Rustic guest bedroom set

It is so interesting how many things have happened that would not have been possible if we weren't dealing with all these delays in our house build. I never imagined that this awkward time of displacement would give me the opportunity to return to carpentry.

My brother-in-law Chris adopted many of my carpentry tools about 7 years ago. Frankly, I needed the space in my shop for my painting. He has since added to his arsenal of tools and shop space. His triple car garage with 16 foot high ceilings provides so much room to build.

Heather and I wanted to thank Corinne and Chris for generously opening up their home to us, so we got them a new mattress for their guest bedroom. It made sense, with time on our hands and an abundance of recovered barn wood, to build a headboard, footboard and frame.

That initial project took me two-and-a-half full days of building. I made a couple of slight errors along the way, but as Chris said, "not anything that anyone will notice". After the addition of a couple of hidden braces, it is solid as a rock and fits beautifully in the small guest bedroom. Getting that mattress up off the floor has made the sleeping experience better, and the getting up from the sleeping experience way more comfortable.

It made sense to build a couple of bedside tables to match the rustic style. These 24" high tables feature side walls made from the shiplap boards recovered from the barn and a top with boards laminated together that used to be an animal pen inside the same structure that was dismantled near St. Paul a couple of weeks ago.

While I don't sleep with my devices (iPad, iPhone, etc.) nearby, many people do. Anticipating guests who might want to use the electronic companions as a clock or to make it more convenient for them to grab at night, I made rustic device holders for both bedside tables. Now the room is ready for guests.

When I was doing carpentry more regularly a decade ago, I most enjoyed making things from recycled or recovered wood. It has been a real joy to do these projects and leave behind a nice legacy of our stay on "the farm".