Wall Art

     Our bedroom walls need a little art. So does the living room. I've been looking online (especially Etsy) for ideas and inspiration. I tried my hand at watercolor painting in an attempt to DIY our art, but in the end decided that I probably need a lot more practice before creating a wall-worthy piece. There is a WPA print of Denali National Park that Daniel and I both like. At $40, it's a little more than I wanted to spend. After continued searching, I discovered an over-sized calendar containing this and 11 other prints for less than $20! I've pre-ordered the 2013 calendar and can hardly wait for it to come. Each print is 13x 19 inches. Three of them should look OK over the fireplace. Despite being reproductions of vintage prints, I am hoping that the bright colors and retro look will give our living room a younger, fresher vibe. We would like each one to have some kind of personal significance, so we'll probably hang the Blue Ridge Parkway picture with Denali.

Boat Beds II

Daniel got home around lunch time today, giving us an early start to the weekend and more time to work on the bunk beds! He managed a lunch break yesterday to pick up the cherry from the lumberyard. He has been figuring out how to make the trim this afternoon. It seemed kind of complicated, so while he did that, I cut lots of plugs to fill the screw holes on the posts.I drilled way more than we needed, just so they will be readily available for future projects, and cause it was kinda fun.

Here's a look at the posts. I sanded them today and will put another coat of varnish on tonight, once we are done sawing.

I like using the drill press best out of all the tools. It is quiet and doesn't seem life-threatening in any way.

Trim pieces

That's really everything new. With running on Monday night, soccer on Wednesday, and Happy Hour on Thursday night this is the first opportunity we've had to spend some time in the tool room.

Boat Bunk Beds

The summer is whizzing by. Our most recent project has been getting Mari's room ready for the new baby. We are completely changing it from pink and green to a nautical theme (they will be sharing, but I think this theme will work well for girls too, despite the reds and blues). This includes getting a new bed for Mari, since the baby will need the crib. Originally, we both loved the idea of bunk beds, but once I taped it out on the floor, we realized the room was too small for twin sized bunk beds. We would have to get rid of the dresser, the changing table or the rocker in order to fit a twin bed. I was OK with ousting the rocker, but Daniel was adamant that it stayed since he will probably be the one who uses it when the baby wakes up crying at night.
Our creative solution was to build toddler sized bunk beds. Since Mari has always been on the short side, we figure she will be able to sleep in this size bed until she is 5-6 years old. At that point, we will probably have moved to a bigger house and she could have her own room, twin sized bed included.
I couldn't find a picture of Mari's room, but here is a video that shows what it looked like, minus toys scattered everywhere.

So, we wanted the bottom bed to be shaped kinda like a boat, with a rounded front. The top bunk will just be square. It truly has been a joint collaboration. We both designed it, figuring out the dimensions and cutting all the wood together. Daniel mainly figured out how to make the front part rounded and sturdy, and I stained everything that will not be painted. Here are some of the in progress pics from last weekend.

Daniel working hard

The bottom frame

Success with the jigsaw

Mari likes it already!

It's starting to look more like a boat

Since then, we have been working on the posts, which are made from two 2x4's screwed together. This saved us about $20 from having to buy 4x4 posts, . I was a little skeptical about how this would look, but after much sawing, sanding and staining, they look great! Daniel sawed off the corners to make them look rounder and more mast-like.

Left to do includes: assembling the top bunk, cutting and attaching the trim, mounting the bunks to the posts

We are kinda stuck until the weekend, because we need to go to the lumberyard, which is only open when Daniel is at work, to get more cherry trim pieces and buy a new router bit.

All told, these beds will have cost about $100 in materials, since we already have the paint, stain, and varnish we'll be using, as well as sandpaper. Using pine reduced the cost a lot (although the trim will be cherry cause we already have a little of that). Not bad for solid wood bunk beds, even if they are toddler sized. That doesn't include the mattresses. I've been researching those on amazon, trying to find the best, thickest one with the highest weight limit and best reviews. It's almost as time consuming as building the beds!


I can't wait to post after pics! We hope to have the bed completely finished by this weekend.  Maybe once that is done, I can really finish Mari's play kitchen.