Sweet Dreams

BedAfterThere are a couple things I kind of dread: When my husband is going to be out of town for business, and when I have a project captivating my imagination that is going to require tearing up an entire room, and perhaps a week of a mess, to complete. So why not combine the two, right? (Only a million reasons, I know!) But sometimes reason has to be put in its place for the sake of vision. And I’m happy to report that in this case, it was done successfully!

The last few years have been a bit of a wild ride, and to make a long story short, with a move for additional schooling, a career change leading to more moves, and a brief adventure (read 8 months) of living in and remodeling an RV leading up to the purchase of our current home, we loaned and gave away a few belongings. One was our bed. I don’t regret it at all, but after about two years of sleepless nights sharing a double bed, which was actually my son’s “grow with me crib”, my husband decided we needed a king.

OldCribBedThe funny thing is, although lovely, our house is quite small. A queen barely would have fit upstairs, and the double left enough marks going down that some drywall repair is needed (still!) Anyway, the dream of sleep won out over practicality, so we got the king bed and decided it was worth removing the window and sacrificing floor space to ensure a peaceful slumber. Providentially, we got this headboard from Craigslist for around $50, just in time to get it in through the window while it was out. I had intended to paint it from the start, and so after my gracious husband raised the headboard 9″ higher so it could be more visible above the pillows, I finally completed it this week!

BedBeforeBedDuringPaintFor the process I used Rust-oleum’s Cabinet Refinishing Kit, and although it says you don’t need primer, we have done a kitchen, fireplace mantel, desk, file cabinet, 2 credenzas, and a bookcase, with this product, and like the result with the primer much better than without. One of these days I’ll have to blog before and after photos of my kitchen, so you can see what I mean…I didn’t prime the cabinets, and the wood grain shows too much in my opinion. Anyway I modified their process: light sanding, deglosser, rinse, prime with a random Zinsser product, bond coat, bond coat again, glaze (antiquing), clear coat sealer.

So far I’m loving the results! The crown pillow is one of my design prototypes on which I’ve been thinking of doing a tutorial. The story behind the design of the crown can be found in the post Crown of Beauty.  I’ll have to update this post if I decide to make the pillow project available on Spoonflower.  Should it be a DIY kit or a finished product? Let me know what you think!

BedAfterIGInspirational Scripture: “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat for he grants sleep to those he loves.” Psalm 127:2 (NIV)