We went with the apple cider and steel wool oxidizing stain!
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| the “weathered” contenders |
The staining process was simple. We used an old brush and painted the vinegar mixture on. It is really runny (like water) so you will want a drop cloth. It will also discolor anything it splashes on, like skin, walls, other pieces of furniture, etc. While that isn’t a huge problem for wipeable surfaces it could be an issue if you get it on fabric or other porous surfaces. Try to work quickly moving around without skipping over areas. If you skip an area and come back there will be darker and lighter patches. For the most part it seems like you can fix any dark spots by sanding them down a bit to blend with the lighter areas.
As you can see different cuts of wood will also take to the stain differently so you may have pieces that are naturally darker or lighter, browner or grayer, etc. I knew this before we began and was fine with that. If you want a totally uniform bed then it would be best to plan on buying one type of wood and determining your plans based on the pieces you can get. I love the gray tones that came out on the side planks!
I will collaborate with my husband to bring you the cut list, price break down, and directions to make the bed! I’m pretty sure it was under or around $100! And, wouldn’t you know it….a day or two after it was finished I recieved an email from West Elm with this bed staring me straight in the face…
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| Emmerson bed via |
and then once perusing the website I found this one…
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| Stria Bed via |
They are both more variagated in their wood sizes and texture but still quite similar to ours! Plus making our own saved us a bunch of moolah!
What do you think? Would you have chosen a different finish?
Shared with:
It looks great!
Great stain choice! And what an awesome looking bed. This is something you can enjoy and be proud of for a long time!
I think I want to try this for a guest bedroom. I really like the look!
You built a stinking bed! Who does that?? You are crazy cool! P.S. love the background!
lol. those of us who are too poor to buy one. we were really tired of our cheap plywood platform bed that was a foot off the ground and both kids thought it was their personal playground! My husband planned it out and built it after I told him what I basically wanted. He's a keeper!
looks SO freaking good! are you in love or what?! i only use freaking when i don't even have awesome enough words.
Ooooh, it looks beautiful! I love it!!
It looks INCREDIBLE 🙂 Well done…. xo, Kelly
Wow! It's amazing! Or, should I say freaking amazing? I'm like Cassie, words are not enough, I'll have to use freaking!!!
haha. Thanks Rebecca!
Thanks so much Kelly!
This is simply gorgeous! You should enter this into a magazine!
I'm flabbergasted…………..
hugs ~ Crystelle
thanks Crystelle. 🙂 I think my husband did a fabulous job!
This was the perfect finish! I love this! Apple cider…..who would have thought!
Thanks for inspiring me!
karianne
okkkkayyy I am IN LOVE! I am SO doing this! Thank you SO much for the PERFECT inspiration! I am SO glad you linked up at Happy Hour Link Party!!!
Jaime from Crafty Scrappy Happy
THIS IS STUNNING! Seriously love this. The finish you chose is beautiful and I love your post on the different techniques. I'm always looking for different things to try. Thank you so much for linking up!
~Gorgeous~ I have never heard of apple cider treatment, but the color is perfectly rich.
Gorgeous! I need that headboard for my guest room! 🙂
Sarah
gorgeously executed!
smiles to you.
michele
Well you know how much we loved this…we featured it this morning…thanks so much for sharing with us…it's gorgeous…xo
I love the weathered look!! And I love that the entire bed has varying types of wood! It turned out great!!
Love the bed! I've been wanting to make an Ana White bed. Your husband is very talented and the stain looks fabulous! I found you through the Friday Redoux link party. I've been working my way up to doing a full on bed. I hacked our guestroom bed and made a nicer headboard: http://ngnrdgrl.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/rykene-headboard/ Check it out and let me know what you think. I pinned you to my pinterest board. 🙂
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This is such a beautiful stain choice! Thanks for linking up with the Clever Chicks this week! Hope to see you on the next hop!
Cheers,
Kathy Shea Mormino
The Chicken Chick
http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com
I love it its beautiful. We are building a big farmhouse style table. I want a darker finish almost greyed barnwood. I am going ot have to definetly experiment to get that look.
Love how you made that headboard. Beautiful.
I'm featuring this as well. Beautiful!
Ginger @ gingersnapcrafts.com
My goodness…this is one outstanding bed….HATS OFF TO YOU!!!
Blessings,
Linda
That is gorgeous. It is so hard to believe apple cider and steel wool created that. gorgeous!
Now that is one Awesome bed frame. It's Gorgeous.
N9ow if only I can get my hubby to build one for our bed..along with many other to-do projects that I want done.
My whole bedroom set is done in cedar so I would probably have my bedframe done in cedar as well. We have a headboard and footboard that was with our bedroom set, but changed from full size to queen size so have been without a bedframe for a few years now but this sure has inspired me into getting a frame made.
ColleenB.
I need the plans and list of materials so I can get my hubby to build one. I am doing the bedroom in Woodsy relaxing style. Thanks for sharing. Yours truly- Elaine in Luray.
Hi Elaine! Here's the link to the plans http://dearemmeline.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-building-of-bed-queen-bed-frame.html
I love your version best. I love the rustic look of it. Truly, the finish is just all about personal preference and the look you are going for. I think yours is hugely successful, why? You love it, don't you?! 😉
Wow, that is so awesome!
Love, love it! I am wanting a new bed and would love the purchase and cut list 🙂 Oh….love the finish you went it as well. leti@imagesimagined.com
Leti
i love how this bed came out! i read and re-read all of your posts relating to the staining decision, and can not for the life of my understand which one you chose. Was it the apple cider vinegar and steel wool that soaked for 3 days? or just overnight? with any sunbleached stain over it?
thank you! its beautiful!
Sorry I didn't specify how long the steel wool was in the apple cider vinegar. It needs to be in there for a minimum of 3 days or there is little effect. I'm not sure how long this batch had been sitting. Probably closer to a week and we have used it months later as well. Just store it in a glass mason jar and cap it up when not in use.
Does the vinegar smell linger?
I modified your bed plans to make my own & am now getting ready to stain it. I'm really happy with it and will share a link to my blog once it is up (I'm a very sloooow blogger).
Thanks for sharing!
No it does not smell. I can't remember if it did for a few days or not but I want to say it didn't. I'm assuming just like when cleaning with vinegar the smell sort of evaporates off as the wetness does.
his is my first time i visit here. I found so many entertaining stuff in your blog, especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all the leisure here! Keep up the excellent work.
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