to add a secret compartment. NO ONE is too old or too cold for a secret compartment, unless they are dead inside.

Other design differences: It has 5 steps instead of 6, since my son is over 5 feet tall at 10 years old and will probably be 6′ 5″ before he leaves the house.

Wooden strips instead of plywood backing for ladder shelf, just enough to keep books from falling off the back. There is no bottom shelf.

The hasp runs under the bed, so the space can be used as a closet. It is stuck on the inside of the outside leg.

This allows the 2x6 on the outside to appear transparent (the other bed didn't need it, because the plywood cloud serves that purpose).

Step 3: Tools and materials

This project will be easier if you have access to a miter saw, but you could do it all with a circular saw if you have a good guide. I also used:

• An orbital sander
• Jigsaw
• Router
• Tape measure
• Carpentry square
• One level
• Cordless drill

You need (for each bed):

• 3-4 Pieces of 10′ 2×6 lumber (carefully selected)
• 3-4 Pieces of 10′ 2×4 lumber (carefully selected)
• 3″ deck screws
• 1/4″ plywood, about half a sheet
• 5/8″ plywood, construction grade, one sheet
• 5/8″ plywood, one side sanded, one sheet
• 4 1/4″ x 6″ lag screws with washers
• Wood filler
• Painting

For the additional library in design #2, I used three 10′ 2x10s. You need more 2x4s for the legs, sides of the desk, and a small piece of plywood (5/8″ or thicker) for the desk.

Step 4: Cut the boards

Note:

• Cut these 11 pieces with square ends: 5 x 400 mm, 5 x 486 mm, 1 x 962 mm
• Cut these 3 pieces with parallel ends at 14 degrees: 1 x 1900 mm, 2 x 1462 mm
• The 2×4 in the following lengths, all with square ends: 2 x 2032 mm, 1 x 1200mm, 2 x 964 mm, 1 x 362 mm, 1 x 162 mm
• Cut six pieces of 1/4″ plywood to 250 x 486 mm, and cut some of the good 5/8″ plywood into six 20 x 486 mm strips.
• Fill all holes and imperfections in the wood with wood filler and sand.

You are ready to assemble the frames.

Note:

Check that these dimensions will fit your mattress! The layout could accommodate a larger mattress (twin, queen, king) without problem, but you may want to use 2x6s instead of the 2x4s in the frame.

Bonus:

You would get a much larger shelf! There are slight design changes for bed #2, but from now on I will describe the cloud layer (#1) for the sake of simplicity.

The construction is also exactly the same for both. Check plans for details.

Step 5: Assemble the ladder/shelf

Mark the 2x6 angle boards with the steps/shelves every 250mm. That's a good height for a child's step, and high enough for most books.

Mark them parallel to the lower angled piece, that is, at 14º.

Drill three holes for each step and assemble as in the pictures with the deck screws, using your handy cordless drill.

Make cutouts (using a jigsaw or saw + chisel) for the 2x4 frame on the back of the 2x6, 55mm deep at its deepest point, at the bottom of the top step.

Add the 5/8″ plywood strips to the bottom of the 19" long pieces so you can support the back of the shelves; 55mm back from the back of each shelf.

Attach with wood glue and nails. The shelves are made of 1/4″ plywood, and can be secured in place by nailing into the back of each 2x6 and into the plywood strip from the front.

Fill screw holes, nail holes and any other imperfections with wood filler and sand smooth.

Step 6: Assemble the Bed Frame

Assemble the 2x4 frame as shown, again with three cover screws per joint. The positions of the cross pieces.

Step 7: Paint

Paint or polyurethane. We painted the stairs/shelves the same color as the walls in my daughter's room, so they blend in and add to the "Floating Cloud" effect.

Step 8: Assemble

Get someone to help you with this step: I did it myself with the help of a 6′ length of 2x8 and a one-handed clamp, but it was unnecessarily awkward.

You are going to attach the frame to the walls of the room with set screws. Mark the studs: you want to place them twice on the head and twice on the side.

Get the frame at the correct height and level in both directions. Drill a hole through the frame deep into the wall with a long drill bit, then attach the screwScrew bolt (use a washer). Repeat for the other holes.

Use the angled deck screws to ensure the frame cannot slide out of the brackets you cut into the bookcase/ladder.

Measure the plywood base for the mattress and cut to fit. Screw it to the frame.

Step 9: Clouds (or railings)

Loft beds usually have a railing to remind the occupant that unfolding is a bad idea. Here, we decided to use cutting plywood into cloud shapes (who doesn't want to sleep on a cloud?).

First we make it out of cardboard, then we cut the shape with a jigsaw, polish gently, round the edges with a Router, paint it and screw it to the frame.

The other bed has a piece of 2x4 that was attached to the other shelf. Utilitarian, but easy and with a good miter and rounded edges, it looks good.

Step 10: Side bookcase and desk

The additional bookcase for bed #2 was made from 2x10s to accommodate larger books. It's super easy to do, it was so fast I forgot to take photos in progress.

All simple butt joints were joined with the deck screws.

The desk was made from one piece of plywood, and some 2x2s for legs/crossbars and 1x3s for the sides to stiffen it.

I used a very similar construction method here for my door table. The 1x3's are patterned to make it look a little more waterproof.

Step 11: Clothes Rail

What can you use the space under the bed for? Well, it's good for general storage, but in the case of my son's room, he doesn't have a closet.

So I added a clothes rail so I can hang clothes under the bed.

Very easy to make with this design: drill a hole for one end and drive a screw into the other end of a dowel. I used an old curtain track for the job. I'll add another one if you need it.

Step 12: Secret compartment

This one was easy to do, because we were covering a fireplace (which is perfectly functional, but which we never used, the room is too small to justify it).

All I had to do was make one of the plywood panels removable. You lift the panel and over a strip of wood to remove it and reveal the space.

Step 13: Add mattress, books, etc

And happy dreams...

Step 14: Similar Constructions

Fortunately, many people have made beds according to these plans, and almost everyone who was kind enough to provide their photos made small changes. Greetings!

Get more information at Perfectidea.com and on our Facebook for more Building Two Incredible Loft Beds (Loft Bed) plus Stairs and Shelves.

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