From the day we brought Plumblossom home from the hospital, she slept in her crib. We hadn’t researched other options, and she made it clear from the start that she had no interest in a family bed (the girl has always liked her own space). No matter, we weren’t offended: she was sleeping, we were sleeping, all was good.
However, around her second birthday, she started plotting an escape. She had height to her advantage, and began hoisting a leg over the side and teetering on the brink. She didn’t have quite enough leverage to get over, but she was close; we knew it was only a matter of time. So she was still sleeping, but we weren’t—every bump in the night had one of us jumping to check on her.
It was one of those milestones both anticipated and dreaded: time for a big girl bed. We could have bought a conversion kit for her crib; however, in the time since her birth, we had discovered and begun to implement Montessori practices in our home. And no Montessori home would be complete without a floor bed.
We would have loved to have put a mattress on the floor and called it a day—easy peasy lemon squeezy. Unfortunately, in our house, that would have been an invitation for mold; we needed a floor bed with air circulation underneath.
We decided to go straight to a twin-sized bed (rather than a toddler-sized one), as our little beanpole would certainly outgrow the latter by year’s end. But, as we learned after exhaustive Google searches, super-low twin bed frames are a rare commodity indeed. So our DIY minimalist Montessori bed project was born.
Time was not on our side. The nights were nerve-wracking, and we were determined to both build the bed and transition Plumblossom into it over the Christmas holiday (in case her newfound nighttime freedom meant no sleep for us). By no means would this be a designer-quality example of fine woodworking—we needed to throw something together fast.
Our solution: take the Ikea Sultan Laxeby slatted bed base, paint it white, and elevate it on three 4×1 wooden rails.
We also made a padded headboard and sideboard with plywood, batting, and fabric to add some cushioning and warmth against the wall (Plumblossom likes to sleep flush against the wall, with her head up in the corner). These padded panels are attached to the wall, and rest on the frame for additional support.
Here’s a photo of the finished product:
We kept telling ourselves it was a temporary solution until we found something better—but, to be honest, we like the way it turned out and have no plans to change it. Most importantly, Plumblossom seems to love it—she made the transition without a hitch. And, as a bonus, she can do all the jumping and acrobatics she wants on it without her mom having a heart attack.
[Note: Montessorians recommend skipping the crib and using a floor bed from the start—not a bad idea if you can sufficiently baby-proof the room.]
So have you read through this entire post, even though you have no little ones underfoot? Bless your heart, and thank you for sticking with me. Because guess what? The concept makes a lovely, minimalist adult bed as well—my husband and I are sleeping on the queen-sized version, and we love it, too.
I’d love to hear your thoughts, be they about toddler beds, Montessori beds, or just minimalist beds in general!
{If you’d like to learn more about minimalist living, please consider reading my book, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide, or subscribing to my RSS feed.}
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