~Tis a Blessed Bed!~

It is finished - after two years, painting a half dozen pieces of wood for color samples, sanding, painting, moving kids out of the house, moving kids back into the house, more sanding, making a canopy frame, sanding, painting, and even more sanding, last night we slept in our NEW (used) $17 thrift store bed. I kid you not - I found this solid hardwood, no veneer, colonial four-poster bed at a thrift store for $17. (Really, it was $24.99, but I had a coupon.) Not a whole lot of reading this blog, just a few photo explanations:

Bed right out of the thrift store - I had my DH help me set it up in the garage so I could make sure everything fit together and all the pieces were there. It definitely needed to be refinished, scratches, dings, dents - it was just a nightmare:

Then the bed got taken apart and stored in the garage for a year. After a year it got hauled up to the bonus room so my DH could make the canopy frame for it -

Then I took over with sanding for eternity, and painting in near zero degree temps in the garage. The final step though was applying the antiquing medium - if that stuff doesn't get wiped off within the right time, gets too cold, or the wind dries it out, too bad - gotta start all over again:

Then it finally got moved back upstairs in our room and assembled. Saturday late afternoon my DH was able to start putting it all back together, drilling:

and lining everything up:

And then he took a nap:

But I think he deserved it:

~'Tis the 'New Bed' Eve~

I promised it was coming. It has been way below normal temps here. I am refinishing this bed in the garage. Very chilly weather, highs in the mid-20's. So cold, that I was afraid to put my last coat of paint and then antiquing medium on our bed, so I am a day or two behind. Tomorrow morning it should be warm enough to put last coat of antiquing medium on, and then tomorrow eve it will be moved into place after dear husband can help me move it from the garage to upstairs. Getting so excited. Thank you all for being such dearhearts and showing an increased amount of patience. This bed has been two years in the making - from the thrift store find, to sanding, to having children leave an empty bedroom long enough for me to claim again, to now the final refinishing. Photos coming.......... but this is how it looked right out of the thrift store for $17:


And the next photo will be posted Saturday or Sunday Morning of the final end result. 'Tis a bittersweet time for me. I am so excited, I can't hardly stand it. 'Til Saturday, then. Blessings on your evening...........


Shanda