A spin on our toddler bed

A year and  half ago, I bought an antique head/footboard from a lady in North Carolina. She had cut the legs off of this bed and didn’t have any side rails to go with the bed. That was fine with me because, I  wanted to make a bench out of it.  However, after cherishing its antiquity and doting over the detail in this bed, I could NOT entertain the thought of taking it apart and making a bench.

Plan B was now to make a toddler bed out of it.  My baby was just 10 months old at the time, so I knew I had to hold onto it for a while.

When we moved, I toted it with me. DH tried to get me to get rid of it, and I looked at him like he had two heads. This bed was a work of art in my mind. I had great plans for it, and wasn’t going to keep it stashed in the garage forever.  I just had to wait for the right time.

Well, today was the day! The right time had come, now that little bits was in need of a toddler bed.  I wanted to use both the headboard and footboard and assemble the bed to look just as it would if I had a big, full mattress in the bed, but use a crib mattress instead. My handyman hubby did a great job building a foundation for the crib mattress to sit on, since we didn’t have side rails.

Can I just say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE how the bed came out?

Ta-dah!

We have to do a little bit more work on the bed on the sides to keep the mattress from scooting, as well as keep her from scooting upward in her sleep.  I just love it!  When she outgrows this bed, which won’t be too long, we’ll keep it in the girls’ room as a reading couch for them or put an   actual full mattress in the bed instead of a crib mattress.  They will love making forts/tents from the bed posts.

Can you tell the girls just love it? Big Sis wanted to sleep in it too tonight. She also loved jumping off the bed onto the floor in a “geronimo-style” fashion, like doing a "can-opener" onto carpet. Little Bits likes to go down the white stairs on the right, but I’m sure she’ll be jumping before I can blink.  We both laid down in her new toddler bed tonight at bedtime. Her smile couldn’t have gotten any bigger. Just melts my heart. I had thought about the girls sharing a bed at one time, but a full bed seemed a bit small for both of them, since they are both rambunctious sleepers, toss’n and turn’n every which way. A queen bed would probably work perfectly, but then again, I think I still like them having their own space since they share a room. Any thoughts on same gender siblings sharing a bed? I’d love to hear it!