Thursday, October 4, 2012

Reclaimed Barn Wood: Toddler Bed








Papa made Levi his first big-boy bed.

Toddler sized, but full of awesome style!

These boards were interior ones, from the stalls for the animals. 

It's from the last barn we had on our property, that sadly had to come down a few years ago.











He started in on it about a week and a half ago, planing down the wood and cutting the pieces he would need.

The mattress sits down in, leaving a little rail then about 4" so he won't fall out of bed.

The cut outs allow for the mattress to be even with the opening so he can get out of bed without help.










We tried to copy this one.  Except we didn't do the cutout star, and made a couple other minor changes.  And that's because Audrey will use the bed next and it wouldn't fit her bedroom theme.












We think it looks plenty like a cowboy, though, all rough and ready, with the hand-sawn details of the wood showing through, even though it was planed and lightly sanded afterward.













We love every worm hole, every knot, and ever little nuance in color and texture in this 120-year-old treasure that barn left us.  

The legs were made using one old hand-hewn beam, that was ripped into four posts, then run through the planer.










Made even more special because Papa lovingly made, then signed it.  :)


The natural color variations in the wood are left as is, and then only a polyurethane finish is added, to show it off.










I think it's pretty special, beautiful, actually, and I had promised to show you, so here it is, our second project.

(Here is the first project.)









We are pretty thrilled with it and we think Levi and his mom and dad will be, too!

I will let you know how it went, I'm delivering it to him, soon!  :)





6 comments:

aimee said...

Great bed! I think Levi will love it:)
Blessings,
Aimee

T said...

Wow that is beautiful!
Tiffany

Echoes From the Hill said...

Beautiful! How special it will be for the little ones. Papa made a future family heirloom!
nancyr

lil red hen said...

Such a treasure! And to think, a lot of people would have just thrown the wood away. I have the bed my daddy made for my sister,78 years ago and then I used it. It was made from cedar and he had no good saws, etc., so he split the boards to make the slats for the sides. He tried to take it apart once, but it refused to give in.

Kristy said...

I love Levi's new bed and I'm sure he will too. Maybe even more when he passes this onto future generations. What a treasure!

mary your sis said...

Beautiful bed that will surely be treasured for many generations. So cool that you were able to make it out of the wood from your old barn. Papa did a great job; it's as handsome as it is sturdy!