DIY Montessori House Bed
Looking for an easy way to help your toddler foster independence? Learn how to build your own Montessori house bed and create your own easy DIY Montessori floor bed for your little one (with free plans!).
Build Your Own Montessori House Bed – DIY Montessori Floor Bed!
You’ve probably noticed that house frame style beds are everywhere right now for kids! Floor beds have increased a ton in popularity over the past few years, and are such a fun option for fostering independence in growing children.
Montessori house beds are inspired by the concept of Montessori floor beds. The concept with a Montessori-style bed for toddlers is that they can easily get in and out of it, play on it, and be close to the floor so that if a child rolls out they won’t get hurt.
Short on time? PIN this Montessori Floor Bed DIY for later on Pinterest by clicking here!
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I loved this idea when we started thinking about transitioning my oldest son Archer out of his crib. We work very hard in our house to help him be more independent and learn as many skills as possible, so a toddler house frame floor bed was perfect for us!
I however, was NOT a fan of the crazy prices I was seeing for them. Instead, my husband and I came up with our own plans for a DIY twin size Montessori style toddler house bed floor bed and are sharing those free plans with you today. Keeping reading to snag those!
Here is what Archer’s nursery looked like with his crib, before we transitioned him to his new bed.
He actually told me he wanted “a jungle room” when we started talking about a new big boy bed, so I ordered this great peel and stick wallpaper!
It was fun to put it up a few weeks before transitioning him out of the crib so he could get used to it. It made such a difference in this space! We loved creating this DIY House Bed Floor Bed for Toddlers.
What is a Montessori Floor Bed?
If you’re reading this post and have never heard of the Montessori Method of education, I want to give you a little background.
My husband’s mother was a Montessori educator for many years, which sparked our interest in incorporating Montessori into our children’s everyday lives.
What is the Montessori Method?
This comes directly from the American Montessori Society:
“The Montessori Method of education, developed by Dr. Maria Montessori, is a child-centered educational approach based on scientific observations of children from birth to adulthood. Dr. Montessori’s Method has been time tested, with over 100 years of success in diverse cultures throughout the world. It is a view of the child as one who is naturally eager for knowledge and capable of initiating learning in a supportive, thoughtfully prepared learning environment.
It is an approach that values the human spirit and the development of the whole child—physical, social, emotional, cognitive…The child, through individual choice, makes use of what the environment offers to develop himself, interacting with the teacher when support and/or guidance is needed.”
Related: The 10 Best Montessori Toys on Amazon
The Montessori Method of education can also be applied to the home. In our home, this translated really well to his bedroom. We wanted to create a space for him that as he grows fosters his sense of independence by being able to make decisions for himself in this area.
Environment plays a huge part in this. In the Montessori Method of education, they stress the value of an environment that is created for the child by the teacher (or at home, by his or her parents) to “encourage independence, freedom within limits, and a sense of order.”
When it came to setting up Archer’s Montessori-style bedroom, we worked to do just that. Every piece of furniture (except for the rocking chair) is bolted to the wall. We removed anything that he could possibly pull down and hurt himself with, and shifted items that are hung on the walls to be hung a little bit higher. We secured his drawers so he can’t open them, as well as his closet door. We also hid all of the power cords, made sure the curtains and blinds are safely secured, and we also removed a LOT of his toys that were up there.
We did all of these things to encourage his freedom and independence within limits. We know he is safe in that space, and we also know that he won’t be up there playing with toys when he should be napping.
As he grows, we will be able to start adding those toys back in, but for right now we wanted him to have a space that is 100% about sleeping.
I’m so excited to walk you through the steps we took to build our own Montessori style house bed floor bed for our toddler.
Quick disclaimer: we are parents and built this bed as a hobby. We are in no way professional carpenters and do not claim to be ones! We are providing this guide for informational, fun purposes only (which is why we aren’t selling this)!
How to Build a DIY Floor Bed for Toddlers
I’m going to walk you through each step of how we built our DIY Montessori house bed floor bed to show you how easy it really is to build your own! This DIY is for a twin size floor bed.
While you can do most of this bed build by yourself, I recommend you have a second set of hands for the assembly. It makes it much easier to be sure you have everything aligned correctly!
To begin, we purchased the wood and supplies needed. We cut the wood ourselves at home using this Ryobi Circular Saw. You should also be able to have your local Home Depot or similar store cut the wood for you when you purchase if that’s easier.
We sanded each piece thoroughly to be sure the bed was free from splinters and then we pre-drilled all of the holes.
Once the wood was prepped and drilled, we actually assembled the entire thing in my husband’s garage workshop first. We wanted to make sure that everything lined up and was properly cut.
I highly recommend doing this too, just in case you made a mistake along the way. It’s much easier to make changes when you are still close to your tools!
Next we took it completely apart and assembled it in Archer’s bedroom. Wondering why we assembled it and then took it apart again, instead of just moving it in pieces? A twin size house bed was just simply too big to fit through a regular bedroom door!
Start by assembling the base of the bed and the mattress slats for support, then add the sides and support pieces.
That’s it! This DIY Montessori Floor Bed is so simple to make, and there’s something so special about your child sleeping in a bed you created for them.
Free DIY Montessori House Bed Plans
Looking for free house bed plans? Just drop your email address below and those plans will land right in your inbox!
Remember, your DIY Montessori house bed doesn’t have to be perfect! Your child will love it regardless. We liked the idea of building an inexpensive toddler floor bed for these little years so that we can transition him to bunk beds when his baby brother starts sharing his room.
Archer asked for a jungle bedroom, so I tried to find items that fit the feel without going overboard.
His house floor bed and Montessori style bedroom were so fun to create, and I love that as he grows he can really do so much on his own up here.
A Few Frequently Asked Questions I’ve Gotten About DIY House Bed Floor Beds:
How Long Does it Take to Build a Montessori Floor Bed?
We built our DIY Montessori house bed frame in about 6 hours. You might be able to do it quicker, or it might take you a little longer. We took our time building the frame because we wanted to be sure everything was correct.
What Tools Do I Need a Build a Montessori House Bed?
When it comes to building your own floor bed for your child, you don’t need a ton of tools! We actually had everything we needed to build our own Montessori floor bed from just the regular projects we do around the house.
If this is your first time doing a project like this, there are a few things I recommend picking up to make this DIY as easy as possible on you.
While you can use any brand, our family personally loves the Our family loves the Ryobi 18-Volt ONE+ line of cordless tools. You can purchase one tool with a battery pack (or the battery packs separately!), and use the same battery pack with the rest of their line.
I recommend an electric sander, circular saw, and drill and drill bit set, at minimum.
I also recommend a level, tape measure and a square.
Can I Build a Floor Bed Without Bed Slats?
Yes, you absolutely can. However, I don’t recommend it. I’ve read that some floor beds can get moisture trapped underneath the mattress if they are directly on the floor. Having bed slats under your DIY floor bed house bed raises the mattress off the floor and helps to prevent these issues.
Having slats under your toddler floor bed also helps ensure the life of your mattress. I was shocked how rough our toddler is with his, and immediately knew that without the slats he could really do a number on the springs.
How Old Does a Child Need to Be to Sleep in a Montessori Floor Bed?
We have multiple friends who started their children in floor beds instead of cribs! The decision is totally up to you. We personally waited until Archer was 2 to transition him from his crib to a floor bed, because we didn’t think he was personally ready.
I hope you found this DIY Floor Bed tutorial helpful! It such a fun and easy project to complete, and there’s something so special and cool about building the bed your child sleeps in.
If you build your own, let me know! Tag me on Instagram @simply.siobhan or #mimosasandmotherhood. I would love to see how it turns out!
Love this! I want to assemble one but where are the measurements for the wood and how to assemble it?
Hi Gabi! Thank you for letting me know it was missing. It’s been updated with the full measurements and steps! It somehow had gotten deleted!
Hi, did you mention the wood measurements and the supplies needed?
I can only find the tools you used.
Thank you in advance!
Hi Sofia! Thank you for letting me know it was missing. It’s been updated with the full measurements and steps!
I signed up for the free plans but did not receive them
Hi Michael! Be sure to check your spam folder. They sometimes get stuck in there!