woodland themed bunkbed

the brief was to design and make a fun and cosy child bunkbed with a woodland fairy theme. birch plywood was the material of choice for all the structural parts, allowing for flowing organic shapes. the design incorporates to adjoined "trees" with flowing branches and swirling twig like shapes to form the structure of both bunks. as the design required a lot of cutting out and off-cuts, to minimise waste these were used for a number of details, like; storage cubbies, a number of shelves in varying sizes, decorative detailing and structural braces. the shelves offer room for books, decorative items and overhead space for a glass of water. to give all edges a comfortable feel, all were rounded over with a router. a large storage drawer was fitted in the base of the bed. the bottom bunk was given more headspace to be comfortably used as a sofa during the day, but leaving enough room in the top bunk for "tree-top" play. steps and handholds were cut out a window aperture was made for each headend and the larger openings fitted with treehouse themed curtain.

to give the bed a cosy feel, all the birch was finished in a dark water based stain and oiled with dane-oil which is natural, food friendly and commonly used to finish wooden children's toys. a large number of laser cut wooden leaves and flowers were painted and fixed to the "crown" and "branches" and a reading lights was installed on in each bunk. the result is a cheerful bed that doubles as a snug and fun play area.

[please click on images for full screen view]