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Saturday, June 11, 2011

Ikea Kura Hack: Our New Apple Tower

My 3 year old is obsessed with apples. She has a pair of 12 month Carter's pajamas that she still wears around the house even though they are skin tight because she must have her "apple jammies".  When we found apple fabric a Joann's a few months ago we had to get some. I had originally decided to make her a jumper with it so she might retire those jamies but alas I ran out of time and just hadn't done it.

In the search for a new couch she was sitting on my lap while I browsed Ikea's website and saw a Kura loft bed. She was instantly in love with the bed but alas I wasn't in love with the $199 price tag. I searched on Craigslist and found one that was an hour away from our house and only $50.  The kicker? We had to take it apart.  After an hour and a half taking it apart we went home. It took me all evening to completely put it back together but it is now the perfect apple tower!

What  I ended up doing was covering all the blue/white panels with fabric.

1. Before sliding panels lay the panel on top of fabric and cut fabric leaving 1/2 to an inch of fabric overhand.

2. Put double sided tape (any kind) on the side of the panel you do not wish covered. We put the tape on the white side so the blue panel was completely covered.

3. After the entire panel is covered, slide into place and continue assembling the bed as directed.


I had a little help from the princess who wanted to "measure" to make sure it all fit.


Note: I stopped each time a panel was to be slid into place to wrap the panel in fabric and then continue. We still have some fabric left so we aren't sure if a small curtain for the bottom is to be made or if we'll just make her an extra pillow for on top of the bed.

This can easily be undone if you take the bed apart and switch out with different fabric.

For now, the apple princess can use her apple tower any way she pleases. It took us a day to teach her how to go up and down the ladder and now she's a pro.


12 comments:

  1. This is awesome. My daughters want a bed like this to use as a bunk bed and I am looking on craigslist to find one too. I was thinking of painting it, but this seems like a much better idea. Thank you so much for sharing this.

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  2. You took a standard bunk bed and turned it into something completely charming! Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Oh my god! I was thinking of doing something like that for my boy but didnt know how it would end up looking. Then I thought maybe i will paint it with either chalkboard or magnetic paint on one side but I'll see what happenes. But I LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea! Its soo cute and the fabric is just darling!!

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  4. Fabulous idea! I have just purchased this bed! Looking for ideas, and I have found one! Thank you!

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  5. This is adorable! Can you tell me how much fabric you used? I'm thinking about doing this with the bed we just bought. Thanks for sharing!

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  6. Fantastic! I had been wondering without seeing the assembly instructions whether fabric covering would work & now I know - thanks. Like Kati above, I'm wondering if you can recall how much fabric you used? Also, given it has been a while now since you finished this project, whether the fabric has stood up well with use/ remained adhered with the use of double sided tape or if you would do anything differently?
    Thanks for sharing.

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    1. I want to say I bought 2 yards but I didn't originally buy the fabric to cover the bed, I was going to make something else and then decided to use it for the bed instead. It held up well until my daughter spilled her cup of red crystal light on it and ruined part of the fabric. Of course, you have to take the bed halfway apart to remove the fabric so I wasn't happy about it. The double sided sticky tape with the fabric being folded over really held well. I had no problems with it coming off.

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  7. We tried this, but the grooves for sliding the panels in were so tight that it wouldn't work. We had bought 3 1/2m of fabric to do this. We just left the white panels on show and are going to use the material to make some lovely curtains for the secret den underneath.

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    1. I am so sorry to hear that. We used very thin cotton material that if you held it up to the light you could easily see through. :(

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  8. Melissa,

    This looks great. We are thinking of using fabric to cover the panels of a Kura, but I was curious to know how well the fabric held up over a year or more. Did it remain tight on the panels, or did it start to bag, and slip?

    Thanks,
    Amanda

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  9. This is awesome! Amd does the side of the bed really prevent falls?

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