Smart Upgrades That Make Loft Beds Much More Livable

If you’re short on space, lofting your bed is one of the best ways to magically gain square footage. However, sleeping in the sky is not without its challenges—I’m looking at you, late-night ladder navigation. Here are 14 ways to make your loft bed dreamy.

The built-in cubby smartly stores extra pillows and blankets—and books, if you’re me. The addition of a bedside outlet is so helpful, allowing for a phone charger, radio, fan, and more.

Stairs are much easier to navigate than a ladder, and these steps double as extra storage.

A large painting acts as a headboard to Andrew’s lofted bed and provides a focal point other than the more industrial elements…

…while the laundry built into the loft itself is ridiculously convenient. Shortest bedroom to laundry room commute ever!

Many people try to minimize the impact of their loft bed ladder, but Hallie has turned her wide, sturdy ladder into a major design element.

Amie and Emma share a room, so hanging panels of gorgeous fabric provide a bit of privacy (or at least the illusion of privacy), separating Amie’s bed from Emma’s desk.

A loft bed must be supported somehow, so why not do so with a cool tree branch brought in from the yard?

There’s not a lot of available wall space in an apartment this size, so the underside of the loft bed is the perfect spot to tuck a television.

This sleeping loft shows the importance of proportion. The platform is big enough to hold a luxuriously large California King bed, so the quite low ceiling doesn’t feel as cramped. The bed-level windows also keep the whole space from feeling claustrophobic.

In this 518-square-foot studio apartment from 2007’s Small Cool Contest, guard rails keep sleepers safe without boxing in the airy sleeping loft.

The MYDAL bunk bed frame has been converted into a darling playhouse—including a library—while a TROFAST storage unit acts as super-handy stairs, while providing extra storage, of course.

This loft bed has everything: stairs instead of a ladder, storage in the stairs, a rack for books, a shelf for a water bottle, and a tent-like drapery for coziness.

This lovely handmade loft bed is surrounded by dark curtains which block light and provide privacy…

… but one of those grey curtains is lined: “I added a white curtain at the foot of the bed and mounted a projector in my closet ten feet behind it so I could watch movies in bed.” I would never leave!