Upholstered Bed - Step 1

I've mentioned a few times that I've been eyeing the Colette bed from Crate & Barrel, but couldn't bring myself to pay $1800 for the king size version right as we're about to close on the house.

I read a number of tutorials (see prior post for links).  After reviewing my revised plans with my dad, who has built furniture pieces in the past and does an amazing job doing wood work, we came up with a game-plan (that's changing as we build :)). 

I had purchased the fabric, foam and nailhead trim, and asked my dad if I could go "shopping in his garage" for the lumber.  He told me he didn't have the pieces.  Ummm ... what do you think?  For the record, I'm sure my mother would have a heart attack if she knew I posted my father's wood obsession on the internet!

Step one was to create a template for the top of the headboard.  One of the tutorials I read said to free-hand the design (which I couldn't bring myself to do, because I've always been more of a geometry kind of girl than an artist).  Another tutorial I read had some suggestion on creating a grid, and free-handing it from there.  My dad taught me a trick he learned "back in the day", he cut a few strips of thin leuon, and bent until we go the "curve" I was looking for.

Yes, that is sand in my hair.  I went to the beach with my nephews earlier in the day, and they wanted to play "let's bury Aunt Heather, even though she's wearing jeans and a fleece top"

My dad told me to take the template home and "live with it" for a few days, to make sure I loved the curvature.

Meanwhile my four year old nephew wanted to "help".  This was taken before what I will refer to as "the splinter incident of 2010"

I came back a few days later and we got to work - I apologize some steps are missing.  My photographer (i.e. my mom) missed a few steps.

I started by finding the center point.  Yes.  I had to do math on the board.  I can't do math in my head.  My accountant (i.e. Erik) can and it drives him crazy that I have to get out pencil and paper (or plywood) or trust a handy calculator for basic calculations.

We traced the template on the main piece of plywood.

Then we cut another "template" from 2x4 (these would be the missing pictures!)

Next I pulled out the foam, and we figure out how much we're going to need to build up what I will refer to as "the border"

We cut a bunch of blocks to support the arch.  Perhaps overkill, but I wouldn't be able to convince my dad of that.

I learned how to use the nail gun.

Then my dad finished off the bottom.

At this point it was starting to get dark, so we packed up.  I hope to get over there this weekend to finish up the base and get the headboard upholstered.  We will be partially building the base and finalizing it when Erik and I officially close (six weeks from today!!!).  In the meantime I figure the upholstering and nailhead trim are going to be the most time-consuming part of the process, so I want to get that done.

A close-up of the fabric and nailhead trim I'll be using.

And the faux-silk drapery panels I'm considering.



Hopefully I'll have more progress pictures soon, so stay tuned!