Pinterest Inspiration

So I'm totally obsessed with Pinterest these days. It has helped to clean up all the bookmarks that I used to put on my computer to keep track of the blogs and ideas I loved and just HAD to put to use sometime soon. And better yet, I get to share my favorites and see what my friends like as well.  Have you tried it yet? Need an invite? Let me know :)

A few years ago, I was searching for bed/playhouse options for our then almost 4 year old daughter. We lived in a townhouse at the time and had a very small yard (well.. we had NO yard to be exact), so an outdoor play area was not an option.

During my search I came across this loft bed playhouse combo from Pottery Barn. Adorable right? But the price tag was not! I think it was somewhere around $1300 at the time.

Now, my dad is super handy. Builds most things from scratch. So I sent him the picture for inspiration and asked if he was up to the challenge for his then ONLY grandchild and love of his life. He decided to take on the project as his Christmas gift to her. Yes, please :)

He and I worked together for my list of must haves: Had to fit the dimensions of her bedroom. Needed to be easy to put together and take apart. I wanted a window box for flowers. And besides that, I left it up to him.

My dad tends to overbuild. He thought it out. Planned out the dimensions. And built the bed in his workshop in Florida, TRANSPORTED the bed to our home in South Carolina, where we disassembled and then reassembled it. It was a process, but it turned out phenomenal. The best part? He says he has around $300 total in the bed. Yep! That's it!  

Here's the bed in process:

Dad built the frame, and the base of the bed: The actual playhouse. He added a few extra windows and painted it white. So cute, right?

To say this bed was handcrafted with love is an understatement. He built the ladder by hand. He owns a blind/shutter business so the railing on top of the bed are actually shutter frames that he filled with lattice.

My stepmom helped as well. The pink wall on the back of the playhouse is chalkboard paint. My daughter loved it. And my dad actually sewed the little curtains for the windows inside.

And this was the finished product. Adorable! My daughter loved it, and is now 6 1/2 years old and still using it. We have moved TWICE since the bed was put together and it was so well made that it has survived the moves and we plan to give the bed to our youngest daughter when she is old enough and our oldest is ready for a different bed. And then when our soon to be born little boy is ready, we will adapt the bed and make it a bit more "boyish" for him.

I keep telling Dad we need to draw up the plans for this bed and sell them! It's a work of art, and is really an inexpensive way to get an awesome bed for your little one. We could use the proceeds to put towards the kids' college funds :)

I plan to link this to Pinterest and share my Dad's work of art with everyone. Seriously, this was one of the best gifts we have ever received. And the joy it brings our girls is incredible!