I spent hours researching beds for the girls. I almost purchased a bunk bed set from Sam's Club, painted an espresso color. Alas, we passed on it because Morgan insisted she on a pink bunk bed. Why, when there are a gazillion other colors out there, would my child pick the one color i am least fond of. How could i deny that sweet child of mine. We decided to make our own bunk beds to honor her request.We downloaded the bunk bed plans for a simple twin bed from Ana-White's web site (a homemaker turned amateur carpenter from Delta, a town two hours west of Fairbanks). We altered the plan slightly by making all headboards instead of two headboards and two foot-boards. After much negotiation (with Morgan), we decided to paint the beds pink and green with an ivory crackle. I know it sounds funky but i had painted a dresser using this method but with a blue base and it turned out beautifully. Morgan helped pick out the colors which were based on a shirt the girls had worn when they were 18 months old.
We are months behind schedule. We should have started this project in May but, of course, we put it off as we had the whole summer ahead of us. Now Fall is upon us and we are in a mad dash to get the project finished and behind us. Of course, now we have Mother Nature to contend with and i am not talking about the beautiful fall colors we have as a back drop for project. It is more planning the days we will paint around the rain and picking the leaves and birch seeds off of the fresh paint. Grrr!! Will we never learn.With that said, Morgan and Riley's bunk beds are coming along. The first two headboards have a lot more character than the last two as we really had no idea of what were doing. The bugs were horrible, taking advantage of us as we were hunched over the sawhorses, nailing and gluing the boards together. Don't get me started on the sanding....as i slaved away, i recalled a comment by a couple we know who made the same bed. They used their date night to have a quiet dinner out and then rush home to sand because "it is hard to find time to sand". I now understand the comment. The sanding took a few days as my hands hurt from the vibrations of the sander.
These comments are not to deter anyone from making these beds. I encourage you to check out Ana's web site. She has many wonderful plans that are relatively simple to do. This just happens to be Jeff and my first project together and it is a bit of work.
I initially thought the colors were quite shocking but i have since warmed up to them. I have a final coat of the colors and will then start the antiquing process sometime this weekend....assuming the weather holds. I am hoping to continue painting outdoors but with the cooling temperatures, it is taking the paint too long to dry and the winds are adding an unwanted rustic touch to the paint job.I will try to post pictures once we the project is finished but until then, enjoy the work in progress.
