A Sea Life Bed for Carlos

We really wanted to find a nice twin/full bunk bed for our son, Carlos' room at the new house. But I wasn't thrilled about spending $1,000 on a child's bed, and I couldn't find any eco-groovy twin/full beds even if I was willing to spend a lot. Thankfully, I have a very capable husband and he and I decided to build a bed instead. We found some plans on the internet for about $10 and constructed it from solid redwood. We ended up spending more than we hoped just on the materials (I think it was around $500), but at least we ended up with a sturdy bed that hopefully had less negative impact on the environment than a commercially made bed would have. (And I can say with 100% certainty that it wasn't made with child labor in China!) We used a low-VOC clear finish on the wood.


Carlos' current obsession is sea life, and it's an interest I'm happy to nurture in any way that I can. I decided to turn the bottom bunk of his bed into an undersea wonderland, and he and I are both thrilled with the results. :-)


The felt animals are from Etsy sellers ObeyMyBrain, jelene, and Heartfelt3, with a few more still on the way from LochNessMonsters. I made the bedspread from an old blue sheet, which I tie-dyed and added some sparkly fish appliques to. I found some ocean-y fabric for the backdrop and the ceiling, and made a few clumps of 'seaweed' from green and blue ribbon. The finishing touch is a strand of white LED lights, which you can't see too well in the photographs, but they look super cool at night. :-)