THROUGHOUT the pandemic, many of us have taken to doing a spot of DIY around the home.
Some people are totally transforming their homes and others are more focused on making the most out of their space with savvy organisation and storage solutions.
The Swedish furniture store, IKEA, is already well known for its versatile and easy-to-put-together flat-pack furniture and other home goods.
But, some people are using the flat-pack furniture to make their own bed frames and others have used kitchen cabinets to create beds.
Below we have the lowdown on the IKEA bed hacks you need to know to optimise storage even in the smallest of bedrooms.
Platform kitchen unit bed
One clever IKEA bed hack comes from Chris, who posted the hack he made for his daughter, on his YouTube account, HandydadTV.
If you or your children's bedroom is on the smaller side, this is a great hack with lots of storage included.
To complete the hack for a doubled bed you need seven standard Ikea kitchen units, he also uses two units in smaller sizes to make steps to access the elevated bed.
He screws the units together to make the frame of the bed so they are secured and then works on the base of the bed frame.
Chris uses several planks of ply wood to make the base of the bed and screws one onto the wall of the bedroom and another to the side of the cabinets.
He then lays the ply wood vertically across the beams he has made to create bed slats for the mattress to rest on and again drills them in to make sure they are secure.
Chris keeps one of the larger kitchen cabinets open from the back so that you can get more storage space under the bed and installs a light.
To decorate the bed he used some cheap panels which he stuck on with carpet tape.
The results are amazing and provide ample storage space for even the tightest of rooms.
IKEA's METOD cabinet bed
IKEA themselves have cottoned on to people using their furniture in unconventional ways to make beds and have also come up with a genius hack you can use.
This hack also uses kitchen units to create a platform bed, but this one has a much more traditional look to it.
The main pieces you will need to create the base are; three 80 cm x 60 cm x 60 cm METOD cabinets, three 60cm x 60 x 60cm METOD cabinets, two 148 cm x 199 cm MDF boards and one 62 cm x 220 cm FÖRBÄTTRA cover panel.
You can visit the IKEA website's how-to-guide for a full list of the items and additional items you can add on to the bed frame.
Firstly, lay the first piece of MDF onto the floor to make a base, they painted the sides white to match the rest of the beds.
Next assemble your METOD cabinets as per the instruction but leave the front, door, and drawers off for now.
Place the cabinets on the MDF board facing outwards, they used two at the front, two on the right side and one for each of the other sides.
Secure your cabinets together with screws and then connect them to the base by using L brackets.
Once the cabinets have been secured to the base you can add your other piece of MDF on top of the cabinets and drill it to them.
Finally, you want to make your mattress bumper by using the FÖRBÄTTRA cover panel, and cut it so you end up with two 147 cm x 10 cm pieces for the width and two 201 cm x 10 cm.
Using L brackets again, secure the pieces of wood to the top MDF panel.
At this point you can add the doors, shelves or any other extras you want to the bed.
This hack from IKEA even included a mini shoe rack on one of the sides.
On their site, IKEA wrote: "We love to see our customers get creative with our products. Go for it! But please note that altering or modifying IKEA products so they can no longer be re-sold or used for their original purpose, means the IKEA commercial guarantees and your right to return the products will be lost."
KALLAX platform bed
If you or your kids are avid readers this is the bed hack for you.
Here we can show you how to create a child's bed using the KALLAX collection book case.
To do the hack yourself you will need two KALLAX book shelves 42 x 147cm, plywood to act as the bed frame, 2 4 x 4s and 2 2 x 4s wooden posts, T brackets, screws and nails.
Firstly, make the base of the bed using the wooden posts and use the T brackets to secure them together.
Next place the plywood on top of the base and secure it with nails and cover in fabric, as this will help support and protect your mattress.
Assemble the KALLAX book shelves and slide them next to the base of the bed, so that they also hold up the plywood.
The base of the bed and book shelves makes the bed extremely sturdy and offers lots of space for a kid's bed.
IKEA's drawer and closet bed
One woman maximised the space in her studio apartment by creating a bed, that also acts as a closet – as it is mad from one.
Coach and personal trainer Whitley Spinnler, her IKEA wardrobe transformation to her Instagram account, wspinn, where it has a whopping three million views.
Aiming to make the most out of her small living pace, Whitley posted the video of her building her new bedunder the caption "How I created a lot of storage by building a bed out of IKEA closets. Small studio apartment ideas."
Starting with the length of the bed, Whitley builds the KALLAX Shelving unit, 77x147cm, in white,placing the longest sideon the floor .
To create the end of her bed she uses the MALM chest of drawers 160x78cm, in white, and an identical MALM unit to create the side of the bed.
With all drawers facing outward, so she can access them , she uses a small KALLAX unit, 77x77cm, to create the head of the bed.
To finish she attaches a slated bed base that is available on Amazon.
The entire build cost £350 to make.
If you like hacks that help organise your household you will love this piece on how to help kids hold on to their pen lids.
Also for parent hacks, see how one Mum shares easy oven tray hack which keeps kids entertained for hours.
For cleaning your home see this simple five-ingredient recipe for a DIY cleaning spray you can use on EVERYTHING.
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