The Outcome
Last week my free time was deliberately spent on making an ordinary old fashioned bed look … how should I say?! … differently, hopefully, more unique and original. The way the bed looked when we got it from our good friends did not please my eye, quite the opposite. Therefore, my hands were free to experiment with it.
The first thing that I disliked about the bed was its height - me and my wife are not big fans of tall beds. And it is not because we are afraid of heights 
, it is simply because tall beds look old-fashioned and take too much space in the bedroom. Another dislike came from the fact that I can not stand the footboards - especially when my legs do not fit and I constantly kick that annoying barrier.
The Original Bed
So, keeping those concerns in mind two requirements were agreed on: 1) the bed should be less tall (as much as possible), 2) the front board should not obstruct the legs of the people who are sleeping on the bed.
The first goal was quite easy to achieve: simply, by cutting the headboard legs short. This had lowered the bedstead by more then a foot. Thus, the first goal had been achieved. Probably, the bed could be lowered even more if the box spring was either removed, or substituted with a thinner one, or somehow rebuilt. (If I ever decide to lower it more I will update this post.)
Cutting the legs off
Shortened Legs
Time for the footboard came. I started by removing the steel “grill” by unscrewing a couple of screws. Then, I removed the lath that was on the board, leaving only the outer frame intact.
Original footboard
Next, I moved the hardware that holds the bedstead together higher, by approximately a foot. Then, I cut the extra length of each of the leg off to make them of the appropriate length - so they match the headboard.
Footboard Modifications
Fortunately, the lath, that I recovered earlier from the footboard, fit nicely inside of the new design and made the new footboard look quite nice.
Footboard, New design
Finally, after the lath was affixed with screws the bedstead was assembled and the mattress with the box spring were placed on their original places. Here is the outcome.
Outcome
Ah forgot to mention … the steel grill I used to decorate the floor lamp in the corner of the bedroom.
The Grill, New Home
Result: no extra parts and materials were needed, house hold tools worked just fine - new original design for an old bed.
Tags: bed, bedroom, improvement, wood
