Try this easy no-sew bunk bed tent trick next time your little one wants to use all your sheets and blankets to build a fort out of their bed.
One of my daughters is a burrower. Do you know a kid like this? She likes to pile up all her stuffed animals on her bed and sleep right in the middle of them.
If you're ever looking for her, you can bet she's hiding somewhere under a sheet tent in the den or behind our overstuffed chair reading a book with about 3 or 4 of her animals.
A Cute but Messy Problem
She's also an engineer-in-the-making. If you're on Instagram with me, you may have seen the picture I posted recently of her invention that allows her to turn her light off and on from her bed. (When you're cuddled up with all your stuffies, the last thing you want to do is crawl out of bed, turn off the light, and then race the monsters back across the room to the bed!)
So I wasn't surprised when I came in the other morning to find this.
It may be a little hard to tell from the picture, but she raided the linen closet, draped sheets and sleeping bags from the top bunk, anchored them with rolls of yarn, and made herself a colorful little bunk bed tent.
Now, I respect a girl's right to the perfect little reading hideaway, but I just couldn't deal with a bed that looked like the villain from a luxury bedding horror movie. I mean, it looks like the swamp thing, with sheets instead of watery goo!
Plus, we have no more spare sheets now. I couldn't bear to tell her to take it down, so I had to come up with a more mommy-approved version of the tent. After a few failed attempts, I hit on an amazingly simple trick.
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Bunk Bed Tent Solution
In trying to solve this dilemma, I sacrificed a couple of hours and a perfectly good bed sheet before I realized that all I would need is:
I picked up two packages of the fridge clips from my local Hobby Lobby, otherwise known as "My Happy Place", and applied them upside down at about 12 inch intervals around the upper bed frame.
Then I simply cut the jute string to a little more than the length of the bed and tied a knot in each end. I folded the bed sheet in half lengthwise, and inserted the string along the fold.
Then I gently pushed the sheet and string into the clips.
In case you're wondering why the string is necessary, I found that the sheet alone was too thin to be securely held by the clip. But once you put the string in the fold, it fills up that little loop at the top of the clip and is much harder to pull out.
Plus, tying a knot at the end keeps it from slipping out of each corner. You can probably use any kind of string that you have on hand, as long as it's small enough to fit in that loop, but not too small to pull through.
For the end of the bed, I used part of the other sheet that gave its life for an earlier, failed, prototype. You could probably use a pillowcase too, if that's handier.
The beauty of this method is that it can all be removed, with no trace! So if she ever outgrows her bunk bed tent, I can just take down the sheet. I can leave the clips up because they're almost invisible, but once we're really done with them, they'll pull right off cleanly, with no mess to clean up and no damage to the furniture.
I also relocated her lamp cord, just to clean things up a little bit. Doesn't it look pretty with her light on inside? (Be sure you're using an LED bulb if you want to have a light that close to fabric, such as bedsheets, so it doesn't overheat and become a fire hazard.)
I'm sure she won't mind if I make myself at home with a good book while she's at school! I'm off to play Goldilocks...
Sabrina Q. says
Ingenious! I love it. Too bad my daughter doesn't have a bunk bed. I would do this for her. Thanks for sharing! Great before and after picture too.
Meredith says
Thanks Sabrina!
jacquiegum says
Brilliant! I absolutely love it! I wish you'd been my mom 🙂 I used to get in trouble for raiding the linen closets and making tents...and she never offered me an alternative like this! Suppose it could work on a card table??? I used to tent the card table regularly:)
Meredith says
Yes, I think the card table idea is a great one! We don't have one of those, but I bet my kids would love that too.
Ken Dowell says
Very resourceful. My home is bunkless so I'm trying to think of how else this could be used. By the way, I'm enjoying my mustache tea towel.
Meredith says
I'm so glad to hear that Ken!
Susan Cooper says
That is the net idea. I know a mom who would love this. I'm forwarding to her for her two girls. So cool!
Meredith says
Thanks for sharing it Susan!
Donna Janke says
Fantastic. My daughter would have loved this when she was little.
Meredith says
Thanks Donna! I know I would have loved this, so I figured I couldn't be the only one.
lenie5860 says
I have a grand-daughter who sounds just like your daughter. Her favourite quiet place is amongst her stuffed animals underneath her bed where the bed skirt gives her a cozy den. I'm going to pass this on to my daughter-in-law. So creative.
Meredith says
I used to love hanging out under my bed as a kid, and I'd forgotten all about that until you mentioned it. 🙂
Catarina Alexon says
How cute. Would have loved it when I was a kid. A bunk bed tent would have been so cool...
Meredith says
Thanks Catarina. Tents are always cool when you're a kid!
Sandey says
You had me at "no sew". Then you had me again at "command hooks". You sweet talker, you! Great tutorial, Meredith! Thanks!
Meredith says
Ha! Two of my favorite things! 🙂
Marquita Herald (@marquitaherald) says
That is so clever and really cute! I don't have children, but my dog is a burrower and will push the blanks and sheets all together to make a tent in the middle of the bed and then tuck herself under it all. Maybe I can use your inspiration to create something for her using her doggie bed (the one she never sleeps in!). 🙂
Meredith says
Thanks Marquita! I always think it's funny how much we spend on those adorable plush dog beds that never get used! 🙂
The Imp says
I love this! Too bad my kids broke the bedframe!
Meredith says
Oh no! I guess you need a little more than command hooks to solve that problem!
Laurie S Hurley says
My daughter in college has to share a room with 3 others - two sets of bunk beds. Will pass this on to her!
Meredith says
Thanks Laurie! You're never too old for bunk bed tents, especially when sharing a room with 3 other people!
Jeri Walker (@JeriWB) says
Oh how fun and your version is so much tidier! I used to make forts under the dining table a lot and another favorite of mine was to drape a blanket over the armrests of the love seat and sofa on either side of the door to my bedroom. I would spend hours in my blanket hideout.
Meredith says
Blanket hideouts are the best, aren't they? I think I'd still prefer to do my reading that way. 🙂
Erica says
Wow, I'm sure all little kids would want an awesome mom like you. I love your version of the bed tent. Very creative and very pretty!
Meredith says
Thanks Erica, although truth be told, I think my daughter is happier with the one she made!
Beth Niebuhr says
I love it! My kids would have too but now that they're in their 40s, I doubt that they would. It's a great idea though.
Meredith says
Thanks Beth! You're never too old for a good blanket tent! 🙂
Tim says
Very cute once again. For me though it would not have worked but then again I was a boy. Boxes, tree houses, and finding a happy spot under the house was what I looked forward to.
Meredith says
Yeah, I know it's kinda girly. 🙂 I have a friend with a little boy who's perfectly happy whenever she brings home a new cardboard box. It doesn't get much better than that!
William Rusho says
I like this blog. I might utilize something similar to put up some netting in my bunk at my camp for the summer.
Meredith says
Thanks a great idea! I'd love it if you made something a little more useful and manly out of my girly bunk bed idea. 🙂
Pamela Chollet says
I wish I knew how to make a bunk bed tent when I lived in the dorm as a college freshman. I would have loved the privacy. A voiceover colleague of mine used his son's bottom bunk to record his audition, he said it was just like being in a recording booth. But he put a blanket over his head. I'msending this link to my VO pals who have kids with bunk beds as a voiceover recording tip.
Meredith says
I know, me too! I was always on the bottom bunk because I didn't like the feeling of being up in the air. I would have loved this myself in college. That's a cool idea using it for a VO booth. I'm amazed at people's creativity!
Emily @ Table + Hearth says
I was totally a burrowing child, tents, forts, pillow/toy piles, all of it. I would have loved this! Thanks for sharing it at On Display Thursday this week!
Meredith says
Thanks Emily! I always love On Display Thurdsay!
Sarah @ My Joy-Filled Life says
The before picture totally looks like our bunk beds! We need to try this! Thanks for sharing and linking up at the Mom 2 Mom Monday Link-Up!
Meredith says
I'm so glad to know I'm not the only one! I'd love to know how it turns out if you try it.
Kire says
Love it. Reminds me of my days as the "bottom bunker" when I was young. There are times that I wish my kids ages/genders were closer together so they could experience the joys and pains of bunk beds.
Meredith says
Yes, I think every child should experience bunk beds at some point in their life!
Anna Khan says
I simply love this trick. My daughter also pile up all animals cushions etc and sleep with them. I have to look for this clip to help her make a tent next time. Thank you for a great and easy share.
Meredith says
Thanks Anna! I hope you can find the clips - you might try amazon.com if you can't find them locally.
Kristen from The Road to Domestication says
So simple and yet so effective! Love it! Thanks so much for taking the time to link up with us over at the #HomeMattersParty - we hope to see you again this Friday! Feel free to bring a friend 🙂
Meredith says
Thanks Kristen! I'll definitely be there!
Bre @ Average But Inspired says
GENIUS!!!! I am FOR SURE doing this for my son's bed. He will love it!!
Meredith says
Thanks Bre! I hope he loves it as much as my daughter does! 🙂
Barb @ A Life in Balance says
Thank you for contributing to Motivational Monday!
Mary-In the boondocks says
I used to do this too with my kids bed...so much fun. Now that they are older I have to try to make a bunk bed look more sophisticated (wish me luck)
Meredith says
Thanks Mary! It's always a challenge to "grow up" a piece of kid's furniture or an older kid's room.
Michele says
Any problem with the clips coming loose when opening and closing the tent, does it slide well on the string?
Meredith says
This one actually doesn't slide on the string. The rope is in there just to give the hooks something to grab onto. She doesn't open it by sliding it, but just by lifting the flap.
Natasha says
Hi! I’m wondering if this method could be used to attach to a wall and ceiling? Would the clips work if they were attached to ceiling perhaps? My son has a mid/high sleeper and den below his bed but has been begging for a den on top for so long. So much so, we’ve temporarily moved his toys out from the den and put his mattress there until we can figure out how to ‘make a den up top’
Meredith says
Hmm, that's a good question Natasha. I'm not sure if the command hooks would hold as well to the ceiling, since they would be pulled at a different angle than they're designed for. I would try it with one first, to see if it will hold the weight. Or maybe you could use plant hooks? Let me know if you find something that works!