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DIY Wing bed progress.

Last week I went to Home Depot with a sketch and a few rough measurements to build a king sized, upholstered wing bed.
I had the design in my head but I needed some input on the engineering of the thing.
As an aside, can I just say how helpful those sweet guys are at Home Depot?!
Finding someone to help you is tricky but once you have their attention they’ll move mountains to help you.
I came home with a truck load of hardware and various sized boards. We puzzle-pieced everything together to form this:

Then my mom came to town with all her upholstery tools and we got to work (and when I say “we” I mean she was the cruise director and I was the first mate).
Fast forward through three days and this came about:

Every bit of this bed, minus the upholstery, came from Home Depot…even the furniture feet…who would have thunk it, Home Depot sells furniture feet and legs! My inspiration was the Presidio Bed from Williams Sonoma. But with the price ranging from $2,350-5,450 I figured we could recreate the look for a fraction of the price.

While were putting the bed frame together we leaned our mattress up against the wall and it stayed there all day long. As the day went on the mattress sort of folded in to itself and got smaller and smaller. When we laid the mattress down on the bed it was completely deformed…deformed as in it looked like an animal had crawled in there and was hiding out. Or died. It’s bad. I’m kind of sick about it. (The mattress, not the animal. Wait, there is no animal in there. Maybe I should double check).

Any ideas or suggestions?

The coil mattress is only 6 years old and while some mattress companies say you should get a new one after 5-10, I wasn’t planning on having to go out and buy a stinkin’ new mattress. It’s like all the coils migrated to the center of the bed. My back is all tweaked. Oye.

As a result of our lumpity-bumpity mattress I’m not going to show full reveal pictures yet because if you’re not reading my explanation and just looking at the pictures (like I often do) you may think I don’t know how to make a bed. So here’s a sneak peak in the meantime until we figure out what to do about the mattress.

I was finally able to pull out bedding I’ve been hanging on for ages and make a proper bed.

The green Plus sheets are from School House Electric, navy stripes were found at HomeGoods and green comforter is from Target. Lamp from West Elm.
Next up, make some curtains, throw pillows and get that hideous wall painted. Oh yeah, and the mattress…

I’m also going to be working this old, rusted metal bench in to the bedroom. When I get done with it, it is going to look drastically different. You won’t ever recognize it. I know what you’re thinking but it doesn’t include spray paint. Have I become that predictable?

Upholstered Wing Bed tutorial coming soon.

P.S. Mom, you are the most talented woman I know. Thanks a million.

School House Electric was so kind to send us their Imperfect Plus Sheets to review.

18 Comments

Questions to ask when hiring the right cabinet-maker.

20 Jun 5 Comments

Disclosure: I participated in a trade for labor with Ryan Reeder Cabinets only. Thoughts and opinions are 100% mine.

Our kitchen and bathroom cabinets have been repaired and repainted and I couldn’t be happier (revisit our process here). I know it’s a little pre-mature to be singing praises after only a few short weeks but there is such a huge difference in the quality this go-around. Ryan Reeder did a first rate job and the next time I do another custom kitchen I’ll be using him start to finish. You can also count on me doing a review in a year from now to update you. In the meantime…here are a few before and after shots.

When we hired our cabinet maker three years ago we felt fairly comfortable that he would do a good job but their were a few red flags. When I talked with Ryan I felt 100% confident that he knew what he was doing. I pumped him with a lot of questions and he agreed to allow me to share some of his answers.

What questions should people ask cabinet makers when they start a kitchen/bath remodel?
- If they are looking for painted cabinets – what type of wood are they bidding – maple is recommended for painted cabinets it is hard/durable and it holds the paint really well. Popular and alder are softer woods where the paint/wood will get dinged easier.

- What look and feel are you going for with your cabinets – you need to understand the difference between European, face frame overlay and face frame inset? (The face frame with inset doors are the most desirable cabinets).

-Know what kind of hardware is being used – soft close, drawer runners, drawer boxes (and is the hardware included in the bid).

- Are moldings included in the bids (they should be)?

- What are end panels made of and how are they applied to the cabinets?

- What type of finish is being used? Most shops use a precatalized laquer, I use a conversion varnish which has a higher build up and is more resistance to water (same with the paint that I use).

What are some red flags to look for?
- If they are selling a face frame overlay cabinet – it is a production cabinet.

- If the bid doesn’t include a 4 to 7 inch crown molding in bid they are trying to under bid.

- If someone bids a printed job as poplar or alder they are trying to under bid.

- They should be able to show door samples that are perfectly smooth and have a great finish – that is what your cabinets will look like.

- If it is a painted job and you can see the wood grain – huge red flag…

- If bid does not include soft close they are trying to under bid as well.

What makes your process different than what one might receive from a kitchen manufacturing company?
- The main way I can answer this is that my work is custom – it is my name, my business, and my reputation. My shop is small so every product that leaves my shop goes through me and I am personally doing the work. But other than that, I use a high quality product, and I sand more and put on more product so that my cabinets are more durable and smoother. I do believe that a lot of the difference is that I don’t want my name on anything that is not to the quality that I would want in my own home.

Thanks Ryan for those insights!

Some other tips I myself would add when shopping for a cabinet maker…

-Do they warranty their work?
-How long have they been in business?
-Ask for references/portfolio and if any of their past clients would allow you to come see their cabinets?
-Read any reviews that may have been written online about them such as sites like Angie’s List.

Be sure to check out Ryan Reeder’s website!

5 Comments

Choosing a rug pad.

20 Jun Leave a Comment

Thank you to Rug Pads USA for partnering with me and sponsoring this post.

A rug without a rug pad is like a skater on ice without ice skates.
That may be a little too poetic and heavy for a Friday morning.
What I mean is you can’t have a rug without a good quality pad…the rug just slips all around…it just doesn’t work…believe me I tried…and I slipped…and fell on my arsh.

I found this rug at Joss and Main and I love it but it is so slippery on our wood floor without a rug pad.
Sometimes you can get away with no rug pad if you’re layering a rug over an existing carpet that has been secured down but it for sure doesn’t work if you’re putting a rug over a hard surface like tile, wood or linoleum.
Plus, your rug will bunch up and bulge.
Rug Pads USA has a huge selection of rug pads for any surface. I love is that they will custom cut their pads if you have a rug that isn’t a standard dimension like my carpet runner is. They have super thick pads if you want a lot of cushion or thinner ones if your rug is already really thick. Originally I went to a big box store and had to buy several cheap pads then cut and pieced them together. Because they were so cheap and thin, if they collected any dirt that seeped through the rug the pad became useless and slipped again. That is what we call a ” major fail.”

I know, it’s so annoying when you purchase a big ticket item then realize you have to ALSO purchase accessories for it. Even though our basement rug (from Plush Rugs) is on faux-wood tile I thought I would be able to get away without a rug pad because I had furniture anchoring it down.