One of the many things to be found in Jane's attic is an old, metal bed frame and mattress. Heaven knows who was their owner, or how they came to look so dilapidated, but surely they own a place in the attic.
In the following account I'm offering you a closer look at the items, including a brief description on how they were done.
For starters, the bare metal frame, a generous gift for the attic from my friend Rebecca, was treated with several coatings of paint to give its surface depth and structure.
After the paint job was done, the frame looked old and rusty, as depicted in the below image.
The Mattress.
Then it was time to give the bed a mattress. And, of course, it would have to be a worn out example, something dirty and torn, used by God knows whom... or what. I guess that worked out pretty well as shown in the below images.
But then disaster struck: the headboard fell off the table breaking one of its legs. On top of that, it landed exactly under the wheels of my chair, and when I pulled back, a wheel partially ran over its bars!
Assessing the damage, I saw that the leg could be easily repaired. As for the bars, they were not broken, but one of them got slightly bended. Yet, instead of starting to think of ways on how to repair it, I decided to leave it bended, as it added so much more 'character' to the bed, in fact it made it perfect! As the unforgettable Bob Ross would say, this was an "happy accident" to be celebrated, not lamented! My personal belief is that the ghosts that inhabit my home and guide me with everything I do, were responsible for this, but that's another story!
The Bed Base.
The original bed base that came with the bed kit consisted of a simple, rectangular wooden board. Not happy with it, I decided to make a more elaborate one of my own. It had to be made of metal, old and rusty, like the rest of the frame. So, after doing some research on the subject, I began with its construction, starting with of the outer frame, seen on the image below, showing a primer coating.
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| This image: the newly constructed frame for the bed base, treated with primer and with the spring holes in place. |
Then came the metal grid, together with the hooks and springs to attach it to the frame. The grid was made from a salvaged miniature metal 'lounge sofa' which I didn't like much, so it became a useful 'donor' for the bed frame. The springs I did myself by playing a bit with metal wire.
When put together, the whole set of bed frame and mattress look very cool and convincing. It took me quite a while to make them, but hey, who said great things in life always come easy!
Thanks for visiting, and see you next time!
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