DIY NORDIC INSPIRED, KIDS RUSTIC HOUSE BED.

Thembi M Fletcher
Jun 25, 2018
3 min read

We finally built Isabella's very first big girl's bed. I'm not going lie to you or get embarrassed about telling you that Isabella slept in our bed from the time she was born until a week ago. This is very common in my culture, so I absolutely had no problem with it...…….

With that being said, I wanted to share our successful DIY project with you, so that you too can replicate this bed if you desire too, or just get an idea of how you can build your own furniture.

Total disclaimer: Although this bed looks very cute in the picture, it was not that easy to make.

But we sure were pleased with the final outcome of our not so little project...….

The first step was coming up with the design which was very easy. If you are not aware of an app called Pinterest, you need to jump on the wagon, because the app has so many ideas ranging from décor, beauty, fashion, cooking, fitness, travel to DIY. You name it; you can almost find anything on there...….I for one happen to be a Pinterest regular, because it keeps my creative juices flowing.

The next step was finding the right type of wood to use for our project, and considering that my husband works for a building supply company, it wasn't going to be difficult either. We decided to settle for 2 by 4 wood planks which only cost about $4 dollars a piece, making the entire project worth about $50 if we chose to opt for new wood.

But, if you know anything about us, it's that we always aim to save even the smallest penny when it comes to our spending. Besides, my husband and I had never built anything from scratch until now, so we didn't want to waste money on buying brand new wood, just incase the project didn't work out.

Instead, my husband managed to purchase raw wood which only cost him $12 in total. The only problem with buying this type of wood, was that it had splinters, rugged edges and plenty of holes in it. So instead of sanding it all by hand, we opted to prime and paint it white, to give it a cleaner and more refined look.

I absolutely loved the rustic feel of the painted wood. It tells a story about all the stages that the wood went through before it got to this point. And it gives the bed so much character and uniqueness.

So I really think that going with the second option was the best choice for the project.

We ended cutting about 16 pieces of the 2 by 4 wood which included: 4 pieces of 5 feet and 7 inches for the legs, 3 pieces of 6 feet wood for the length, 4 pieces of 3 feet wood for the roof, 2 pieces of 4 feet wood for the roof base, 2 pieces of 4 feet 5 inches for the back, and 1 piece of 3 feet 2 inches for the base of the bed. Whew! that was a lot to remember.

After the paint dried, we decided to assemble the wood, and start putting the pieces together.

Putting it together was definitely the most difficult part because we needed to balance the wood to ensure that it stayed in place while Shane drilled the pieces together. He used one inch medium screws and a RYOBI drill to put the puzzle together, and they held up pretty well.

Building the roof was probably the most difficult part and it required the most patience because there was a lot of trial and error. But after we gave it a few tries, we managed to put it together and finished building this beautiful, kids house bed.

The beauty of doing it ourselves was that, we were able to modify the original design of the bed which I got off of Pinterest, and gave it our own spin by adding the pieces on the back and base of the bed.

All in all, it was a glorious achievement and Isabella has been enjoying her new escape to dreamland...….

This brings us to the end of today's post. In case you are thinking of trying out a project of your own, my encouragement to you is go ahead and do it. You just might be surprised by what you are able to accomplish if you try...….

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Until next time, XOXO