Addison's New Bed

With a new little one coming Kevin and I were trying to figure out how to create a new room for Addison. Instead of buying and "English" toddler bed we thought it would be fun to build Addison a toddler bed that would fit her American crib mattress. We were very blessed to get to know the Dobberfuhl's before they moved over to the UK and they graciously agreed to bring over a new crib mattress for our little guy so we could use Addie's in her new bed. We looked online for plans but nothing that really tripped our triggers, so we decided to design our own. Kevin found the style of one he liked at Kiddiecare (a local baby superstore) and I went and took measurements and drew out a plan that would fit the dimensions of the crib mattress. Kevin worked out with a work colleauge to borrow some of the tools we had left in the States like a table saw, mortiser (I think that's what you call it), and router. We went to a "timber merchant" (lumber yard) and picked up the wood. Then Kevin went to work cutting everything while I sanded all the pieces and Addison would sit out on her little camping chair watching us while she ate snacks.

Kevin did an amazing job of cutting and piecing together the bed. I was so proud of him during the whole process except for the few times he got a bit impatient...but it was because he didn't read on the paint can that it would take up to 16 hours for the paint to dry between coats. We ended up buying a really nice Bosch paint sprayer which we justified buying because we think we'll bring back to the States with us and use with a converter. We'll see... The sprayer did leave a much better finish than us trying to brush paint it. We also transformed an old dresser type thing I found in college and had been using as a TV stand for a little dresser for Addison. We painted it white and accented it with the pink and green colors I used to paint the letters of her name. I also found some really cute white wicker baskets with pink gingham at a hardware store in Stamford (thanks Cathy Duffy for the recommendation). I also found an old mirror at a sale that we painted white as well and hung above the dresser. Kevin thought I was a bit crazy when it came to hanging Addie's letters on the wall because I staggered them and he being the engineer wanted to hang them straight and equally spaced. I told him that I was the creative one and he was the sensible one so trust me on this move. As soon as we got the bed moved into Addie's room she was sooooo excited and tried laying down in the middle of the frame without the mattress on it. So we pulled the mattress out of the crib quick to see how it would fit and she hopped right in and said "nigh nigh." We have a few other bits we want to get like a lamp, rug and I'm redoing Kevin's little rocking chair so that we can put that in her room as well. It was a really fun project to work on together and I think everything turned out perfect and Addison really likes her new room. It will be a while before she actually sleeps in it since we have to find a way to transition her into actually staying on a bed.