THE bed..that WE made for..... $42!

I was on a search for a great toddler sized bed for M. I hated her crib conversion daybed style bed. I looked everywhere online at toddler beds; I think I've seen every one ever made. I hated the side rails on all of them. I hated the slatted head/foot boards on most of them. The one I did find that I liked was completely over priced. I was starting to get sad thinking I would never find something I loved that was cheap. Speaking of cheap, most of these toddler beds are made terribly cheap and I definitely needed something sturdy. I was giving up hope until I came across this wonderful idea. I thought it was adorable and decided we could do it.

So off to Lowes we went. I adjusted the materials slightly to those in the link. I only used one piece of plywood and we got a thicker cut. I had the one piece cut into all the pieces we needed, with some left over. So total cost of the wood : $15  (one piece of plywood and one 2x2x8) (Another Note: Lowes will cut the wood for you. Just take your measurements with you!)
 **Note also that I had to change the measurements from those on the Design Mom's link. She had a custom mattress made to fit her bed. I can't remember off the top of my head what the measurements are but it wasn't much different. Just a couple of inches longer/wider. If you are interested in having the exact measurements for a standard crib/toddler mattress leave me a comment! I'll try to post them anyways though!
I bought a pack of $2 screws at WalMart.

I went to Hobby Lobby and bought the quilt batting for $14..BUT used a 50% off coupon = $7

I went to JoAnn's and bought 5 yards of fabric, on sale, plus used a 20% off coupon = $18

Total cost of this bed = $42.00

It is sooo sturdy and will hold a lot of weight (I can stand on it NO problem!) Meadow loves it. I love it. 

 

Getting started..right in our living room floor.

Russ is much better at getting measurements right (for the holes to be drilled)

This is before I sanded the edges. The mother in me saw several accidents waiting to happen on those hard corners, even with the stuffing. I just sanded down all the corners and all the exposed edges to make them all slightly rounded. Much better.

 After you get it built, and sanded if your prefer (I recommend), you use a staple gun to staple the quilt batting all around it. Then staple the fabric over that all around. It's pretty padded and cushiony. (Thanks to my step dad for helping me with that part while Russ was out. It takes two people; one to hold the fabric tight and one to staple)

Here is a look without the bedding. The toddler/crib mattress just fits right in.

I chose a solid brown fabric just because our quilt had so many different prints. I didn't want it too busy.

There it is! I'm so proud and excited to show off this bed. It may not seem like much, but I love it and I think it's pretty awesome!