WANTED: Bunk Bed Inspiration

My girls have been in dire need of bunk beds since a while ago. Our bedrooms are small and getting side by side twin beds are out of the question. I decided with the new year, Ethan's bedroom in the basement being finished soon, and a new baby coming in less than three months- it was high time to get serious about re-doing their room.

The set I would REALLY like costs about $700, so that is out of the question. We need new beds now and don't have time to save up. After much shopping around and doing a lot of research, I found these beds at IKEA. Like all things from IKEA, they are inexpensive. But often times you get what you pay for, so I was sceptical.

Today while Ethan was at school, the younger three and I made the thirty minute jaunt out to Draper to the only IKEA store in the state. I wanted to "test them out" and see first hand how they were constructed and how well they were made. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they are solid wood, no laminate finishing anywhere. The wood is pine and although it's the cheapest real wood that furniture is made out of, the beds were very solid and every piece felt very safe and secure. I sat there for a long time while the girls climbed all over the floor model, which mind you, has likely been climbed on by hundreds (or even thousands) of other kids. I tested and re-tested to see what would happen if they shook this way or that. Durability is one of my main criteria, and these suckers seemed to pass the test.

My biggest qualm is how they look. They have a very thin natural finish on them and they are easily paintable given the propper sanding, primer, and paint. In my head I imagine this very feminie and pretty antique white all over all the furniture in their room (they currently have a beautiful dresser that I've been putting off refinishing until we had beds to match). But the style is well....boring to say the least. No accent, no character, no dimension; just a bunch of simple 1x3 pieces of lumber bolted and screwed together.

My delima is how to transform them into something special. Right now I am thinking it would be cool to hang the entire bottom of the top bed with a drape that I can tie back at the corners, and let loose when they want to be enclosed into the bottom bed. When I was little, my sister and I used to always hang blankets from the top bunk, over the bottom bunk, as to make a fort. I could do something REALLY pretty with some sort of chiffon fabric. And the underside of the top bunk has the perfect area to attach something like that. I can see it in my mind and I love it.

But what else? I can always fancy them up with lots of fluffy throw pillows and linens. But I want to do something else. Maybe attach some strips of molding somewhere before they are painted? I am really at a loss. My goal is to make them look very different than they currently do.

By the way, if you have ever purchased these exact beds, let me know what you think of them. Two years ago we bought some IKEA silver metal bunk beds for my son's room and they have held up beautifully. Not once has a screw, nut, or bolt ever had to be tightened. They might be standing even after the house is destroyed in an earthquake!

Stackable Saw Horses

With twelve 2x4s, a box of three inch screws, a drill, and a chop saw, I now have four beautifully sturdy and stackable saw horses. I have been needing a couple of saw horses for quite some time, but the ones that are worth a darn at the hardware store are about $25 a piece. Hard to bring myself to pay that anytime I am there.

My dad has been busy building these babies in the garage today. He drew up the plans in his CAD program, and they are actually very simple to make. The best part is that they stack perfectly which is great since we are limited on space. The lumber they are made of is super light and even a big pregnant lady can stack and unstack the highest one. I will try to get him to send me the plans in a format that will let me post it on here.

Tea Party Table

We have been cleaning out our basement and crawl space, and today I took TWO WHOLE VAN LOADS of stuff to our local thrift store. After I dropped everything off, I decided to run inside and make a very quick lap to see if anything caught my eye. I am always on the look out for a piece of furniture that I can refinish, and while in the store I found this little table. My heart almost leapt from my chest! We will soon be fixing up our girls' room and I have been thinking that a little table set would look great in there when the room is done. But small tea party table sets are of course expensive, at least the ones I like.

This table is old, but incredibly sturdy and very well made. The best part is...it was only $5. The joints are solid and all it needs is a new finishing job. I nabbed it and when I got home, after detailed inspection my dad (who is visiting) even told me what a great table it is. It's the perfect size for two little girls! I have plans to make it a distressed antique white. Now all I need to do is find the perfect small chairs or stools to go with it. Should I make some? I love this kind of treasure hunt!

New Toy...Are You Jealous?

Today my dad and I took a leisurely stroll through Home Depot while Hailey and Ethan were at school. He is in town for the week and has been all kinds of help to my on projects I've been working on. He has an extensive knowledge of all things mechanical and construction and his help is invaluable. I know a lot about tools and building small projects, but I lack a lot of knowledge about what tool is best for what and stuff of that nature. So today he gave me a condensed tutorial about construction and especially power tools. I had no idea that there was such a difference between brands, types, sizes, amps, etc.

While at the store he decided that "he" wanted a new miter saw. He has an entire workshop of every tool imaginable at home in Texas. And obviously he can't fit such a thing on the airplane when he goes home on Monday. She he bought "himself" this new toy but will keep it at our house. That is his way of buying me something without imasculating my husband or spoiling me.

So now sitting in my garage, is a 10 inch, 14 amp, Ryobi compound miter saw with laser beam. We have a few things to work on before he heads back to Texas (like building me four saw horses!!) I am so happy that this will be sitting in my garage and that he is gracious enough to let me use "his" saw whenever I want to.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Go check out this bread recipe from Amy over at The Idea Room. I am also a huge lover of Great Harvest cinnaburst bread, but it's pricey. This reacipe looks like a good knock off. I am currently out of brown sugar, but you can bet your bottom dollar that I will be making this as soon as I've gone grocery shopping!

Calendar Blocks

I am heading to Home Depot today to stock up on pieces of lumber, and I for sure will be making these blocks this week. Perfect little shelf sitters. Check out this project at Brown Paper Packages!

Back Again!! And a New Favorite Site

I have always been the type who would rather receive a big gift certificate to a place like Home Depot, rather than any other store. I love the sound of a power saw and I love the smell of sawdust. Most of my childhood Saturdays were spent watching my Dad build or repair something. I loved waking up on those mornings to the roar of one of his many power tools coming from the garage.

It's been on my to-do list to clean out our garage and create a work space for building things. I do most of my projects in our unfinished basement, but since we have plans to finish off parts of it in the near future, my current workspace will be no more. I have a million projects running through my brain on a daily basis of things I'd like to build and create. One of my favorite things to do is inventory our house, see what items we are in need of for our growing family (most of them are always furniture of some sort) and hit the second hand stores to see what I can find. I think I have a good eye when I find something that I can make something else out of. It's kind of a passion of mine.

I was elated when I came across this website that has a hundreds of different plans for building toys, furniture, shelves, and many other things from wood. I am a huge fan of the store Pottery Barn, but not a huge fan of the price tag on anything. I am attracted to their stuff because of the clean lines and simple designs, but we'd have to take out another mortgage to afford the furnishings that I drool over. www.ana-white.com is a site that has many "knock-off" design plans from expensive places such as Pottery Barn. She has everything laid out for even the most inexperienced builders. Do yourself a favor and check it out!! Her designs are absolutely amazing. Now my motivation for cleaning out the garage has sky rocketed!

I have been eyeing the retro style play kitchen from PBK for years, ever since Hailey was a toddler. But the entire set costs about $800 and who in their right mind would pay that?? When I was in kindergarten my class had an amazing little wooden kitchen in the class and I always wanted one. I came across these plans for this kitchen on www.ana-white.com and about died. I have it in the works to make this for the girls for NEXT Christmas, but I think I may do more or a retro red, black, and chrome color scheme. We'd likely keep it in the basement family room and I'd like the little boys to be able to use it also as they get older.

We have been in dire need of a new dining table and chair set for a long time. We have for sure outgrown the tiny one we still use, but anything that seats eight people comfortably is super expensive...at least in the rustic style we like. I came across the above table on her site and aside from it being a SUPER easy design, I love how it looks! Just my style. I think we may have found our dining table. And again, it is a complete PB knock off, along with the bench below it. We would likely do the bench and then shop around for the perfect 5 chairs to surround the rest of the table. I love it!

And again, another PB knock off. This looks exactly like the Mason headboard from PB which costs $700-800 dollars. Yikes!! This plan is very very easy and very very awesome. We have been in the market for a headboard for years but it's one of those things that is expensive and not really a "necessity". But I think we may just have to build this baby. And I'd love it to be rustic black to match the rest of our bedroom.