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.

Study Table

Hubby made a study table for our son and daughter.  The table top is made out of Balau wood and it sits on top of pedestal.  You can check out this site for more information about Balau wood at 

http://www.woodsolutions.com.au/Wood-Species/shorea-albida

For our son's study table, the wood was sanded down, treated and varnished.  For our daughter's study table, she did not want the table top to be varnished, she wanted it natural so we left it as it is, but it was sanded down and treated as well.  

Due to budget constrains, we purchased 2nd hand pedestals from Kedai Kaki Lelong (www.kkltrading.com/) and fixed the table top on top of the pedestal for our son.  Since then, we have made several trips back to the same shop to look for the pedestal for our daughter and were not successful as either the height was not right or the pedestal had some defects.  In the end, we managed to find only one pedestal and substitute the other pedestal by purchasing a metal table leg. 

The study table taking shape, pedestal not high enough,
had to put a piece of plywood to raise it

The metal leg table

A close up of the table top, Balau wood not vanished

This is what it takes to make a study table

Furniture Hunting

We've made another stop to our favorite shop again Kedai Kaki Lelong (www.kkltrading.com).  We love going there now and then to see what new stuff they have.  

If you are looking for 2nd hand furniture, visit the one in Ara Damansara.  If you are looking for kitchen ware such as plates or bowls, visit the one in Section 19, PJ.

This time we went there to look for a pedestal for our daughter's room.  However, we left with more than a pedestal, we bought not only the pedestal but a table leg, wooden shelves, plates, decorative girll and a decorative wooden organiser.

Heaps of wooden organisers, good for TV remote controls
Bought : 1 piece

Heaps of wooden shelves
Bought : 3 pieces

Office desk, thought of getting it for my craft room
Did not buy

Beautiful blue and white bowl, orange sauces and Chinese plate
Bought

Tile for decorative purpose or for hot plate
Bought : 1 piece

Tile for decorative purpose
Bought : 3 pieces

The decorative organiser, washed and cleaned

Metal pedestal for our daughter's room

The decorative grill that will be used for our patio
Bought : 2 pieces

The metal pedestal and leg from Kedai Kaki Lelong
Table top is made by Hubby
Our daughter's study table

The wooden shelves from Kedai Kaki Lelong
Put up in our kitchen

DIY Patio Update : Roof Tiles

Wow ... blogging duties neglected ... anyway ... here we are back again ... we have a lot to update but let's start with the roof tiles for the patio.

Ok, so the roof tiles are finally up after 5 weekends.  It took team work to get those tiles up.  Hubby was up at the roof, me on the ladder and kids on ground, kids passing me the roof tiles and me to hubby.  The roof tiles had to be removed after it was installed as it was leaking.  After Hubby rectified the problem, fingers crossed, so far so good.  Only left to do is to installed the gutters as rain water is going into our neighbors compound.

So here are the pictures and what we did ...

Tiles being brought up

The baton is set according to the tiles

A close up of the baton

The baton being secured onto the plywood

The roof tiles are ready to be laid

Tiles being laid from outer roof to inner roof

The plywood is quoted with water proof paint, Bituflex 101

Tiles are laid in progress

  

DIY Patio Update

Our DIY Patio is about 60% completed.  We are now preparing for the roof tiles.  Initially we planned that once the insulation is up, we will install the roof.  However, when you look up, you will see the insulation, something like looking at tin foil. So it was a no no.  Then, I wanted the look of something like a resort, where you look up, you will see the roof tiles.  That idea too was 'rejected' by Hubby, reason being was that it would make the patio very hot if we wish to sit there in the afternoons, due to no insulation.

So now, Hubby has install ply wood which was stained, followed by the insulation and then up goes the roof tiles. More updates soon!  In the meantime, here are some pictures to show you on our DIY Patio progress.

Recap : BEFORE DIY Patio was installed

Recap : AFTER DIY Patio was installed

Cutting the ply wood to size

Hubby's new 'toy' a jigsaw cutter.
Purchase for less that MY100.00 at Cash Converters

BEFORE : We will be looking at the insulation,
which looks like aluminium foil

AFTER : Now we will be looking at ply wood,
which feels much cosy to look at

The insulation before the roof tiles is installed

All Things Old

We love all things old. If they are still usable and have sentimental value, even better.

I have inherited a few old furniture from my Granny. A GE Electric oven and stove, a book cupboard, a metal egg basket, a abacus set with instructions on how to use it, to name a few.  Funny that at one time, nobody wanted it but once it was displayed or used in our home, it was admired and comments such as "can I have it", "we should have taken it", "do you have anymore" are uttered.

This GE electric oven holds a lot of memories for me. I spent many year-end school holidays with my Granny making tarts and fruit cake for Christmas using this oven.  Story is that my father's brothers found this oven in the jungle during WWII and had to carry it back piece by piece and assemble it.  It took 4 people to carry this oven when we shifted our home as it is made from enamel.

This egg basket belonged to my maternal Grandmother.  I remember her using it to collect her eggs from the hens in her back yard.  After she died, it as sitting in my mother's store room for the longest time.  I asked my mother if I could have it and she said 'YES'

Now I am using this egg basket to store my eggs.

What furniture or sentimental items have you inherited from your loved ones? I would love to hear them.

 

Baby Rocking Chair Update

Hubby has fixed the baby rocking chair and it now rocks!  It took two cans of spray paint for the baby rocking chair.  I am so happy with the color and so is CinaBoy.  It is now his favourite chair in the house.

Here are the updated pictures of the baby rocking chair.

The Before ...

The In the process ...

The After ...

A close-up of the baby rocking chair