This was a great project to do. I have a family member that paid that full price for the real Pottery Barn piece. I then made this one and showed it to them. Ha!
I used Alder ply but because of the expense I only bought 1 sheet which will run $90-$105 from Menards or Home Depot. Other lumber yards ran up to $140. I got all the pieces out of 1 sheet except for the 2 adjustable shelves which I used birch ply. And you can't even tell. I was going to make my own jig but just bought the Kreg pocket mini jig. Invaluable! and about $20. I found the overall cost from the plans to be under reality. Acrylic, hardware, and hinges will run you $70-$80 easy. But I guess if you use cheap pine or something than maybe you can be close to the estimate.
As queried by others, I too found the plans to specify how to attach the top. I used tiny "L" brackets around the underside perimeter and attached them with my screw gun to the frame (pic attached). For the doors, I didn't like the idea of just screwing the acrylic glass to the inside of the door so I routed the inside and attached some plastic tabs I found in the screen door section of HD to hold them in place. (pic attached). You could also use small mirror clips installed upside down.
I wrestled with the color choice for a long time but finally found the Minwax Gel Stain Mahogany (which is different than regular stain mahogany) to be the right color. After staining and a coat of sealer, I glazed, let dry, then sealed some more. Finished it off with some supa-fine steel wool and paste wax.
I love this piece now because I only glued certain pieces so that I can take it apart and put it back together as I am moving soon. (out of country). The European hinges were a bit of a pain to mess with since they have some movement to them and only lateral adjustments, no vertical. But it came out great. (I think)
Thanks so much for these plans!
Comments
kari
Sun, 09/04/2011 - 06:24
I love the color! So fun!
I love the color! So fun!
river4250
Sun, 09/04/2011 - 09:13
Wow!
Looks amazing, and I'm totally in love with that color! Great choice.
Tregg Istre (not verified)
Wed, 02/15/2012 - 06:11
Bunk Bed Plans
I was wanting to know if you could get me the plans to this particular bunk bed? We really like it very much!
Tregg
Wed, 02/15/2012 - 06:24
Plans
We are interested in building this bunk bed for our girls is there any way we can get the plans?
Margaret Kubiszyn (not verified)
Wed, 03/14/2012 - 06:22
Tregg - I just used the
Tregg - I just used the Simple Bunk Beds plan from Ana (http://ana-white.com/2010/01/plans-how-to-modify-the-simple-bed-to-a-bu…) which is a modification of her Simple bed plan (http://ana-white.com/2009/11/plan-by-request-simple-bed-twin-sized.html)
I further modified it by making 4 headboards instead of 2 headboards and 2 footboards. I fashioned a ladder attached perpendicularly to the side instead of an angled one.
If you look at Ana's plans it should make sense.
Guest (not verified)
Fri, 03/30/2012 - 20:07
I love this, and like others
I love this, and like others I particularly like the extra height created by doing 4 headboards instead of 2 footboards for the top bunk...my question, though, is how high are your ceilings? I am afraid that if I do this there won't be enough room for the person in the top bunk in our house! Yours looks like it fits just fine, though! :)
Patricia Mandli (not verified)
Sat, 07/21/2012 - 12:49
What Color is This?
I LOVE this color! Do you remember (or could look at the can) the name of it and where you bought it? Thanks so much!
wotto
Mon, 03/17/2014 - 08:59
video
link from vimeo isn't working. Is it still available?