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Friday, January 11, 2013

"Mom, Can I Have a Hanging Bed?" & My Second Quilt

I have an unusual, but very fun finish to share! And it's my husband's, not mine, but I'm just so amazed at what he accomplished. :D

We are a very tall family, and the girls are all teens and young adults now. So when we moved, we traded their beds out from twins and bunks to queens and a full. Our 15yo has an eye for uniqueness and asked me: "Mom, can I have a hanging bed?"




The idea intrigued me, so I surfed the Internet looking at several hanging beds, then trying to find a source to buy one. The only source I found was a man in New England who makes them in his barn. Several thousand dollars. Unimaginable shipping costs (recycled architectural wood and mining cart braces). Very cool. Waaaay out of our wallet's league.

But Scott was just as intrigued as I, and we did have good wood available in the old bunk frames. So he got creative and went to work.


Designing.




Cutting.





























Painting.




Building.







Supporting.  (Doubled-up 2x4's with steel angle reinforcers straddle the trusses at each of the four corners, through which a long eye-bolt thingamob is bolted.)




Crawling.








Did you catch that flashlight/facemask combo?  ;D
Lights your way while keeping your face from freezing when it's 9 degrees outside - and blocks the insulation fluff when you want to breathe. . . 




Whipping.






Installing.







Voila!!








By the way: That quilt is the second one I made, back in 1990. It was a quilt-in-a-day project that several wives did together in the lunch hall at USUHS (the military medical school). All but one of the blacks has faded to gray. My color scheme was all black and white with only the varying print levels to distinguish. It turned out really awesome that way. It has extra-thick poly batting, as it was intended to be our winter quilt. She has it on her bed right now because she loves tons of blankets. But the real topper is her luscious, pure black, fake-fur coverlet:


33 comments:

  1. Very cool bed. Your DH did a great job - looks sturdy and well anchored. Your teen will love having this unique addition to her room.
    Thanks for sharing. :) It's neat that the quilt from the 70's is still used and loved.

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  2. I am major impressed with the hanging bed.

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  3. That is really neat! No jumping on that bed!

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  4. That is just terrific. And just as terrific is that you would allow it and that your husband was skilled enough to make it. What a great family you are!

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  5. How fun is that! Much easier to get to those dust bunnies too.

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  6. Wow--that is so cool! Great to make a "dream" come true!

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  7. That hanging bed is great! Makes me crave a treehouse!

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  8. 1. Gotta love husbands who know how to make stuff!

    2. Sure will be easy to vac under THAT bed!

    3. Totally cool - Congrats on the finish!

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  9. That is awesome! You are such a nice parents, your daughter must be so happy.

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  10. That is the coolest bed ever!! Tell me the cats love the hanging rope. Mine would be all over that!

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  11. Amazing. What great parents you are.

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  12. Oh what fun! Your daughter is so lucky to have you guys!!

    I can't imagine how your DH figured all that out. Love the quilt as well.

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  13. i am soooo impressed!! Really, really cool.

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  14. Amazing. Thank you for sharing. Your husband did a fantastic job. Beautiful quilt too. I love those quilts in a day!

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  15. Amazing I'm in awe....Just writing hanging bed on my must have list.

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  16. Fabulous bed Lynn your daughter must be delighted! As your husband probably is too. Wait till the friends want one too :)

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  17. Hi Lynn, What a fantastic idea. Your husband has wonderful hands. More your hands well to make these quilts so cute. Some of your children have to inherit that overflowing craft and creation.
    Yasmin

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  18. I hope your kids appreciate what cool parents you are!

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  19. The hanging bed is amazing! What a good Daddy to make it!

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  20. I'm completely impressed with this bed. My expertise extends to knowing which end of a hammer to use, and that screws with Xs need a Phillips screwdriver. I think it was the shot of him crawling in the attic to place the supports that had me rooting for it all to work perfectly. And who snapped that photo?

    Terrific!
    Elizabeth E.
    opquilt.com

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  21. That is pretty interesting I have never heard of a hanging bed in a house. That would be a fun project. I have been up in the insulation in our house and with my allergy about killed me. Thanks for linking up.

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  22. WOW x A million! Fabby bed, very clever (and a sweetie) hubby, lovely quilt and one lucky daughter. Great post, Lyn, thanks :)

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  23. That bed is SO cool! I can't imagine how great it would be to have such a handyman at your beck and call. Looks like there isn't anything he can't do! But can he cook? I have a handy-less man who can cook to make a chef envious. So we each have our good guys, don't we? Besides the bed being impressive, so is your big quilt. Gosh, I'd love to have a sewing get-together with you! Thanks for sharing your stuff!

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  24. What a great idea, and it turned out fabulous!! Whoop whoop!!

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  25. Great idea - please do NOT let my children see this!!!Its Fabulous!

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  26. Great post!. This is the best mattress I saw and I want to share this with others. This is a very unique mattress I saw and I want to have this one at home. I will ask my husband to do this one. Thank you for sharing this review.


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleepy%27s

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