Master Bedroom Remake... The Bed

I have been wanting to makeover the master bedroom for years (when you see the "before" picture at the end of this post, you'll know why...) This is one of the afters...

About 4 years ago, I was cruising the isles of a furniture store...looking for ideas, and found the perfect set.  It was white with brown edging (later...after I crawled out of my rock, I realized it was distressed) on the dresser drawers, bed posts, etc.  The set included a bed frame with head & foot board, dresser with mirror and night stand.  On sale, the set cost over $1400... which in my mind at the time didn't seem that bad!

Two weeks later Hurricane Irene struck the Outer Banks, taking out the only road leading south to Hatteras Village, and leaving me unable to work for the rest of the season (a minor inconvenience compared to what was happening to the residents further south).

I ended up with a lot of time on my hands that winter... and not a whole lot of money.  I "window shopped" a lot during those months in every thrift and used furniture store around.  I came across an antique bed in excellent condition.

They were asking $150 for the set (including rails and slats) and the woman offered it to me for $100.  After an hour talking myself into it, I brought it home.

This was my first time using ASCP (Old White)... I knew nothing about "bleed through" or how to wax, or anything else.  But I had the internet, and a lot of help from people willing to share their projects.

I started with the foot board.  It took me a solid week and three coats of paint, but I never had problems with bleed through (thankfully, 'cause I wouldn't have know what it was or what to do).  I sanded the edges where I thought they should be sanded, and all around the spindles- just kinda' winging it while trying to remember what the $1400 bed looked like.

And the waxing?? I couldn't move my arms for days!  Still haven't found a short-cut for that process!

It took me over 2 weeks to finish it.  But I loved it... and I loved the process (even waxing).  It sat in the workshop for months, waiting for its new home.  I just couldn't bring up that beautiful bed and put it in that depressing bedroom.

It would be eight months before the room was done and the bed was brought up.  Many a night was spent sleeping on the mattress and box springs on the floor, with cardboard boxes for a night stand and a ladder to prop up the TV.

The wallpaper border had to be stripped, the walls primed and painted, I needed new dressers (I only had one, and it wasn't the right style), new curtains, new bedding, and the list just continued.  Did I mention I wasn't working? Yeah... a little bit of a roadblock, for sure!

I took my time (for once) and did basically everything myself.

The bed was the start...but there's a lot left to share.  

Here is where I started...

(Before photo... circa 1998...not much changed through 2003!)

And the After.... please check back next Wednesday for some of the details and sources.

Elizabeth & Co.

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