Inspiration

How to make a child’s day bed with a difference

Article by Homes to Love

Homes to Love caught up with Dawn Bannister of As Eliza Slept to find out how she made the super cool day bed in her daughter Eliza’s room

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Dawn, who designed the day bed?
I sketched a rough concept then we researched plans via the internet.

Who actually made the day bed?
It was made by a family friend, Eliza’s ‘uncle’ Richard while he was staying with us on a trip home to New Zealand in 2015.

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What was the brief for the day bed?
The brief was to create a play space for Eliza for her playroom to help her feel excited about her first house move. It was made in the garage of our west Auckland home then put together in situ in the new house the day before we moved in. It worked, Eliza ‘helped’ – in the way a three-year-old does – uncle Richard make it and was wholly focused on moving so she could play in it.

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What are the dimensions?
It was made to fit a standard single mattress, 90cm wide x 190cm long. The height of 40cm was to enable Eliza to stand up in it.

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How long did it take to make?
It took two days to make. A lot of love went into rounding the edges so it was smooth and safe.

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What is it made out of?
It was made from pine all cut to size by Placemakers.

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Where did the idea for the bed come from?
The idea came from the washi tape house Eliza had on her nursery wall. She spent hours playing there and inside a small tent she had. I thought it would be amazing to combine both aspects into a playhouse that could also double as a comfy space to read and for her to nap in.

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Are there any plans to put fabric or material over the frame?
We have covered it with lots of things from a sheet to a large piece of pink netting I had cut-to-size from Spotlight.

Where is the bedlinen from?
The spotted sheet and pillow case is from Collected, the cross blanket is from Jamie Kay.

Photos by: Emma MacDonald.

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