Captains Bed

I have heard these type of beds being called Captains Beds and also Platform beds. Either way, this one had many challenges. It was a very involved project that kept exact measuring a key thing of importance. It is basically four parts - the headboard, footboard, main body and the drawers. Everything starts with the dimensions of the mattress itself. You go from there with the sizing of the bed structure itself. The headboard and footboard needed to nest just outside of the main bed body so measurements were critical with these. I really wanted to try something different for the headboard and did just that in two areas. The sides of the headboard are actually constructed of oak plywood. Because of that, I needed to veneer some actual oak hardwood to the faces of them to conceal the plywood laminations. I have done this type of thing plenty in the past, but I had only done it on straight configurations. These headboard sides were rounded at the tops and that presented a bit of a challenge. The other thing I tried on the headboard was the curved top. Done in just one piece, it wasted a bit of wood, but I was willing to sacrifice the wood in trying the process of making the thing and learning a thing or two along the way. Dovetailed drawers are incorporated into the bed body both along the side and in the footboard. Two of the four in the footboard are actually faux drawers.

The bed, in it's entirety, is a heavy thing.....but it isn't going anywhere once it's in position! It was a pretty challenging project and a satisfying one now that I look back at it.