My girlfriend and I were sharing a single room in a shared apartment, so we didn't have much space. I suggested getting a loft bed, and she surprised me by liking the idea. Searching online to purchase a loft, I couldn't find any great designs, and shipping all that wood wouldn't be cheap. But I didn't really want to put the time into designing one I'd like.

When I found plans for an OP Loftbed, I instantly recognized a quality design. OP stands for "Orgy-Proof" and though we haven't tested it that way, it's a good bet the bed would have NO problems.

I took my time and built it over several weeks, but it could be done pretty quickly (a long weekend). That's with basic, though not complete beginner, tools and skills. The website estimates that for a twin-sized bed, it'll be around $100 for lumber, and $25 for fasteners if you buy it from their online partner. The queen-sized, which is what I built, cost me more like $300 to $400. The difference is that:

1) The queen-size needs 2 sheets of plywood (and I used nice $30/sheet ply).
2) The fastener deal wasn't around, so I probably spent around $60.
3) I made a desk, which needed more wood and another sheet of good ply.
4) It's all painted and the shelves/desk are all poly'd.

Joel's queen-sized loft

It's like buying a car -- the basic model is probably around $150 or so, and you can spend a lot more for the accessories. There are free plans for bookshelves, a desk, and a telephone table, all of which I've modified slightly for my queen-sized loft, and all of which are fairly ingenious in their use of space.

Overall, the loft makes the room feel much bigger. I built mine to last, either for my own use, or for resale value. It was a good investment.

--Joel M Rosenberg

OP Loftbed
$10 per plan