Designer Toddler Beds

My girls are about to have the loveliest toddler beds...

EVER!

  

Thanks to Ana White, my love of wood and pretty furniture is moving to a new level:
the level where I can have it and not just dream about it!

I basically made up my own design, but followed the general concept of the Toddler Farmhouse bed and the Lydia bed.

 Cut wood and assemble the beds to fit a toddler sized mattress (thank you, Kreg Jig).

Stand back and admire the lovely craftery.  Sand and prime in preparation for the paint and poly.

I debated upon upholstering the headboard, but realized that with toddlers and various messes that come with the age, a decorative finish would be best.  After priming the bed, I took a piece of embossed wallpaper leftover from a previous project, positioned and cut it for the space.

My little helper assisted in soaking the paper to apply on the headboard front
(we followed the manufacturers directions for wallpaper application)

Smoothed down the edges and wiped off excess glue.

Caulked around the perimeter and smoothed it with my finger.  This step would not have been necessary if I had decided to wallpaper the headboard prior to installing the decorative trim, but the caulk gave it a finished look and will protect it from the invasive fingering of curious toddlers.

I thought the beds might look great with a distressed look, so I got to work sanding the edges and adding some stain to make the distressed portions stand out.  When my hubs came out and asked what happened to them, I decided to keep it simple and stay a nice crisp white.

Finale:

I spent about $30 on each bed, not including the tools, screws, sandpaper, etc. that was required.  I also used wallpaper I had leftover from a previous project.  An awesome deal considering the similar Tate Toddler Bed by Restoration Hardware runs nearly $400.

The project took me about two weeks working during my limited nap-time breaks and after the girl's bedtime.  For someone with a bigger chunk of time available and knowledge of necessary tools, this is easily a day project plus the time required for paint to dry.