Kids bedrooms should be the stuff of fairy tales, a safe haven to while away the hours playing with imaginary friends and faithful toys but of course also be calm and restful spaces for sleep. The key to the latter is a bed that beckons at the end of a busy day, willing the weary little warrior to dreamy destinations and the land of lullabies.
The bed is often the focal point of the room, so it’s important to get it right. Invariably, it’s one of the largest pieces of furniture you’ll buy, and though you may whimsically change the wallpaper, colour scheme and accessories, the bed is likely to remain a permanent feature for at least a few years.
It goes without saying that the criteria for choosing a bed should always be based on comfort and safety, but for anyone with a love of interiors, aesthetics will be high on the agenda too. The good news is that you don’t need to remortgage your house to achieve dream bed status. It’s not the bed that you buy, it’s the way that you style it.
To prove our point, we’ve pulled together 13 fabulous kid’s bedrooms with an IKEA bed at the heart of the design.
THE KURA BED
IKEA’S reversible Kura bed is an absolute steal at £130 and presents a great entry-level for aspiring upcycler’s. It’s also an ingenious design that grows with your child with a low option for younger children and a high sleeper and den area for older children when turned upside down.
A simple but very effective hack for the Kura bed is the application of decals or stickers to the fibreboard panels. A cursory Google of Kura hacks will yield endless examples for inspiration and such is the popularity of this particular modification, there is now a multitude of companies specialising in bespoke stickers and decals, including an entire category on Etsy alone.
In the example above, a beautiful vintage floral wallpaper has been applied to the panels. We love how the print pops against the nude pine frame and the pastel sage, geometric panelled wall. So busy yet so simple and sophisticated.
This is a relatively cost-effective way to customise your IKEA bed, and the end result can be as subtle or dramatic as your choice of decal allows. Though peel and stick options can allow more flexibility in changing up your theme, it is entirely possible to get crafty with a roll of wallpaper and paste plus a modicum of patience! You’ll find some particularly impactful makeovers using the same wallpaper on the bed panels as on the walls.
Pretty in pink sums up this beautiful girl’s room with a decal-adorned Kura literally holding the fort for this room’s regal inhabitant. Here the bed has been transformed with a bloom of oversized poppies on the front panel and enveloped in a dusky rose canopy, creating a high sleeper of princess proportions. Beneath lurks a cosy den and dolls corner for quiet time and childish contemplation.
The Kura bed also has a magical quality that lends itself to treehouse transformations, and there’s no need for planning permission.
There are not many four-year-old children that could say they have a home of their own, but that’s precisely what little Liv received for her birthday courtesy of a clever Kura hack from her daddy. Working with the natural contours and slopes of the room, he added wooden panels to the bed frame to create a statuesque treehouse bed complete with roof and a lookout window. This room conjures up images of the magic faraway tree, and we love the secret hideaway underneath.
On a similar woodland treehouse theme is this ingenious coupling of Kuras to create an equal footing for twins or siblings sharing a room. The addition of a bird box and cherry blossom bring elements of the outdoors into this lofty creation. We can imagine hours of dreaming, reading and playing out childhood fantasies in this stark but stylish room.
A slightly less structured approach but a loft beam of sorts still keeps this iteration firmly in the treehouse camp. A beam suspended from the ceiling allows for the casual draping of fabric to create a Bedouin-style canopy with a rustic vibe. The benefit of this less permanent roof structure provides the flexibility to alter the look of the room scheme with a quick change of fabric or maybe even utilising bed sheets. There’s slight anarchy in the opposite bed directions, but balance is resumed in the mirroring of the matching bedsheets.
Aside from its reversibility, one of the most attractive facets of the Kura is its space-saving ability. In its high sleeper form, it allows a reasonable expanse beneath. With younger children, this is most often optimised for creative reading corners and adventurous den space.
As your child grows, this space can be utilised to house a growing fascination with clothes, books and other more ‘grown-up’ belongings. Teamed with a set of IVAR cupboards here, Kura adopts a more mature look.
Pure and simple wins the day for this Kura treatment. A low-key monochrome and tonal blues palette complement the bare wood and crisp white, unadulterated bed panels. We love the subtle night time nuances in the collection of sleepy animal cushions and how clever is the detail in the adventure rug leading to the wooden tepee on the side table?
THE BUSUNGE BED
How fitting that another of IKEA’S best-selling children’s beds is labelled Busunge; a term of endearment that translates into cheeky or rascal? Another design concept that grows with your child, the extendable Busunge offers hope for those with small spaces and a love of rounded corners.
Every inch the perfect little boy’s bedroom, we love how the solid blue wall accentuates the simplicity of this classic white bed. The cocooning headboard with side supports offers a sense of security reinforced by the soft glow of the cute campervan night light. Minimal in design, but accessorised well, this bed is maximum in impact.
A huge plus with an unfussy bed is the ability to go wild with your styling, and that’s just the approach here. This bed works well against a strong wall colour, and the two-tone paintwork frames this mini marvel perfectly. There’s a cohesive safari theme but all the riot of a jungle, save for the lovable lion snoozing at the head of the bed.
THE SUNDVIK BED
This girl’s room is the epitome of childhood magic with the slightly more grown-up Sundvik extendable bed providing the backdrop for a congregation of cushions and a canopy its crowning glory. Again, clean lines and brilliant white prove that a minimal and inexpensive bed can be centre stage in your bedroom production.
THE MINNEN BED
If you’re looking for an extendable bed with a little more intricacy, then Minnen is your go-to. The timeless design still allows ample space to explore your inner interior designer, and it fits well with almost any room design or theme. The pretty railings and scalloped side guards are particularly suitable for girl’s rooms, but it’s equally at home in a boy’s room, especially when upcycled with a bold paint choice.
This gorgeous modern boho bedroom belongs to two-year-old Emma, but its sophisticated styling could easily see her through to her teen years. We doubt it will though, as, Sarah, the mama behind this magic is a self-confessed rearranger.
The pretty, ornate Minnen bed is ‘cosied-up’ with a sumptuous two-tone faux fur throw and the layering of textiles on those stunning pillows. And that woodland wallpaper, oh my!
Retro rainbow chic puts a refreshing spin on Minnen here. A bright-mustard yellow frame and contrasting bed linen and cushions give an eclectic air that makes the room positively zing. It’s a sunshine-soaked room full of optimism and fun, perfect for a little ray of light.
Minnen sits amidst an abundance of detail in this delicately designed girl’s boho-style room. A macrame garland graces the railed headboard and frilled peachy and pink heart cushions complete the feminine dressing.
We have also spotted beautiful nursery rooms with Ikea baby cots that we will be featuring here at Kids interiors very soon. If you want to be sure not to miss this selection , then sign up to our newsletter today!
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