$10 ReStore Find to Fabulous Kid’s Bed

Our most recent project- renovating E’s room was kicked into full swing after I stumbled on a fantastic twin bed from Adourn.  I couldn’t leave it behind and couldn’t bear to see it sit in the basement until we redid the room thus beginning our current construction project.

A couple of weeks after purchasing the first bed (which will be F’s), I took the kids up to Winona, Mn and Lacrosse, Wi for some antique shopping hoping to score another twin bed that would complement the one I had.  For the first time in my entire life, I hit gold at the first store I stopped in (after the obligatory stop at Bloedow’s Donuts):  The Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Winona, Minnesota.  I have expressed my love for these stores in a past post when we purchased a bathroom vanity top at one so I won’t get too gushy again but let me just say if you haven’t ventured into one, you are missing out!  It’s truly amazing some of the things you will stumble on at seriously unbeatable prices.  

So there I was, 9 months pregnant with two trailing kids, hands in pockets when I found a WHOLE RACK of bed frames!  After a quick look through, I found the trifecta:  right size, right style and right price ($10!!!).  

The bed did not come with the rails, only a headboard and footboard but I was confident that Andy would be able to Macgyver something up.

I knew that I wanted to paint the bed and decided to try some chalk paint.  I stopped by a craft store in LaCrosse and they had a limited selection of American Decor Chalk Paints.  After conferring with E, we choose a light pink color, Promise.  

I wasn’t 100% sure it would work with the color of F’s bed but decided to give it a go.  I also purchased a jar of American Decor Creme Wax to use for a top coat on the painted bed.  With a coupon I had, the two paint jars plus a big can of stripper came to $20.

Still carrying a Peterson spawn, I passed the job of stripping the old, glossy polyurethane off the bed to Andy.  

The big things to know about using stripper is to do it in a well ventilated space, use drop cloths around the space and apply the stripper liberally.  It’s a messy job but much easier than trying to get polyurethane off with a heat gun.  Using an old brush, Andy put a heavy coat of stripper on the whole headboard.  Right away, the polyurethane starting to bubble up.  Andy then used a scrapper to scrap off the old finish.  It took four coats of stripper to get everything off.  It is important once you are done with the stripper to let the wood rest overnight to dry out any stripper that has seeped into the now bare wood.  

After letting the wood dry, I used 220 and 100 grit sandpaper to sand off any remaining poly and even out the finish.  

Before sanding

Before sanding you can see some remaining globs of poly

It took several passes with the sandpaper and numerous squares of sandpaper but once it was done, the wood was bare and very smooth.  After a wipe down to remove dust, the bed was ready to be painted.

I followed the instructions on the American Decor Chalk Paint and applied two light coats of paint.  

One coat of paint

My between coats trick of saving the brush without cleaning or drying out. I throw the bagged brush in the fridge.

A quick fast forward through dry time and I wasn’t happy with the color.  It wasn’t an offensive color or anything but just kind of a… blah, non color… somewhere between pink and grey.  

Back to the drawing board, I choose a rose pink:  Faded Courtly Rose from Walmart’s color line color matched in Glidden Satin paint. 

I still wanted to try a chalk finish but can’t get chalk paints in town so I decided to make my own.  I found a few “recipes” online but decided on one from lowes.com- mostly because I could get all the ingredients around town.  The supplies needed were:

Latex Paint (I got a quart of satin finish)
Stir Stick
Mixing bucket (I bought an empty quart paint can from the hardware store)
Plaster of Paris
Water

I mixed 1/3 cup of plaster of paris with 1/3 cup of cool water in the empty paint can and stirred until it was smooth.  

I then mixed in 1 cup of the latex paint and stirred it until it was completely mixed in.  

FYI- once I was done with it, I put the paint can lid on and stored it.  We used it again a couple of weeks later and all it needed was a quick stir and it worked great again!

Paint mixed, I applied two thin coats to the headboard and baseboard.  

one coat

two coats

When doing distressing, thin coats are best so the finish is smooth and it is easier to sand off paint to make a worn look.  Once the paint was completely dry, I used 220 grit sandpaper and sanded (with the wood grain) in areas that would naturally wear over time.  

My light pink paint snafu actually ended up being a good thing because the places that I sanded the rose pink paint then allowed the light pink paint to show through which really complemented the rose color.

After wiping away any dust, I applied the American Decor Creme Wax.  This is applied in thin coats with a clean, lint-free rag.  

If applied lightly, it dries in less than 30 minutes than can be buffed with another clean, lint-free rag to give it a little shine.  When I used this product on the kid’s dresser, I found that you could see rag strokes so it was better to rub with the wood grain and not in circles.  For furniture that will get a lot of use or might get wet/dirty, it is better to use a harder finish like a satin polyurethane.  

Andy installed casters to make the bed a bit higher so the footboard wouldn’t be sitting right on the ground.  Using salvaged metal bed rails and scrap wood, Andy built bed rails.  

When I bought the bed, I knew that I wanted to change the footboard a little to make it softer and to match the look of F’s bed.  Using this picture for inspiration, I drew a design on the bottom of the footboard so it would no longer be straight across.  To create a symmetrical design, I first marked the center of the footboard and used a ruler to create a straight line where the top of my design would be.

Starting at the center, I used my round quilting ruler to create the first round edge.  

If you don’t have a round ruler, do a scavenger hunt around the house for a circle object the size you want for the curve and trace it.  I then traced the curve and created a template to trace for the next curve section.

From here, I measured the space I had left- 10” and marked the middle (5”).  

I freehanded a curve from the edge to the top of my 5” mark and back down to the curve I had already created.  

I then traced this whole side on transparent paper, cut the curve then taped it to the other side of the bed and traced the curve.

Finished design

Unconfident in my jigsaw abilities, especially on a craved design I sent Andy out to the shop to cut the design out.  He used a jigsaw to trace my lines then buffed the edges.

Finally done, we put the entire bed together.

I love the sweet pink color and how delicate the bed looks with the decorated footboard.  Perfect for our girly 4 year old.  Together in the room, the two beds compliment each other beautifully in color and design.  The perfect mix of masculine and feminine in a shared bedroom.  I am in love and the kids are both thrilled with their grown-up beds.