DIY cottage bed for master suite
Over at bower power, Katie and hubby Jeremy found that sleeping with their new born was not exactly a restful night. To solve the problem they decided to move their existing bed into the guest bedroom and make themselves a new bigger bed that would fit two moderately chunky Bowers and one pint sized redhead.
The original design was fitted between two floor-to-ceiling windows in the master suite, but this was later modified to include a wall-to-wall curtain as shown below.
Although there was nothing wrong with the original bed, the Bowers decided a bigger bed was needed. What's nice about the design of the new bed is that you can make it to any size you want. You can even keep your old base and mattress set and fit the bed around this
Take measurements of the size of headboard and footboard that you need to work out how many pieces of PAR pine are required for the project. When you visit the timber section at Builders Warehouse you will find a variety of widths and lengths of 1,8 or 2,4m. Bear in mind that a 1,8m length will fit into a normal car if you stick it into the boot and then out through the passenger window, but a 2,4m length can't be transported in a car. While you can have everything cut to size at your local Builders Warehouse, you are going to need a few tools to prepare, assemble and complete the project.
YOU WILL NEED:
Drill/Driver and assorted bits
Orbital sander plys 120- and 240-grit sanding pads
Plane
Jigsaw or circular saw - if you are doing your own cutting
Wood nails
Hammer
Wood glue
Wood filler
HERE'S HOW:
Before assembling the headboard and footboard, use a plane or orbital sander and 120-grit sanding pads to chamfer the edges of each board. This is purely for decoration and will emphasis the finished design.
To assemble both the headboard and footboard, start by placing the vertical slats on top of a top and bottom crosspiece. Use wood glue and panel pins to fasten the upright boards to the cross pieces.
After fastening all the uprights to the top and bottom crossbeams, use glue and panel pins to attach crossbeams on the top, as shown left.
Finish off the headboard or footboard by affixing a beam of the same width as the panels on top of the assembled sections and then adding a larger top beam. All sections can be attached using wood glue and panel pins. The legs can be attached by using a pockethole jig, dowels, biscuits, or by adding steel braces to the back.
Left is the finished footboard. After a sanding with 240-grit sandpaper, you can apply a coat of wood primer before painting on two coats of Plascon Polvin, if you want a distressed finish, or Plascon Double Velvet for a plain painted finish.
After painting you have the option to distress or leave plain. Distressing involves sanding the edges and applying a glaze. The end result creates an aged effect that is wonderful for this style of furniture.
Finally, you can attach the side panels to the headboard and footboard. As mentioned previously, the bed can be designed to fit around a mattress and base, or you could mount PAR pine battens to the sides to support a BisonBord base for a mattress.
