Full-Height Playhouse Loft Bed

Build the bed frame from two 2x4 sides at 75" and six 2x4 studs at 36", screwed with 3" screws. Make it perfectly square — every panel and window downstream references off this frame.

Cut 1/2" plywood at 75" x 39" and attach it to the frame with 2" screws and glue, outside edges flush. Confirm the frame is perfectly square before fastening the plywood — the sheet locks in whatever shape the frame is holding.

Screw the 51-1/2" 2x4 corner uprights to the bed frame (bottoms flush with the plywood), then add the 48" 2x4 and 2x6 top rails, 2x4 first with bottom edges flush, then the 2x6 keeping the outside corner flush. This is a three-sided house; the open side gets screwed to the wall studs.

Skin the sides with 3/4" plywood and trim out the false front with 1x2s and 1x4s. The plan's dimensions here are approximations — take exact measurements off your build. Trim windows with 1x2s (sides first, then top and bottom), and add the gable vent, whose vertical pieces also help hold the two plywood sheets together.

Cut the window doors from 1x6s and the front door from 1x12s to your openings, and hang them on hinges — leaving a generous gap around each so little fingers can't get pinched. This gap is a safety requirement, not a cosmetic choice.

Build the ladder by boring 1-1/2" holes in the 2x4 ladder rails and gluing the dowels in. Finish the entire bed as desired. Then assemble: screw the legs on securely and screw the bed into wall studs on the open side with screws at least 3-1/2" long. A full-height loft bed must be anchored to the wall — do not skip it.