Under Bed Storage for Kids: A Simple IKEA Hack

This Ikea Mydal bunk bed hack is the perfect under bed storage solution for kids’ bedrooms! Use the extra space to organize toys, clothes, or bedding!

Under Bed Storage Ikea Hack! girls wood bunk bed with purple bedding and Ikea hacked under bed storage drawers

Hello! Now that the holidays are over, I’m getting back after the girls’ boho bedroom makeover. And since it’s POURING rain right now, it’s the perfect time to write about a clever (if I do say so myself!) under bed storage hack. And nothing cheers me up on a dreary day like a good Ikea hack!

I used to find all sorts of junk under the girls’ old beds. Books, socks, snacks, you name it! It’s always been a bit of a pet peeve of mine. The space under their beds wasn’t working very hard for us. But no more!

Ikea Mydal Bunkbeds for the win!

We got the inexpensive MYDAL bunk beds from Ikea, which I love! (Did I mention this is the 4th time I’m using these particular beds in a design?) We first used them in the beach house bunk room. They’re great because they’re cheap, very functional, and nice-looking as-is, or you can finish them however you like! But you will notice that there’s a nice big gap under the bottom bunk. And although it would make a good hide-and-seek spot, I wanted to maximize storage space in this small bedroom.

Hemnes Under Bed Storage Boxes

Ikea does have these Hemnes under bed storage boxes. They’re basically rolling drawers, and they fit perfectly under the Mydal bunk bed. The problem? They don’t come in a wood finish. And they won’t close all the way under the Mydal bed because of the ladder. But never fear! I’ve got a simple hack to make these under bed storage boxes work with the Mydal bunk bed.

here’s what you’ll need:

1 Ikea MYDAL Bunk Bed frame
1 set (of 2) Hemnes under bed storage boxes in dark grey stain, twin size
orbital sander (this is the inexpensive one I like)
orbital sandpaper disks
saw horses or a table
oscilating multi-tool

1. Sand the drawer fronts with 40 grit sandpaper

When I bought the Hemnes under bed storage boxes, I was expecting that the drawer fronts would have the dark grey finish on them, and the rest of the drawer boxes would be unfinished pine. Not so. All the pieces were finished in dark grey, so I sanded them ALL. But if I did it again, I would just remove the finish from the drawer fronts to save a ton of time and elbow grease!

The lower the grit number on the sandpaper, the rougher it is. This means it will remove a lot of material from your wood quickly, which is what we want. We’ll start with 40 grit.

close up of IKEA Hemnes under bed storage drawer front with black finish partially sanded off

2. Sand with 80 grit Sandpaper

Next, we’ll sand with 80 grit sandpaper. It’s finer, and will create a smoother finish.

close-up of 80 grit sandpaper disc for orbital sander

3. sand with 120 grit sandpaper

Finally, sand with 120 grit. This will smooth everything out. There should be no black or grey spots left when you’re all done.

4. Assemble drawers

Follow the instructions that came with your Hemnes drawers to assemble them, and place them under the bunk bed.

5. cut the bunk bed ladder

close-up of Ikea bunk bed with hacked under bed storage drawers

Now you can see that the storage drawers are almost a perfect fit under the bed. The only thing in our way is the bottom of the left side of the bunk bed ladder, which doesn’t allow the drawer to close all the way. (If you assemble your bunk bed the other direction, the ladder will be in a different spot, but you’ll still have the same problem.

close-up of Ikea Mydal bunk bed hack with hand drawing pencil line on bottom of ladder

We marked the bottom of the ladder with a pencil, and used an oscillating multi-tool to cut about an inch off the bottom of the ladder.

close-up of hands using oscillating multi-tool for IKEA hack

Mydal bunk bed with piece removed for Ikea hack for kids bedroom storage

And that allows the drawer to slide in all the way.

close-up of bottom of IKEA MYDAL bunk bed with under-bed storage hack

That’s it, we’re done!

kids bunk bed with under bed storage drawers hack for kids bedroom

We’re using the drawer space under the kids’ beds to store dress-up clothes for now. But these drawers could also be used for clothes, toy storage, extra bed linens, or whatever. When it comes to storage for kids’ rooms, you can really never have too much!

The girls’ boho bedroom makeover is a work in progress. I would love to have you join us for the journey! If you want to follow along with our progress, CLICK HERE!

kids bunk bed with under bed storage drawers Ikea hack

We used this same under bed storage IKEA hack in the beach house bunk room. The only difference was that we stained the drawers to match the bunk beds.