Building a bed can be an intimidating project for most DIY builders. Loft bed plans are a little different story, though. Many Loft bed plans call for little more than 2x4s and some heavy-duty hardware. In fact, this may be one of the few pieces of real furniture that people can build without some well-honed woodworking skills to pull it off. Not to mention that a Loft bed plans is probably the least expensive kind of bed you can build. And with the extra space you gain below (for a desk or table), they are hugely popular for college dorms.
The real savings in building a Loft bed plans comes from not having to buy an expensive mattress and box springs. I would still look at getting an inexpensive single mattress, though, since a cheaper alternative ( like a futon mattress) is probably not going to keep your knees and elbows from hitting the sheet of 3/4" plywood below. And hopefully the the plans will have instructions for building a loft bed ladder, which can make things a whole lot easier than trying to climb up the corner posts of the bed.
You'll need to be careful, though, when searching for Loft bed plans on the Web. Even though I believe that most people are looking for the 2x4, simple-construction type of Loft bed plans I describe above, some plans you'll find online are a little more complicated, and are more suited to woodworkers who want to build a piece of fine furniture. No doubt these are beautiful examples of Loft bed plans that make your mouth drop in envy, but they stray a little too far from the original concept of a simple and cheap bed.
Are Free Loft bed plans worth the trouble?
You'll have to decide for yourself if most of these sites are worth your trouble to even go there. Everything else I'm seeing for free plans is pretty much, well, junk. So if you're serious about building this kind of bed, I'd suggest shelling out the $5-$10 for a complete set of instructions.
