This Kid’s Room features a DIY Climbing Wall and awesome wardrobe

I researched a lot of high end luxury kids rooms on Instagram and thought I could create it using IKEA kitchen furniture.

I have already used the METOD 37cm depth cabinets in my bedroom to create a dressing table and drawers.

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IKEA items used:

• ASKERSUND and BODARP door and drawer fronts for the doors/ drawers/ staircase/ reading den, ceiling/ bookcases (x2) bed frame, raised platform base and trim
• TUTEMO cabinets for the open cabinets and small enclosed units with a BODARP drawer front and hinges to construct a door
• EKBACKEN worktop for the main door surround, side panels of the wardrobes, bay window desk
• 37cm depth METOD wall cabinets/high cabinets/horizontal wall cabinet
• MAXIMERA drawers

Other materials:

• Climbing wall
• Plywood
• Chalkboard paint
• T-nuts
• Zinsser BIN primer

Kids Room Climbing Wall:

• Climbing holds from customholds.com
• Bouldering mat: Grivel Trend from Alpine trek
• Monkey bars and frame made using timber and screws, varnished or painted with BODARP colour matched Johnstones paint

Lighting:

• All from Electric-centre.co.uk
  • I used a mixed of plaster in LED channels and recessed LED channels with cob lighting tape and drivers. This includes the shorter recessed channels in the wardrobes, channels above the bed and climbing wall and in the den, and the recessed light along the ceiling and down the wall

• The blinds are blackout roller blinds from Hillarys blinds
• The carpet is from a local carpet shop
• The ‘baby jail’ bars are regular dressed timber, screwed from the loft through joists down into the timber so it looks like they disappear into the ceiling. The wall bars in the den are stuck on with adhesive
• The seat and footstool are Togo by Ligne Roset in pistachio
• The acorn basket is H&M

Finished results of my kids room with climbing wall

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Steps I took to make this happen:

I initially used Excel to design the layout but then found a design tool called Sketchup to design it all in 3D. To learn how to use it, I watched a lot of YouTube videos.

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I had a joiner fit the wardrobes using the METOD rail system, following the plans I had made.

However, I didn’t want to restrict the design to standard kitchen fittings so used TUTEMO and BODARP drawer fronts with hinges to create smaller doors.

I used a 40cm wide x 200cm high cabinet on the left side of the wardrobe wall with a 140cm height BODARP door, and 3 x MAXIMERA drawers with 20cm height drawer fronts in ASKERSUND and BODARP.

Then, I added a 40cm square METOD cabinet underneath with ASKERSUND door to create the vision of different units.

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The 4 ASKERSUND doors conceal a 80cm wide 37cm depth 200cm high METOD high cabinet frame. Underneath these and at either side of the wardrobes are a mixture of 40cm x 40cm TUTEMO open cabinets and 20cm x 40cm TUTEMO open cabinets either left open or using ASKERSUND/BODARP door/drawer fronts.

Over the main door is a

METOD horizontal cabinet and an ASKERSUND drawer front used as a dress panel to fill the gap next to the wall.

The doors/drawers are all fitted with UTRUSTA soft close hinges and push open fittings so no requirement for handles.

Staircase

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I designed the staircase using a mixture of 60cm wide

ASKERSUND door panels in various lengths for the treads, 60cm wide x 20cm height ASKERSUND drawer fronts for the risers and various 20cm height drawer fronts in BODARP and ASKERSUND for the side panels of the stairs. I wanted the contrast of the BODARP and ASKERSUND on the side panel of the stairs under the den, to tie in with the wardrobe side of the bedroom.

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Timber was used to create a deck for the bed. Further timber struts were used to create bed slats for a custom sized mattress to sit on and allow air circulation.

The remaining floor of the deck around the outside of the mattress was covered with

ASKERSUND door panels cut to size. Similarly the underside of the deck (roof of the den) was clad with more ASKERSUND door panels cut to side and glued with Pink Grip adhesive and screwed from under the mattress.

Bed frame

I used 20cm high

BODARP drawer fronts to create the bed frame and 20cm ASKERSUND drawer front and the top edge of an ASKERSUND door for the dressed panel hiding the timber frame for the deck.

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Then, I used various sized

ASKERSUND doors cut to size to make bookcases at the end of the bed and in the den. I measured these all out so I could use 1 door for both side panels of the bookcase, or 1 door for 4 shelves. This meant there was no wastage.

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The desk was made using EKBACKEN worktop in ash effect. My brilliant joiner cut the joins and finished them with ColorFill joint sealer in natural stone.

How long did it take and what’s the cost?

From design stage to finalisation of it took about 6 months.

I was very meticulous in doing my research, deciding what aspects I wanted in his bedroom, how I could make the design last 10 years or so and grow with him.

An example of this was researching the average sitting height of a child so I could figure out the height of the deck to allow him to still sit up in bed at the age of 11 (he’s only 2!)

I researched circulation required for mattresses which determined the size of the deck frame.

Besides that, I designed and made the climbing wall myself researching this on various climbing wall blogs.

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I lost track of costs but all in all it was about £5k! The light fittings alone cost £400.

The most expensive part was the professional tradesmen, which were worth their weight in gold. My joiner was a perfectionist … just like me. I also used a plasterer and electrician.

IKEA total spend was £2209.

What do you love most about your kids room with climbing wall project?

What I love most is how much time we spend in there as a family playing. There is so much floor space with the bed being on a deck.

My 8-year old goddaughter came to play and loves it, so I know it’s going to still be fun for my 2-year old in years to come.

What was the hardest part of the project?

Hardest part was finalising the design. This took weeks of planning as I knew it had to be just perfect.

Also the lighting took a lot of getting my head around. I didn’t know where to begin as they don’t come as a regular fitting — it’s lots of component parts i.e. the aluminum channel, LED tap driver, opaque diffuser.

The sales lady was a huge help in advising me and took many of my phone calls. It was a new job to my electrician and plasterer who’d never fitted lights like these before. Actually my joiner did most of the work recessing the plaster and wood.

What to pay special attention to?

Pay special attention to detail in the design phase. I had very little wastage.

I wouldn’t change anything, I love it

~ by Louise Llek

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