Guest bedroom

I'm excited about our "new" guest bedroom. It didn't take much investment, time- or money-wise, and now we have a real bed, instead of a futon, for our guests.

Basically, the only way I found to get a double bed AND a desk into that small room was to install a loft bed, i.e. a bed on stilts. (My inspiration for grown-up loft beds here.)

I found a used bed frame that I really liked and assembled it yesterday (with the help of my dad, luckily, because I don't think I could have done it alone!). I think the room looks great -- it's like the bed was made to fit that way!

But now I'm kind of curious to know who, out of our adult friends, will be willing to sleep (a) in a double bed (I'm learning that most people find it crowded in a queen-sized bed!) and (b) five feet off the ground?

I had the bed lowered by six inches so there would be more headroom above. I'm really glad I did as the ceilings are just regular height and it would have been pretty crowded up there. The bed could actually have been lowered another few inches more, but I wanted there to be enough space for us to work underneath as well. I can actually almost stand up underneath... but most people will have to stay sitting down!

What's nice about being under a double bed means we have space for a really big desk!

Total cost for our new guest bedroom: $255**

- new loft bed: $175
- new lamp for desk under bed (it's dark under there!): $30
- new desk (actually a wooden dining table that we'll be able to re-use for other purposes later): $20
- new sheer white curtains (for the window, and for closing off the office space): $30
- new bookshelf: $20
- old filing cabinet sold: -$30

ALL the "new" stuff above was purchased used (off usedottawa/kijiji/craigslist). And they're all pieces that we'll be able to re-purpose in our future home*. The lamp was a bit expensive, I have to admit, but I know this is one I'll want to keep forever - it looks really expensive and has a beautiful weighted base. [EDIT: saw this same lamp at Staples for $80! Score!] If I had bought one of those cheapo 10-dollar student lamps, I would have probably wanted to change it eventually. I'm trying to be less wasteful, and stop buying cheap stuff that I'm not happy with (see comments on that post).

*I think the loft bed would look really nice in a home with high ceilings. But it could also be used in a child's bedroom, or we could cut the legs down by two or three feet and just have a kind of high "captain's bed" with storage underneath.

**Still probably $255 more than what I should have spent considering we have a plane to pay for...