This is a beautiful bed frame when its done, but getting there is a bit of work. The main thing is that its unfinished. I experimented with a couple finishes on hidden areas (all-in one stain finish, danish oil) trying to find some way to save time. But in the end, I finished it with my tried and true method... regular wood stain, followed by water-based polyurethane (non-gloss). I used a shade of stain called Ipswitch Pine, and it gave it that nice rustic look... not too dark, not too orange (which is why I didnt use shellac.)
I should note that the logs have a lot of splits. At first I was concerned, but when assembled, it actually adds to the rustic look in a nice way, and wouldnt appear to detract from the strength at all.
Assembling this frame is not a picnic. It helps to have two people. Youll need to nudge the small vertical pieces back and forth to get them to line up to the holes in the cross pieces, then hammer it together using a piece of wood in between (to not mark up the wood frame). BUT, the holes fit so tight I had to hammer quite hard, and actually broke several pieces of scrap wood doing this (they give you one). Youll have strong connections though. They give you nails for every joint, but I only used a few, plus the lag bolts to hold the head and footboards on. That way it can be taken apart later. The slats underneath are also logs, and all together we feel that its the most solid bed weve ever had.
We were unable to use the little mattress stop blocks they give you, as they wouldnt fit with the mattress in place. I might make some narrower ones myself but so far havent needed it.
So there you go, just throw on some moose-ey looking sheets and youll feel like youre in a cabin in the woods. The frame is totally worth it if you dont mind getting into a project. Love it thanks!
Nice rustic look but a bit of work
This is a beautiful bed frame when its done, but getting there is a bit of work. The main thing is that its unfinished. I experimented with a couple finishes on hidden areas (all-in one stain finish, danish oil) trying to find some way to save time. But in the end, I finished it with my tried and true method... regular wood stain, followed by water-based polyurethane (non-gloss). I used a shade of stain called Ipswitch Pine, and it gave it that nice rustic look... not too dark, not too orange (which is why I didnt use shellac.) I should note that the logs have a lot of splits. At first I was concerned, but when assembled, it actually adds to the rustic look in a nice way, and wouldnt appear to detract from the strength at all. Assembling this frame is not a picnic. It helps to have two people. Youll need to nudge the small vertical pieces back and forth to get them to line up to the holes in the cross pieces, then hammer it together using a piece of wood in between (to not mark up the wood frame). BUT, the holes fit so tight I had to hammer quite hard, and actually broke several pieces of scrap wood doing this (they give you one). Youll have strong connections though. They give you nails for every joint, but I only used a few, plus the lag bolts to hold the head and footboards on. That way it can be taken apart later. The slats underneath are also logs, and all together we feel that its the most solid bed weve ever had. We were unable to use the little mattress stop blocks they give you, as they wouldnt fit with the mattress in place. I might make some narrower ones myself but so far havent needed it. So there you go, just throw on some moose-ey looking sheets and youll feel like youre in a cabin in the woods. The frame is totally worth it if you dont mind getting into a project. Love it thanks!