Chelsea Loft Bed

Submitted by EricJohn12 on Tue, 06/25/2013 - 08:35

Two years ago my college roommate & fraternity brother passed away of cancer. When his wife contacted me and another of my brothers about building a loft bed for his daughter’s 12th birthday - we jumped at the chance. With mom’s input, we decided on the Chelsea bed design with a few modifications: full size, no decorative feet (for stability) & an extra desk portion. (The design was inspired by the Pottery Barn Teens Chelsea Vanity Loft Bed.) We ended up using ¾” thick white shelf boards instead of 1x12s for the panels and shelves & 15” wide shelf board for the extra desk portion as well as plywood on the back of half the selves & desk area. Used 2x3s instead of 2x2s as suggested. We added a few pieces of quarter round & lattice molding to give a nice finishing touch between the bed & bookshelf/desk and a full length mirror on the bookshelf end. We were going to paint everything white, but after seeing the wood trim against the white, the daughter decided she liked that look, so only select pieces of the wood were painted. Most importantly, she loves it. She has a small 10x10 room which made getting a full shot of the bed difficult.

Total cost of lumber, pocket screws, plugs, primer & miscellaneous was about $350. It took a week of evenings pre-cutting and some sub assembly then a Saturday to build and paint.

My roommate was a great friend. If there is one thing his life showed me, is that life is short – some lives shorter than others. If you make a difference for someone else, you will make a difference in yourself and the world becomes a better place. Make the decision to spend time with the ones you love & care for, you won’t regret it.

Estimated Cost
$350
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Paint & linseed oil.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

JoanneS

Tue, 06/25/2013 - 16:33

What a wonderful gift! This looks so beautiful, and the story behind it is inspiring! Great job!