Sam’s extra tall, extra long teen bed

Jules Yap·April 6, 2021

Our teenage son is 6 ft. 2” and still growing. We wanted a teen bed that has storage and could fit a custom length mattress to suit his height.

After seeing many IKEA hacks for beds made using KALLAX, I decided this would be our project as we have many of these units at home.

I was expecting to do this a bit different and thought I would need a hardboard top for under the mattress. However, this was not the case as the mattress is very thick and it stays in place.

In the end all I needed for this project was :

2 x KALLAX 2×4 unit
1 x KALLAX 2×2 unit
DRÖNA insert boxes (I already had lots of fabric box inserts so just used up the ones I had available)

We laid the 2×4 units side by side and 2×2 unit at the foot end.

For the KALLAX 2×2 at the end of the bed, we did not assemble it with the middle vertical shelf, so we could fit things larger than the cubes in there.

Then, we placed the mattress on top to see how this would look and it fitted perfectly.

We now have a teen bed which is a perfect length for our son.

A painted KURA bed becomes the centerpiece of this toddler room

It’s quite high but it’s just the right height for our son.

We have lots of storage and lots of hidden storage, we keep all of our camping gear tucked away in the back section. It is easily reached by just pulling out the boxes from the front.

Financially, this project cost me only the price of the new mattress as we already had the KALLAX units and fabric boxes.

~ by Dawn

Jules Yap

Jules Yap started IKEAHackers.net in 2006 as a personal blog to showcase the most impressive IKEA hacks from all over the world. Since then, she has learned a lot more about power tools and DIY. Her site has helped thousands modify IKEA furniture with step-by-step tutorials, craft projects and home styling.

Jules is the author of IKEAHackers.net: 25 Biggest and Best Projects".