This post was a long time coming. In fact – we did this project 1.5 years ago. I had a newborn baby at the time and I was working to get out of the funk I was in. The rest of the boys were gone for a weekend camping trip and I asked Hallie what she wanted to do. We could go to dinner. We could go shopping. We could watch a movie. You know what she chose: Build a bed (made my mom heart proud!!)
She was in a twin bed at the time and the thought of ever getting a sister to share a room with had been dashed and she wanted a queen bed. How could I deny her of her one request (that really I was excited to work on)? But building a bed in a 24 hour stretch is tough – especially when I was still tending to a newborn. But he went down to bed for the night and we worked our tales off. Side by side. Late into the night.
The next morning we were back at it trying to beat the boys getting home. Hallie sanded and I attached pieces together. Hallie did more sanding. At one point she asked – do we really need to sand this much? Yep – unfortunately we do. We made the frame out of 2×4 pine – but the rest of the bed was made from walnut and when you spend that much money on wood, you might as well sand it and make it feel real nice!
By the time the boys were pulling in – I had just completed the 2nd coat of wipe-on poly – no stain was used, no need to when you work with wood as pretty as walnut.
This bed consists of a simple headboard, footboard and rails. In the four beds I’ve built, I’ve always used this hardware from Rockler hardware. Its easy and fool proof. I’ve not had any problems with this hardware and I used it on our bed that I built 8 years ago. Not only is it secure, it can also be dismantled in no time.
After we got it set up in her room I had “givers remorse”. I really loved the bed and started wondering why we didn’t build it for my room and Hallie could have our old bed. I threw the idea out to her but she wanted this bed. The bed she worked and helped to build.
Suddenly, it no longer looked like a little girls room! Throwing this bed in their with new bedding aged her room 10 years. A year and a half later and I’m still wishing that bed was in my room! (Find her frame makeover here.)
Good for Hallie for standing firm and requesting to keep,the bed she worked so hard with you to build. After all, when the project was started, it was at her behest, so it would have been a cruel result to be given a hand me down bed after putting in the time and effort to build what she rightfully believed to be “her” bed! It is gorgeous!! She will likely keep and use this bed for the rest of her life in some capacity. Go Hallie!
She earned that bed for sure! There was no way I could actually strip that from her – I love how excited she was about it.
I like the frames above the bed. The bed is beautiful.