Because we're fancy like that.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I post a picture and just a few words.
We do have a pair of sawhorses, but a loft bed has far too many pieces to fit on just one pair. So I had to get a little creative.
Mr. FG was like, "Uh, babe, you could always just buy more sawhorses."
(Because this is not the first time I've used odd stuff as sawhorses!)
He's right, but the problem is that I never remember that more sawhorses would be handy until I'm in the thick of a project.
So I'll probably keep just using spackle buckets (and the Cozy Coupe. and the fire pit. and whatever else is around!) for every project.
P.S. Joshua and I finished painting the whole bed. So now we just have to paint his ceiling, walls, and moldings, get rid of the behemoth TV, sell or give away his old bed, and figure out window treatments.
It's totally reasonable to think we'll get that done before school starts. Right??
Some thoughts:
- I wonder how terrible it would be if window treatments didn't happen till after school starts
- I bet you can your kids can get the room done in short order. If they don't know how to mask and prep yet, surely it's time for them to learn?
- The work you did and your blogging about it, should be a big help in selling the bed. The better the "story" attached to the item, the better it sells. You can talk about the quality of the bed & construction *and* offer evidence of the quality of the finishing & paint job. Also point out how easy it would be for the next owner to change the color if s/he wants to.
PS: reading your post about Joshua's old bed (and exposing my ignorance for all to see): what's the problem with using wall paint for furniture? You may remember my mentioning recently that I want to paint some wood chairs. I'd planned to use paint I got for free from Ace; how do I tell if that's wall paint and whether that would cause problems with the chairs?
Oh yes, Joshua's working with me on this project. I taught him how to sand, prime, and paint furniture this week and next week, he'll learn how to paint walls and moldings and tape edges. But he's a newbie, of course, so I'm not quite willing to let him go all on his own quite yet. So this does require time from me still.
You're right about the window treatments. They're not completely necessary. But I know that once school starts, projects tend to sit (evidence: I bought this loft bed last fall and it sat unpainted all through the whole school year!). So I hate to leave things hanging.
Re wall paint on furniture: the main problem I've experienced is that it doesn't flow out quite as nicely and makes brush marks more obvious. You can thin it with water to help with this problem. Also, in my experience, a lot of times wall paint doesn't dry to such a nice hard, non-sticky surface. That's why I like the Painter's Touch small cans or the Benjamin Moore Advance (which I used on my kitchen cabinets).
The free paint from Ace is probably wall paint. You could always try it and see how you like it! But if you're going for a basic color, the Painter's Touch is really worth the money in my opinion and the small cans really don't cost much but cover really well (one small can did Joshua's whole loft bed.) You do need to thin it some, though, as their formula has gotten thicker in the last few years. I just mix a little water in.
Kristen, are you planning on putting up before-and-afters for Joshua's room? Sounds like he's going to have quite the stylish landing pad!
Totally!
Because it is you, it is totally reasonable that you will get this done before school.
Haha! I appreciate your confidence in me.
I have a mental list of things I'm always on the lookout for at estate sales. We have three pair of sawhorses and boy, do they come in handy. We have several half sheets of plywood (cut lengthwise) which we place on top of them. Sometimes they're covered with tablecloths for parties, other times they're used for garage sales, or work projects. We love having them and they take very little storage space for how useful they are. BTW, we love inverted 5 gallon paint buckets when even more space is needed. When painting cabinet doors, DH uses an old ladder supported by paint buckets and later just mows the lawn. No drop cloths required!
Oh gosh, Kristen. I think I missed something.
I re-read that last post about his old bed (because I remember reading it the first time!) and this caught me: I think this bed will probably be suitable for Joshua to use until he leaves home (he’ll graduate from high school in just 7 more years. Ack!), and since it’s solid wood, I imagine we will have it around for much longer than that.
Did Joshua out grow it? Want a different style? Was just thinking you painted a bed for him recently. Will this one go to one of the girls? Or sold?
Do please excuse me if you've answered! My brain hasn't been working right lately 🙂
I'm not sure if I've talked about it or not, actually! Joshua's wanting to buy a drum set to put in his room, but the only way we can make space for that is to get his bed up off the floor. So we bought a loft bed off of craig's list and we'll put his dressers and such underneath it to free up floor space for a drum kit.
Our plan is to give the bed to our nephew who is about to get kicked out of his crib by a new baby sibling!
Hint to Joshua and the girls - give Mom saw horses for Christmas!!
please post a pic of the completed room when you are finished!! so curious....
Oh, I will, don't worry! I'll take before and after pictures.
As long as you aren't getting paint on something you care about I say continue to use whatever's available. If you buy more saw horses you will need to find a place to store them. But then again you do so much painting it would be a whothwhile investment. My favorite "saw horses" are the garbage can and recycle bin.
I can hardly wait to see Joshua's room make over. He must be anxious about it too. It's nice that the two of you are working together on it.
Love it! A frugal mindset at work! 😀 Why stop what you're doing if you can finish the job in the amount of time it would take you to buy any tool if you can improvise and still finish the job. And without adding to the project costs.ðŸ˜