Make Your Bed!

Making a bed can be a simple project, and if well planned, it can be done over a weekend. Not to mention the money you can save compared to actually purchasing one. I made this picket fence bed for my daughter about six years ago and she still sleeps on it today. I looked through several magazines to get some ideas on how I wanted to construct it (actually, my wife gave me a picture of one and said, "can you make this?"). If I remember correctly, most novelty stores wanted somewhere around $600 for similar items. I spent about $200 for the wood and paint, and constructed it in one weekend.

The bed posts are actually just newel posts (for stair railing) that I purchased as a shelf item from Lowes, and the pickets are just 1x popular. I laid everything out on my workbench, spreading the pickets with 3/4 inch spacers. Then I drew an arch on the spaced pickets and cut the tops off with my jigsaw. The pickets were all glued and screwed on to a top and bottom brace and the brace was mortised into the newels. The bed rails were also mortised into the newels as well as anchored with some angle brackets.

Here is a bed that I made for a client who wanted a Pottery Barn Bed but wanted it to be customized to meet her needs. The beds have the same storage underneath as the Pottery Barn Bed, but the head board/box was customized to serve as a toy storage box. The top has two lids that open at both heads and the lids are supported with piano hinges so that slamming does not occur. The mattresses rest on a full sheet of 3/4" plywood. This deletes the need for a box spring and allows for a lot of accessible storage underneath. This bed took a little longer than a weekend to construct, but was still easy enough for a novice woodworker to build.

So, if your looking for an easy and fun project to do this weekend, why don't you start by making your bed.

Boxes

In simplest terms, cabinetry is just boxes with decorative facing, trim and doors. Once you determine the space that you would like place the cabinetry and the feel desired for the room, the rest is just being creative and building what you are envisioning.

Here are some simple book cases constructed of oak veneers and solid oak facing. The client wanted the book cases to be connected by an oak mantel and valance. The upper book cases were 30" wide by 16" deep, and the lower base cabinets were 30" wide by 18" deep. The plan was to install glass paneled doors on the upper book cases and solid raised panel doors on the base cabinets. The cabinets were not completed though, because the client could not make up her mind and ran out of money for the project.

Here is another example of some simple box framed cabinetry. I built these for my friend to install in his uncles house. Constructed of birch veneers and paint grade popular, these cabinets were easy to make and look great painted white. My friend crafted the mantel and painted it white to match the cabinets, which adds some much needed contrast to the brick hearth and surround.

This last example of box cabinetry was a project I did for my son's room in our last house. This book case is constructed of maple veneers and solid maple facing. I even made the maple crown and base molding myself. The doors were crafted from a company called Walzcraft, which I would highly recommend if you are looking for any cabinetry accents. The space that the cabinets were installed in was only 14" deep, so I kept them slim and simple just to add some much needed decorative storage to the room.

So, build some boxes and get creative with the rest. The final results will be something you can be proud of.

First Project

This was my first project when I had just started my new job with Timber Valley. The company does not exist anymore, but the cabinetry still does, as I have seen it in pictures from when the house had been re-listed on the market twice in the past ten years.The entertainment unit was massive and heavy. It was completely constructed of MDF (medium-density fiberboard) with some solid wood bracing and moldings. It was built in five separate units then disassembled, painted and shipped to it's location in the Mason area. The five units consisted of a base platform, two book-cases, a center audio unit that concealed a projector style floor unit large screen television, and a crown box that rests on the entire span of the unit to bring it all together.This project took me the better part of a month to complete, as I had no formal training prior to building it. I thoroughly enjoyed building this unit and hope that who ever lives in the home where it is, enjoys it as well.

Stay tuned for more of my creations as I finally get this blog up and running.

Get out there and Build It!