After the big layoff of 2001, I suddenly got the urge to make stuff. Looking back, the creative spark that had been buried for many years finally got a chance to catch flame.
One of the first things I made was a dump truck bed for my son. I knew that, if we wanted to keep this after he grew out of it, I’d have to make it with KD or knockdown fasteners. This was my first KD project and my lack of experience made it a challenge. I was proud of the wheel pattern that I mapped out with a compass. This has been borrowed by other friends for their kids. Too bad I never finished the front end. FYI, it uses a crib mattress to retain some sense of scale.
The second bed I made was a loft bed - this was done soon after our daughter was born. I wanted to create a fun playscape for my son’s room along with some storage and a sleeping space. This idea came together pretty quickly after surveying the space. It was fun because I didn’t have to design many details. It uses a open shelf cabinet, a horizontal stud-ledge along the wall, and a single floor-to-ceiling post as the framework. Using plain framing studs, I fastened it together with screws and small brackets. There’s a secret room where I eventually will install an LCD TV screen with remote cameras for observation - I don’t know if I’ll ever get to that. One other neat detail is that in the interior is finished with blackboard paint. Unfortunately, I tend to lose interest in these projects as they get 80 to 90 percent done. More details can be seen at my Flickr set.
So this week, I finally finished my daughter’s bed. This is a freestanding design that could hold two mattresses like a bunk bed. However, the loft is mainly intended to be a play area. My daughter’s requirements were simply for a “castle bed” but CreativeDad couldn’t just settle for a castle. I mean, we’d have to sell it or give it away in a few years when she was tired of it. No, my requirements were that she should be able to use this bed through high school - maybe even take it with her when she moves out. The other requirement was that it should be able to be redecorated into different looks or themes.
To satisfy the latter requirement, I searched for tintable chalkboard paint. Lo and behold, there is one manufacturer for such a thing AND they also make a magnetic primer. I decided to use both. With the chalkboard surface, we can redecorate the bed whenever needed. Of course, it rubs off but there’s always the opportunity to draw and paint with chalk. The magnetic surface is not as successful but I’ll reserve judgement - I haven’t purchased enough of the proper magnets to experiment with this more. I’ll post separately about the construction and finishing details. This project was not simple and, again, I had several challenges.
As my daughter grows, the upper loft is designed to be raised higher to allow for more space underneath. The lower bed platform could be stored away and a desk installed underneath the loft (assuming the mattress moves up into the loft). Or the upper loft can be used as storage, hidden by curtains hung from the ceiling.
Molly is very proud of her bed and Dad is very happy she is happy. It took me months to birth a design - my design ideas require some time to ripen and this one took longer than usual. Add to that, a broken leg that held up my painting of the components by 3 months.
