Nov 16 10
by cara
at 2:02 PM
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Brookstone Bed and Headboard

At long last, I can share with you this amazing project we just completed!

My husband built The Littlest Apple a new bed!  It was his first building project, and I am so so proud of him!

The Littlest Apple is so excited about his new bed that he had a hard time staying out of these photos!

The Picky Apple used plans from Ana White’s Knock Off Wood website for the Brookstone Headboard and Bed.

BUT, those plans are for a twin size bed, so being the math (and apparently carpentry) genius that he is, he whipped up new plans for a queen sized bed.  Yes, we gave our 3 year old a queen sized bed- we had one on hand that wasn’t being used.  Mattresses are expensive!

So, back to the bed….

It was inspired by the Brookfield Bed from Pottery Barn Kids, pictured below.

image from Pottery Barn Kids

Their TWIN bed, the only size they offer, costs $999 (currently on “sale” for $799).  And there is a delivery fee of $175.

Our version?  LESS THAN $250!! For a QUEEN sized bed and headboard!

I think you’d be hard pressed to find a new queen sized- bed and headboard ANYWHERE for less than $250, don’t you?

I will say that this was a LOT of hard work (and I was only minimally involved in that).  The Picky Apple certainly put tons of effort into this!  Here are some of the issues that came up:

  • It was tricky selecting out 2x4s that weren’t warped to use on the headboard.
  • There were some hiccups in the bed building based on changing the dimensions of the bed plans from twin to queen.
  • It took us a LONG time to get this project finished, but that was mostly due to getting sidetracked with other projects, The Littlest Apple’s g-tube surgery, etc.  We only worked on it the weekends, and there was usually only one of us working on it at a time while the other supervised The Litttlest Apple.
  • We had lots of trouble deciding on a stain color.
  • I applied the stain (and accidentally got the headboard a little darker than the bed in an attempt to “even things out”)  Thank goodness you can’t really tell, because I felt AWFUL for “ruining” my husband’s beautiful carpentry.
  • Trying to get this bed upstairs (with a turn and landing on our stairs) was a big ordeal.  I watched from the top of the stairs, and was fairly convinced the whole thing was going to topple down the stairs on top of my FIL!
  • It was an even bigger ordeal getting the bed through The Littlest Apple’s door.  In fact, it didn’t fit at first.  We had to remove part of the facing on the door jamb and cut holes in the door jamb itself.

BUT, even with those minor problems, I am so AMAZED at how well this project turned out.  I am so proud of my husband!  He did the majority of the work (I just did a little bit of the stain and poly coat).

As you can see,  The Littlest Apple is already right at home with his new bed, jumping away!  I still need to buy some baskets to go under the bed (and I’m thrilled about all this new storage space!), but I was too excited not to share this project right now!

Sources:

Quilt and Shams: Madras Quilt (in Navy) from Pottery Barn Kids

Sheets: Organic Star Sheets (in Red) from Pottery Barn Kids

Rug (leftover from “nursery“): Ethan Rug from Pottery Barn Kids

Bed Stain:  MinWax English Chestnut

Wall Colors:  Main wall color is Benjamin Moore Faded Denim.  Stripes are Benjamin Moore Mystical Blue (the light color) and Blue Suede Shoes (the dark color).

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28 Comments
  1. That is a beautiful bed! Congratulations to the Picky Apple for creating that. I love it.

  2. Just GORGEOUS!!!! What a fantastic result. I love it!

  3. Cara, this is fabulous! What an accomplishment! And it’s obvious that the recipient is crazy about it 😉
    Thanks so much for joining the party.

  4. Your husband did a GREAT JOB! That bed is incredible!

  5. Wow! That is really great.

  6. awesome! love it! great job 🙂

  7. Woo hoo!
    What a great project.
    :o)

  8. It looks wonderful! 🙂

    I made two of them not too long back for my 4 year old girls. The plans are amazing and the money savings is even better!

    Here’s my version in yellow.

  9. Wonderful job!! Very impressive as a first project for your husband and I love the stain color.

  10. Wow, that is an awesome bed!

  11. Brooke Jacobs-Ross permalink

    Really impressive! I am so excited for you guys – it’s an amazing accomplishment 🙂

  12. Amazing! I am so jealous! I have been wanting to buy this same type of bed for my son’s room too! I just might have to BEG my hubby to try and make it!! (maybe the $1000 savings will convince him!)
    Thanks for sharing!!
    Have a great day!
    Tasha

  13. Cara, This looks fantastic – amazing job!! I love the plaid bedding too! Thanks so much for linking to the Sunday Showcase – I greatly appreciate it. I have featured this today – stop by and grab a featuerd button if you like. Hope you are enjoying your week ~ Stephanie Lynn

  14. I saw this on the CSI project and I had to come see. This bed is AMAZING!!! I absolutely love it, and it’s so cool that you and your hubby made it together! :]

  15. Thanks for all of your comments! This has got to be one of my favorite projects this year. I am so proud of my husband, and can’t wait to have him build something else!

  16. Proper shoe storage can be stored in the closet, behind the door, or anywhere else in the home and help to keep everyone’s shoes together. This can keep the shoe inventory straight and prevent them from going under the bed and in all of those other crevices where shoes tend to hide.

  17. Jwh082742 permalink

    I’m going to make one of these in queen– what were some of the dimensional hiccups you experienced?

  18. Marablankers permalink

    Do you have the plans for the queen bed part?  I found the headboard on Ana’s website.  

  19. Well written post.I appreciate your writing skills.Its
    great.You have made really a great job by sharing this post with us.I like this
    & would like to read your more updates.Keep in  touch with us in
    future too.

     
     

  20. southernpearl permalink

    can you please post the plans for the queen size bed? I have been looking at the ana-white website and I am having difficulty thinking how to make it into a queen with the plywood and the bracing 🙂 Thanks

  21. Colleen permalink

    I would also love to see the plans for the queen size bed. Could you please post the dimensions used and steps if possible?

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