.red bed.

Alternatively titled:

 .long overdue.

Nathan has been in his "big boy" bed for about a year now.  He transitioned later than "most" toddlers, but we simply let HIM give US the signs that he was ready.  He never tried to climb out of his crib (thank you Jesus!), and we only had to drop the crib down one level...and only once.  I was content with this.  We are so blessed that Nathan has been a good sleeper, and we weren't anxious at all about his transition into a big boy bed.


So, in the beginning of our preparation of this process, I was open minded to what we could do.  I even thought of just placing a matress on the floor and letting him have that as a bed.  I looked in all kinds of furniture stores.  I knew I wanted something that he could sleep in until he goes off to college.  I looked on Craigslist too.  Everything I came across was, in my opinion, too expensive. 


So, this is where I came across one of my favorite blogs that I stalk browse over.  ANA WHITE I heart her website!  This woman, to sum it up quickly, puts FREE furniture plans on her website.  I'm talking the plans, the cut list, the how-to's....everything you need.  It's there.  All she asks in return is to show off your work and talk about your experience in building, which problems you came across, if any, and what you did to fix it.  These are mocks of nice furniture that we'd love to have, but don't want to pay that much for (ie- Pottery Barn).  I've introduced this lovely find to several friends who have gone on to make bookshelves, side tables, benches, toy boxes, etc. 

I digress.


I approached Andy with the idea of making a bed for Nathan with caution.  I mean, come on, this is a lot to ask of someone who has 1) never made FURNITURE, and 2) doesn't have a lot of the equipment or space to do so, oh and 3) who is an extreme perfectionist.  I was so nervous about what he'd think.  Although, I knew he would love the fact that this project would cost about 100 bucks to make.  Yep, that's right, only $100 (including all supplies, paint, paintbrushes, etc.).  Holla!


To my surprise, he was actually honored and impressed that I would ask him to take on such a task.  That, and the fact that I didn't want to spend a bunch of money on a new bed. 


Now, I must toot Andy's horn a bit here.  I'm so proud of his work and how it turned out.  Like I said, he's a perfectionist and it shows in his final product.  A lot of folks on the website, talk about how quickly they were able to build furniture, and that's great.  Andy had the perspective of his son sleeping in this bed, so he wanted to make sure it was safe, leveled, no splinting of wood, and it looked good.  It took him awhile to make....like 3 weekends.  But that's just it, it was only on the weekends, AND while taking care of Nathan since I was working.  Not to mention, he was working with limited space and on a plastic picnic table instead of workbench. 


So, here it is.  Enjoy!



Hard at work!




Headboard




Second footboard.  Like I said, he's a perfectionist
and the first one just wasn't right. 




Painting it. Thought we'd try a (borrowed) paint sprayer.
We didn't like it so much.
We sanded it, and decided to hand paint it.
Lol! I say, "we", but really it was the boys.




The final weekend, Andy's parents were here.  I put
Papa to work. He loves this kind of stuff. Plus,
I thought it would be neat to say that Papa helped.




Of course, Nathan helped out too.
He was so excited about this whole process.
He couldn't wait to sleep in his "big boy" bed!




Ta Da!!  This picture does NOT do it justice!




First to hop on! 




I had Andy and Papa engrave their names on the back
of the headboard.  Wish I had taken a picture. =\


And because some of the family has asked to see what the rest of his room looks like.....



My sweet friend, Jessica G, painted the car, boat, train, and
airplane that rest on his headboard for Nathan
before he was born. They are still in one piece.





Another favorite part of Nate's room.