When Jacob Builds Things

18 June 2014


Jacob likes to build things. He'll go weeks or even months sometimes without hacking into wood and will spend leisure time getting lost in other enriching activities like watching Veep or Curb Your Enthusiasm, but then he'll get the itch and won't come inside for days and the children will get lulled to sleep by the sander and the table saw.

One of the itches recently took the form of a bed. We've slept on a rickety bedframe since we were first married, and last year's move from Los Angeles to Houston involved leaving behind our boxspring since the trailer was too full. This meant that our mattress was unsupported at the foot of the bed and drooped down a little. Not the biggest deal really...until you sat on the edge of the bed and your pretty bum slid off and plopped unceremoniously on the floor.

So Jacob wanted to make a bed for our fifth anniversary. I was a little ambivalent because hopefully we'll be upgrading to a California King one of these years, and if Jacob's going to throw down on some lumber and spend lots of time on a bed I'd rather it be THE bed instead of a bed we're going to graduate out of as soon as we get a few extra square feet in our bedroom. He convinced me he needed to practice by making this queen first, however, and went out and bought some cheap rough cut hardwood.

Jacob is pretty adorable when he builds things. I know he measures things, but he I'm pretty sure he just goes with his gut when the measurements don't need to be standard. He's also tall with (freakishly) long arms, so sometimes what "feels right" to him is woefully out of proportion with the rest of the world.

This is the mirror on the wall by our front door...and me on my tiptoes.
Despite my failed efforts at conveying a sense of scale in this (and the following) photo. Just trust me. It's a Case. And. Point.

So when this tall man with freakishly long arms sets about making a bed for himself, in one of the early versions the mattress might, just might, end up four and half feet off the ground.
Jake I think put it most adeptly: "Papa made a bed for a giant!!!"

But it's OK. Nothing that he couldn't fix with a saw, and soon enough we had this:

Our room is small, so this is as far away from the bed as I could get for a photo.

I told Jacob I wanted it really simple, so we could showcase the grain of the cypress. He polished it with this beeswax and orange oil wood finish which he uses on lots of projects. He may take a few inches off the headboard, but we're not sure.


So, now that we've been married for five years we finally have a real bed for the children to take over.
Thank you, husband mine. I love it. It's beautiful.

Maybe for our sixth anniversary we can get a duvet cover.



22 comments :

  1. That's gorgeous!! And you can make a duvet cover SUPER easily. Just buy to king flat sheets in colors that you like for it, measure and sew together on three sides, put snaps or button holes and buttons across the top and voila! Duvet cover.

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    1. Agreed! It sure is gorgeous. He does beautiful work. And I've done the duvet thing - it's super easy.

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  2. I love, love LOVE it! Jacob, you are so talented!

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  3. It's beautiful! What a romantic thing to make - it reminds me of Odysseus building the bed for Penelope :)

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  4. Be-yoo-tiful! Happy anniversary! I couldn't help but laugh about the mirror because I just saw this article on buzzfeed: http://www.buzzfeed.com/katienotopoulos/25-husbands-that-must-be-stopped. Check out #12.

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  5. Gorgeous!! We (as in my husband) made just a headboard out of an old barn door last year and it finally feels like we have a grown up bed. I made sure to get a duvet before we moved here five years ago...it was the one new thing I bought for the new house! It makes the bed feel so fancy :)

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  6. Oh my goodness it's beautiful. I really love how bright the wood looks. And not fake bright, real bright. I make no sense, but trust me it's gorgeous!

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  7. Love!!! I just showed this to my husband approvingly... He says, "I can do that. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! Take that!" Ummmm. I guess he got a little defensive over it. Nice job, Jacob!

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  8. Beautiful! My husband is a steel fabricator and he has made two beds for our home and forget about moving them! The are so heavy I am afraid they are going to fall through th floor. None the less I love that my husband can build things with his own hands.

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  9. That is awesome! Happy anniversary! My husband just finished putting together a workbench and I'm hoping it will lead to many interesting projects for our home. By the way, I have no idea whether this would actually appeal to you or not, but when I stumbled across this DIY baby/toddler swing all I could think was "this looks like something the Rhodes could pull off!" Here's the link just in case... http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2014/06/baby-to-toddler-swing-diy.html

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  10. That headboard/frame is absolutely gorgeous! I am going to have to convince my hubby to make me something similar. We also have no headboard and just the standard metal frame for the bed. He made me a desk a few months ago and we have a workshop in our backyard.. just have to convince him! I will have to show him these pictures as persuasion!

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  11. I love it! Definitely doesn't need additional tweaking.

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  12. My dad, the carpenter, is flipping out over this! He clapped and said "well done." ;)
    Really, this is simple and beautiful just as it is!
    Country Girl's Daybook: Jesus, Photography, Fashion, & Food

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  13. That looks gorgeous! I love it!

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  14. It's amazing; I wouldn't change it! :)

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  15. Holy cow! That bed is gorgeous and I may be subtly showing my husband it for many moons to come-or at least until he builds us a bed twin of it!!

    (Side note- my phone wouldn't let me comment on blogger for weeks!! So I have been wanting to leave this comment since you originally posted this!)

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