Building Your Own Daybeds

Here is a great project from Kara of Kara's Korner.    She made two matching daybeds, and they look fabulous, check out her creations:


I made my first daybed back in May, and immediately decided I wanted to build another one for the same room.  Ana White of Knock Off Wood is so amazing for providing free plans to make this possible.  If you haven't checked out her plans yet, please do so!  I wanted the beds to match up like this picture and put a table in between them.

Image courtesy of Pottery Barn

When my sister and I planned a date for her family to come over, I immediately went out and got the wood to build another daybed so that both of my nieces could have a place to sleep.

I have had this picture in my sneak peak section for forever...close to three months...entirely too long!  In my first daybed post, I wrote that next time I'd paint before building.  So that's exactly what I did.  I sanded, primed, sanded, painted, sanded, painted, and then built.

The problem with this approach for me is that I'm not a professional builder, and my pieces don't go together perfectly.  So, I sanded and sanded and sanded once I got the boxes together, which meant inevitably, I removed a lot of my paint and had to repaint the entire thing a million times (paint, sand, paint, sand, etc.)

I did manage to get the bed put together before my nieces came over, but I hadn't re-painted any of it yet and you could definitely tell it needed quite a few more coats.  I thought I took pictures of this, but I can't find them, so you only get the finishing pictures.  I did exactly the same as the daybed back in May, so if you'd like more step by step pictures, or the finishing details, go here to see them.

Ready to see the finished product?!

Here she is!

Of course I have to add a few details shots too.  I sanded down the edges again so I could emphasize the clean lines look, stained them, and repainted around the faces to keep it bright and white.

Here's a picture of both daybeds in the room next to each other.  Yes, the pillows have changed.  I'm still working on getting everything there...I stole the yellow and white pillows from my living room.

You'll never be able to see these sides most of the time...I plan on putting a table here, but I still wanted to show that I at least finished them.

I've made so much progress in this room, but it still has a ways to go.  It's not perfect, but it's miles upon miles better (and at a reasonable cost!) than what I started out with...which was this:

I've painted the floors, painted the trim, painted the doors and door knob, built a daybed, revamped an old sewing machine cabinet, and now finished building another daybed.

Let's end on one last cheery picture...

Ahhh...SO much better!  Do you agree?!

They look absolutely perfect!  AND I really love the way she distressed the corners!  Great job!