Make My Bedroom Beautiful

Converted loft with new wall and enclosed bedroom — This guest bedroom used to overlook the home's front entry. We converted this loft for just $500 in materials.

Homeowners Mike and Becky Nance want to convert their loft into a bedroom for visiting grandchildren. We're going to show how easy — and affordable — it is to transform their home to meet the family's different needs.

The Nances' two-story home has an open concept and they don't want that to change too much. So, the couple wants a new room that gives the grandkids some privacy when they need it, but maintains an open feel when they don't.

Becky's three grandkids visit just once a year, but the couple wants them to be comfortable when they do. Our challenge is to balance privacy while preserving some of the home's open concept.

Challenge accepted!

Building a room just requires some lumber, insulation, drywall, paint and other construction materials and tools you may already have if you do a lot of woodworking. And if you decide to tackle this project as we did, it doesn't have to break the bank.

So, here's our plan for Mike and Becky's loft conversion: We're going to replace the loft's railing with a wall. Then, we'll add a cased opening at the middle of the wall, at window height.

That, of course, covers the first part of the challenge: preserving some of the home's open concept.

Now, for the second part — that all-important privacy — we'll add a pair of sliding shutters to the cased opening. Then, we'll install a new door at the top of the stairs.

And we're going to do all of this for just $500 in materials!

Loft Conversion: Projects

In this episode, we will:

Frame and paint a new wall
Hang drywall on both sides of the new wall
Create a cased opening in the new wall
Paint and install sliding shutters
Install a bedroom door

Check out the 'A Lofty Project' episode article for more information and links to the products we used!

Watch the full episode above for this loft conversion, and share your comments below!

Make My Bedroom Beautiful