Thursday, November 10, 2016

Building A Triple Bunk Bed

We had a regular bunk bed in the grandkids' room, but as they have grown in size
and number (8 and counting!), it was becoming obvious that something more was needed.

So I looked on Pinterest for ideas and showed Husband what I was thinking.

This is what we built.

I will now try to go through the steps we took to get here.
(I knew I should have done this as soon as it was done,
I hope I don't forget anything!)

Lumber List:
2" x 4"-- 4 @ 6'
                     6 @ 6' 11"
                 6 @ 38"
                 3 @ 40"
  2" x 2"-- 6 @ 5'9"
                  6 @ 34"
1" x 3"-- 4 @ 6'
                  2 @ 41"
                  4 @ 35"
                  4 @ 15"
                14 @ 35"

Other: 18 3" carriage bolts/nuts
lots of 3" wood screws
sand paper and paint or stain

You will want to measure your mattresses to make sure these
measurements are right for you. Also, some of the 1" pieces were used for safety
rails/ladders, and we just put them on one side because the wall did
the job on the other side, so if you want them on both sides, you will need more.


6' pieces for the long sides, 38" pieces for short sides of bed frames.
The dining table proved to be a good place to put
things together.

The 2" pieces worked well to make a lip for the slats.
We glued and screwed them together.

1x3's for the slats, 7 per bed, 35" long.
You only need to do this for 2 of the beds,
the bottom one sits on the floor.

When it came time to put it all together,
we brought some tables in to hold up the bunks
(this was much easier than trying to hold them up while
someone was screwing them together!)

You can see here how they went together.
One frame sat on the floor.
The 6'11" pieces became the posts that held up
the top bunk and part of the middle bunk.
These were bolted to the top and bottom bunks.

The middle bunk is bolted into 2 of the posts,

and the three 40" pieces become the other posts.

When we put it together, we realized that we didn't
need so much space between bunks because their feet
could be under the bunk above. So we lowered
the top (figure this out first, it was a lot of extra work!)

Final heights: the bottom of the top bunk frame is 51" from the floor,
the bottom of the middle bunk frame is 28" from the floor, and
there is 15" between the top of the mattress and bottom of the
bunk above it.

These measurements can be further adjusted to suit
your circumstances. For instance, I have 2 mattresses
on the bottom (floor) bunk, so I can pull them apart
and sleep all little ones there.

The remaining 1" pieces became safety rails and ladders.

We put the ladder rails on the short sides of the beds,
it was easier and just added to the stability.


The final product has been great, sleeping all kids together
(keep in mind, the oldest is 8) and leaving plenty
of room to play!

 


Thursday, November 3, 2016

It's November, Happy Fall Decorating!

Fall has got to be my favorite season!
After the heat of the summer, I love the cool, crisp breezes,
the colors and the anticipation of the holiday season! 


I bought some new flowers and artichokes for the front door basket,
then added a thankful banner for November.

I know I said I love the colors of Fall,
but this year I went mostly neutral.

I think I wanted to keep things simple and relatively uncluttered
after a very busy and chaotic summer.

 The bell jars came out and were filled with dried pomegranates,
dried artichokes, and small pumpkins and gourds.

Wheat stalks and cotton stalks in white pitchers.
Neutral and simple.

I brought back my large window chalkboard,
but kept everything else simple on the mantle
with a lot of white candles and acorns.


 A grey-washed box with white pumpkins
amid a dresser filled with white dishes.

White flowers add pretty, while keeping it neutral.

Okay, I had to add some color!

I pretty much kept it confined to the family room, however,
which is already more colorful.

 The dining room stayed neutral with the white dishes
and white leaf garland.
 
White burlap, white and green pumpkins and flowers.
This is my favorite table décor!

 This is what that same table looked like last weekend.
It's the reason my summer was so busy and chaotic.
My daughter got married!
And because she got married out of town,
we had a reception for friends and family
who were not able to attend.

It's also one of the reasons for the neutral color scheme,
the colors of her wedding.

But I love the neutrals and I am so thankful
for everything God has done this year!