I decided finally its best use would be to make a day bed for my son's nursery. I have decided to decorate it in a nautical theme, but would still like the room to feel comfortable for adults, and grow with him a bit. Here's how I did it.
Measure the door and the bed size, come up with a design and dimensions.
Purchase supplies:
1 gallon Valspar Indigo Streamer paint
Sand paper
small paint roller kit
wood supplies
screws
wood glue
Fabric
Total cost: $103.78
Supplies I already had/Recycled:
Antique door
scrap plywood for panels
For batting I used an old stained blanket
For foam I used left over Carpet padding from when we replaced the carpet in a bedroom
Extra long twin bed and box spring from my childhood
Total cost: free :)
I sanded down the door and removed the old hardware, painted all the pieces of wood ( I had the hardware store cut a lot of them to size for me. First of all, I couldn't carry it all as one piece, secondly their tools are better than mine, and lastly, it's free!)
I cut the boards, foam, batting and material for the upholstered inserts and assembled them using my staple gun. (already had staples)
Then I took all the pieces into the nursery and started assembly. (would have been too large to get in afterward)
I used the box-spring as a support and screwed in the boards that would hold the door to it.
I had to add a piece of 2x2 to each end of the door, becasue it wasn't quite long enough. (Oddly, a 2x2 actually measures 1.5x1.5, go figure)
Then I attached the sides of the daybed to the sides of the door, laid the door on it's back and attached the front face board.
After this I slid the box spring into square frame and put the supports under the door.
I screwed the face board to the box spring and tipped it right side up.
Then I secured the door to the supports from the back.
After that I added the trim and the upholstered inserts, and touched up the paint.
Then I added the mattress and made the bed.
Homemade pillows to come.
