In recent weeks we've moved house, business and everything else that comes with it. We're slowly getting there but needed to get the house in order before the little one's went back to school.
We've not moved far, in fact we've moved about 2 miles up the road, but it's given us the opportunity to expand our business and give the children a bigger garden to play in!
As part of the moving house process, Jessica and Zachary came with us and chose their bedrooms before we even had a say, so trying to find furniture that was fun, creative and would fit their new rooms has been an interesting journey.
Deciding on the beds
There's 14 months between our little bambinos and whilst they're so different in character they also like to have the 'same' but 'different' and they both wanted 'Bunk Beds'.
Whilst I love a good Bunk Bed, I knew it wouldn't give us the storage opportunity that a midi / cabin bed might so I got them looking... straight away my little girl picked out the pink bed and my little boy picked out the blue one - their choice, no influence from us, it's what they liked.
They had chosen the Kimbo Cabin Bed by Julian Bowen. It looked sturdy, I could see it had a desk, drawers and shelving unit with the potential of further storage under the bed so, the order was made.
Delivery time for Julian Bowen can be around 5-10 days, delivered direct from their warehouse by their delivery team who were fab, taking great care to bring the boxes into the house. And as it all arrived shortly after we moved in, I could get their bedrooms painted, carpeted and all set up ahead of them going back to school.
The Narrow Window of Opportunity
Why is it that you find yourself with a very narrow window to turn it around? The little one's were staying out at Grandma's (Thanks Grandma!) so I started painting at 10pm one Monday night and by 2:30am on the Tuesday I'd painted both kiddies bedrooms!
We'd already taken them to B&Q and they'd selected their own paint... from the Dulux range: Jessica picked 'Pretty Pink' (you may have guessed by now she is pink mad) and our little boy chose 'Blissful Blue'.
The carpet fitter arrived later that day - thank you Darren Lumb Carpets and the bedroom was clear to start the Cabin Bed Build.
I'm impressed!
I hate to admit it, but I do love a bit of flat pack (a bit!). The estimated build time for 2 people is 3 hours... I did both of them on my own, the first one took 6 hours and the second about 4 - had people have helped I may have got it done quicker??
It was a fairly straight forward build in terms of tools - an Allen Key, A Posi Screwdriver, and a Hammer is all you needed but a little spanner would have also been useful.
As I opened each box to check the parts were there I could see that a significant amount of care had been taken. Each part was independently wrapped, packed tightly using polysterene to stop pieces scratching each other and generally I was really impressed with how it arrived. The instructions were great, easy to follow and ensured you developed each part before you fixed them together, making it easier as the structure came together
A few little tips...
- All the screws and instructions etc.. are in Box 4
- Box 1 is the first box you'll need but then they don't naturally follow in that order however;
- Each box contains a section of the build - so in most cases you wont find yourself needing all 4 boxes open at the same time.
- You'll build the main bed frame first (this is in Box 1)
- When you place the metal strips on the frame where the slats will be fixed to, make sure you have the metal strip the right way up (you'll need to attach 2 diagonal poles to it to sturdy the bed and they only slot into one side of the strip)
- Next will be the Drawer casing, the Cube Storage Unit, then the Desk and finally the drawers to go in each one
- If you have a battery operated screwdriver with Allen Key ends use it! - I only realised we had this on the second build, I really don't want to count how many screws I tightened with a little Allen Key
The Results
Just look at their faces they were both delighted with their beds! They'd chosen the most near perfect colours for their bedroom and now have a great mid-sleeper / cabin bed for their room.
We have lots and lots of storage space, and the Desk is acting as a little Bedside Table too!
It was really important for me that our little one's had their own bedrooms that they had chosen, I wanted them to feel safe and settled in their own room before they headed back to school in September.
Whilst I couldn't do a 'big reveal' like I'd planned as it just took a little longer than I wanted it to, the delight on their faces, the hugs I got and the desire to show their friends and family their new rooms just warms my heart!
A little safety note...
These beds are designed for children 6years+ My children are younger than that but very tall and I have taken the decision to allow them to have these beds; that's my choice and approach.
I strongly urge you to follow the manufacturer's guidelines when purchasing any piece of furniture and form your own independent decisions based on your own judgement.
Some more pics of the build!
