Our Pinteresting Family: Day Bed

The last major project of the boys nursery was to build a day bed for me to sleep and have a place to feed them. I figured out pretty early that a traditional glider or rocker probably would not be fitting for twins. When I was looking at book ledge ideas on Pinterest I came across a project shared on Ana White's blog. It had book ledges and a day bed project shared together. This day bed looked like a great solution to the problem I was trying to solve in the nursery.

I had recently purchased Ana's book the Handbuilt Home, and was able to share the plans with Rob. The plan for theStratton Day Bed is on her blog too. A few days later Rob was at Lowe's buying all the supplies to put the bed together. If you'd like to check out the how to for this project I recommend checking out Ana White's blog or her book.

Here is one of the frames for the side of the day bed after it had been primed and painted.

The best part about this day bed is that no matter which way you turn it there will be a finished side. Even though one long side will be facing the wall there is still completed storage if we decided to turn the bed on its side one day.

My brother-in-law came and saved the day and helped Rob move it all into the nursery. Rob began by attaching the side panels to the main sections. You can see that he painted the inside of the boxes the same blue from our painted wall frames. Rob suggested doing this and I thought it would look a lot better than just plain white. The shelving is around 24 inches long, 12 inches deep, and twelve inches high. Eventually I think I will get some baskets or bins to put there.

Here is another view of it in the room and Rob attaching the panel to the other side with his nail gun.

The last piece was attaching the slats that connected the two main sections, and it worked out to do this in the room instead of the garage. It was definitely a lot easier to transport.

A close-up of one of one of the storage areas underneath.

Here is a side view of the bed. It will be a perfect spot for reading to the whole family really once everything is in place. I think Wynn will really want to be involved in that, and it would be too crowded for all of us on a single chair.

A side panel close up.

The next step was ordering a mattress. Am I the only person that despises mattress stores? I went to my favorite shop instead...Amazon! I found a great 8 inch mattress in a twin size for a reasonable price $159.00 and it arrive in two days within ordering. It is really very comfortable and nice.

Signature Mattress from Amazon

I noticed that there would be some sheets at Target that would work for this bed the other day. I headed back to Target where they had their Room Essentials brand sheets on sale. I got a set for a twin for about $14.00.

The project cost around $360 for the bed materials and the mattress. A similar bed from Pottery Barn cost around $1200 with the a tufted cushion to go along with it. I of course would have loved to have the Pottery Barn version delivered to my door and avoid the sawdust in my garage, but I'm so proud of Rob! I am still clueless myself about how to build things, and I am okay with that for now. One day when I have a spare moment (here's hoping) maybe I can be the one trying out an Ana White plan.

Next up are the pillows for the bed and possibly a headboard if we can find the time soon. Thanks for stopping by!

Monday
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