When you have multiple kids, you start to get crafty with hand me downs! My sons first bed was passed down to my daughter and over the years it has taken its toll with two little monkey constantly jumping, swinging, and beating it!
After I found out the little bun in the oven was a boy I decided to do a “Let them sleep for when they wake they will move mountains” theme to keep it gender neutral but still give pizzazz for boy girl spunk on each side of the bedroom.
Now ladies….I just learned to use a wood saw LAST WEEK…..I made this bed three days later. If I can do this, you can do this. – I will also do a sequel post to how I am making the crib (which was my daughters) match the new bed I just created!
Ok let’s get to making mammas!!!!
Step 1. Take the bed you are upcycling and measure horizontally how long it is. (For example mine ended up being 40 inches from left to right.) This is going to be your wood cutting measurements.
Step 2. Head to your local hardware store or find some scrap wood that has a nice smooth surface. I wanted a shiplap style for the kid’s bedroom so I purchased 1 x 4’s and 1 x 8’s in pine. – We will go over in a minute how to make them blend together so it gives that rustic look!
Step 3. Time to get the power tools out mama! YOU GOT THIS – make sure you wear safety glasses and have someone teach you to do a straight cut on the saw before starting this project. I took a tape measure and marked 40” on the wood slabs and began cutting them all into 40” pieces. (I did about five at a time) I ended up using ten 40” pieces total for this entire project!
The best part it cost me under $40 to create this entire bed!
Step 4. Whip out that stain – For this particular project I used dark walnut (I had a vision of super rustic and did not want any oak looking yellow tones to come through with a plain walnut stain.) Do not be afraid when it goes on super dark – pine wood is so light in color that the grains come out beautifully with this stain and it soaks it up to lighten. I also only did one coat of each side!
Once all your pieces of wood are stained and completely dry its time to hang them and make some pretty!
Step 5. I rotated wood sizes when hanging.
I started with a 1 x 4 then placed a 1 x 8 then a 1 x 4 then 1 x 8
(Your catching what I’m throwing right?)
MAKE SURE YOU FIND YOUR STUDS IN THE WALL BEFORE HANGING THE WOOD!
Tending to be a little OCD at times I measured the closest I could to the center and three inches from the end of each piece of wood to drill the nail into the wall and through the wood. I continued to stack the wood til it reached the Mountain base I painted on the wall. For the footer I only placed two 1 x 8s and 1 x 4s drilling them directly into the old bed.
This project literally took me 2 hours and was a simple solution to the perfect rustic look – You can also white wash the wood for a more farm-house style! When starting this project if you have questions feel free to reach out! Lets Mompreneur together!
Now get to making girlfriend!