Chronicles of our DIY Bed Frame

We recently upgrade our Queen size mattress to a King size mattress, hence we had get a new bed frame.  Instead of going to a furniture shop, Hubby said that he will make one. Of course my initial reaction was "Hmm ... how long will we have to wait for that now?".  Not doubting his craftsmanship anymore since he built our main door (you can read about it here).

So, we already had the bed legs from our recycled playground Chenggal wood stash.  All Hubby had to purchased was the wood for the head, leg and side frame.  It took him about two months to complete the bed frame from sanding down to chiseling to varnishing and assembling.  He used tenon joint to assemble the wood.

The bed frame is a mixture of Chenggal and Balau wood. The side frame was formerly a window frame.  I think the bed frame easily weights 200 kgs ...  

So below we leave you with some pictures of the making of our bed frame.

The recycled Chenggal wood from a play ground.

The side frame before it was sanded down and varnished.

Another view of the side frame with the
window hinge still intact.

Another view of the side frame.

The two side frame.

After chiseling, checking the tenon joint.

The chiseling work for the tenon joint.

This is how the pieces will be joint together.

Making sure that all the pieces fit.

More pictures of the pieces being joint together.

Two of the four bed legs being treated and varnished.

Upper portion has been treated and varnished
while lower portion has not yet.

Before and after treatment and varnish.

Treatment and varnishing in progress.

The pile of wood for the bed frame.

All the wood pieces before assembly.

A close up of the Chenggal wood grain.

The head board being assembled.

The wood pieces is being secured by a screw and bolt.

Side by side, the head board and leg board.

Side by side, the head board and leg board.

All assembled and fixed, just left for the lower bed frame.

Recycled and Reused Louvers

For this blog post, I will be taking a detour from the House Tour and would like to share with you on some of the wood projects that we have been up to.

Hubby had his eyes set on some louvers that we saw at a lumber yard that recycles old wood items like doors, windows and woods.  These louvers are made out of Chengal wood and is easily about 100 over years old.  Just lifting a 2ft Chengal louver is heavy enough!

What is a louver you ask?  Well, according to Wikipedia, a louver (American English) or louver (British English) is a window blind or shutter with horizontal slats that are angled to admit light and air, but to keep out rain, direct sunshine and noise.  The angle of the slats may be adjustable, usually in blinds and windows or fixed.

In Malaysia, you can find louvers in old colonial houses like those in Kuala Lumpur, Penang & Ipoh.  However, in newer houses, you'll not find them anymore as modern louvers (if any) will be made out of metal.

So Hubby had this idea of covering the air-conditioning compressor area with the 4ft louver we purchased.  He also had the idea of making the smaller louvers as bench legs which were 2ft each for our dinning bench.

An old colonial house with the louvers above the window shutters

Another picture of the colonial louvers

We were deciding on which louvers to choose.
Initially we thought of the louver lying on the floor with the hold in
middle.  We thought of adding in a Nyonya glass but decided against it
as it would be too much work to do.

So in the end we decided on this louver, 4ft and perfect
for the air-conditioning compressor area.

This is the louver that we bought for the air-conditioning compressor area.

Once we brought it home, we had to take out the planks,
sand each one down as well as the frame.

The planks which had about three or four coats of paints over the years.

After sanding down the frame, hubby varnished the frame
and gave it some chemical treatment.

In the end, this is the varnish color that we choose. 

The planks were also varnished and fitted back.

Here is Hubby fixing the louvers onto the air-conditioning compressor area.

Before : The air-conditioning compressor area is empty and open.

After : The air-conditioning compressor area is now covered up with the
beautiful restored and recycled louver.

After : Another after picture of the facade.

House Tour : Foyer

We sort of like created a foyer for our home.  We kept the entrance to our home with minimal furniture.  Only the walls are a little empty.  Once the foyer is at it's full 'glory', we'll post more pictures.  As for now, enjoy those that were in progress ...

The foyer which was actually the 2nd hall before the renovation

Before the renovation, the window is now the main entrance

Before the renovation, the wooden panel the hides the staircase

During the renovation, the window being broken down

During renovation, this is the main entrance and foyer

The floor being scree before laying tiles

Tiles being layed

DIY : Installing the wooden pillars (Chengal Wood) that Hubby sanded down with hire help

Varnishing the wooden pillars

Chronicles of our Main Door

Our main door is now almost complete.  We have hired help to varnish the door and it looks beautiful!  This door has now become a conversation piece in the neighbourhood as well as contractors who have been moving in and out of the house.

Now all is left to do is to fix the glass at the side.  We wanted Nyonya glass but at the very last minute, BTW this is rather norm already coming from our Contractor, he said that Nyonya glass do not come in the size that we want.  He suggested that we go for normal glass and tint it! I am like "What the &%^*???"  Anyway so now we are sourcing for the glass on our own.

So we'll leave you now with the chronicles of how our main door became ...

The chosen Chenggal wood for the main door

Cutting the wood to the desired size

The Master and his hired help

The door frame and the door

The door frame being installed 

The locksmith installing the lock

The modified hinge for the main door

The main door and it's maker

The main door gets a coat of varnish