Texas mom reveals why her entire family of SEVEN sleeps in the same bed

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Elizabeth and Tom Boyce from Plano, Texas, combined two IKEA beds to create a single sleeping structure for themselves and their five kids
The 35-year-old mother said the arrangement came to be because her kids would always wander into their parents' room, anyway
She insists that her and 44-year-old Tom's sex life hasn't suffered; they just get creative with where they do it
She also said that the arrangement could change at any time if any of the children wanted out

Published: 10:34 EST, 16 October 2015 | Updated: 13:25 EST, 16 October 2015

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One Texas family of seven not only retires to the same bedroom to sleep every night, they actually all sleep in the same bed.

Elizabeth and Tom Boyce from Plano, Texas, built the custom 'family bed' themselves, combining standard pieces of IKEA furniture to create a structure that allows separate surfaces for them and each of their five kids.

But the unique sleeping situation isn't awkward at all, they insist. In fact, both parents say that everyone in the family loves it, and mom Elizabeth, 35, even claims on their blog that their kids wouldn't have it any other way.

The family that sleeps together... The Boyce family - which includes mom, dad, and five kids - all sleep in this 'family bed', which was built from two IKEA beds

Everyone's in on it: Elizabeth Boyce said that everyone in the family is quite happy with the situation and no one wants to leave

The Boyce family travels a lot. Elizabeth, a portrait photographer, and Tom, 44, a stay-at-home dad, like to take their kids on frequent trips across the country, during which time they all sleep in the same pop-up camper or hotel room.

The familiarity of this arrangement always led to problems when they'd come home, since all of the children would have to return to their own bedrooms. They'd give their parents a hard time, making bedtime quite difficult. Elizabeth recalls 'tears and fights', and says she and her husband would constantly have to return them to their own beds after they wandered into their parents' room.

Eventually, the kids would just get cozy on mom and dad's bedroom floor, which got 'old', Elizabeth explained on the family’s site.

So she and Tom performed an IKEA hack, turning two of the store's Kura beds, which they already owned, into one that they could all sleep in, with a $77.50 in extra materials thrown in. They even offer instructions on their blog for anyone who would like to replicate it.

Alone time: Zack, 11, sleeps to one side of his parents on a sort of bottom bunk; he has a curtain for privacy

Separate spots: Izzy, nine, is their only girl; she sleeps on a top bunk above Zack

When it's time to sleep, Elijah, their one-year-old, cuddles in with mom and dad in the main, central part of the bed. Owen, three, and Zack, 11, each sleep in 'caves' on either side, which look like enclosed bottoms of a bunk bed. Zack gets a curtain for privacy. Their only girl, Izzy, nine, and Ben, seven, get the top bunks above Zack and Owen.

It at some point, someone requests a change, we will happily make it work

'We just needed sleep,' Elizabeth explained. 'Tom is disabled and is often sick or needs care at night. I was up helping him, nursing a baby, putting kids back into their own beds, soothing a toddler woken by other kids... it was a mess! When we moved everyone together, the toddler got a dark little cave to sleep in. Our anxious, insomniac 11-year-old had a dark little cave to sleep in. Our wild sleepers each had their own space and I was still by Tom to help him if he needed it.'

While the parents may no longer have privacy in the bedroom, Elizabeth insists that their sex life hasn't suffered, and points to the fact that they have several extra empty rooms - which now house clothes and toys - to sneak off to.

'Sex doesn't have to happen in a bed,' she wrote. 'There are plenty of 16-year-olds who ended up in the back seat of a car to prove that!'

They're tight: Elizabeth said that family was used to sleeping in close quarters because they travel a lot and stay in the same hotel room and pop-up camper

Catching some Zzz's: Ben, seven, also sleeps in a top bunk above Owen, three

When the kids want privacy, like for getting dressed, there are still two old bedroom they can use, as well as two bathrooms.

The couple has also figured out a bed time routine that they say goes off without a hitch, despite having so many people in one room. The baby and toddler are tucked in at 7:30pm, Ben and Izzy, the middle children, get in their top bunks at 8:30pm, and Zach, the oldest, goes to bed at 9:30pm. The parents join then between 10:30 and 11pm.

Though each of them are able to get up to use the restroom or grab a drink without waking the others, Elizabeth admits it's not all easy sleeping. The baby may wake up the others when he needs to be fed, and Tom snores - though she adds that ear plugs 'do the trick' for that particular problem.

There are some other challenges, too. For one thing, it's difficult to change the sheets. And anytime someone is sick, he or she has to sleep in another room so as not to awake or infect the others. If one kid is up 'puking', in particular, he or she moves to the couch with a parent nearby to hold the bowl. But while those issues are tricky, they're not big enough to change their minds.

Good night, sleep tight: Owen goes to sleep at the same time as the baby, and the older children come to bed in shifts after that

Well-rested: Sometimes the other children are woken up when the baby has to feed, but otherwise everyone snoozes soundly

Elizabeth said that her friends all approve of their approach to bedtime, too, telling Daily Mail Online: 'They think it is great! Everyone we know says, "You just gotta do whatever works for your family!" If there are naysayers, they don’t tell us!'

She did have a message for those people on the internet who worry that she and her husband are raising co-dependent children, however.

'If co-dependence is sleeping in the same room as someone else, then nix the military, every college campus on the planet, and every married person,' she said. 'It is just sleep. They have friends, they travel, they go to school, they explore, they play, they hug and snuggle… they are just like any other kids.'

But while the arrangement makes everyone happy now, it's not set in stone. Elizabeth would be glad to move any of her children into different rooms if they ever changed their minds, and only intends for this to last for as long as it 'works'.

'Honestly, we have tried [to get them to sleep on their own],' she wrote on her blog. 'Many times. But if at some point, someone requests a change, we will happily make it work.'