Kid’s Bedroom Furniture

This rewarding project series started out as my nieces and nephews moved to a new home in the winter of 2001. Each of the girls now had their own rooms, but were seriously lacking in “fine furniture” to fill out the space. Being a somewhat caring uncle...and a woodworker...the solution was simple. Build them what they needed.

During a holiday visit, each of my three nieces were asked what they needed the most to help define the project. The two eldest chose beds and night stands. Their younger sister needed a desk and a nightstand. With that information, I returned home to consider the designs and get started in the shop.

Each of the two beds would be “Full Sized”--my eldest niece already had a mattress set of that size and making each bed identically would simplify the project. And at ages 17 and 15, that size would provide a comfortable sleeping environment for years to come. After a little research, I found an interesting Shaker design in Thomas Moser's Measured Shop Drawings for American Furniture. Although I made some style changes that included square posts and a more modern headboard profile, the plans were perfect for my needs.

The night stands also came from Moser's book and are a common Shaker design featuring a single drawer, mortise and tenon joinery and a generous top with a beveled underside that makes them feel “lighter”. These 18" x 18" tables were built exactly to plan with no modifications.

Finally, the 48" x 24" desk was a slightly scaled back version of the desk I made several years ago for my wife. It features mortise and tenon joinery and a single drawer centered in the front apron. That front apron is made from a single board which was carefully cut apart and reassembled to preserve the wood grain across and through the drawer front--a technique that I saw on an older New Yankee Workshop episode. This piece will be featured in its own article with a free downloadable plan in the near future.

Given the large quantity of Poplar I have on hand, I decided to build all six items with this wood and take advantage of a finishing technique that I learned from Steve Mickley, a frequent contributor to the Finishing Forum at WOOD ONLINE. That turned out to be a good choice for these pieces as they are light, yet strong and have the rich coloration of more expensive species. The construction process through finish was detailed in a running pictorial that is still available at this site if you are interested.

As you can see, the results were pleasing, both to the builder and to the new owners. Brittany, Nakita and Angelica were happy to finally receive their new furniture and in a matter of a few minutes, embellished it with their own unique expressions of style. Of course, Uncle Jim now needs to build a chair to go with the desk...but that’s another story and project on the list!
Making furniture like this for your own family is a great way to hone your woodworking skills and the end result is so much better than what you’ll find in the stores!