One of the things I have been most looking forward to this year, is our conviction to finally move on from the construction stage of the house and into furnishing. We have been living with basically a couch and a dining table for the last two years, which has been great in certain respects. It has worked out perfectly for throwing large parties where we just throw up card tables and chairs, basically serving as an event hall, and it has been amazing efficient for the girls’ play bowling set or games of tag. Not so much for hide and seek. But as far as feeling cozy and homey, or really being able to utilize each of the spaces for the needs of our family, the lack of furniture was really grating on my nerves.

I decided to start with the front sitting room that used to be the main living area of the home, before the addition. It is such a cozy room with great light from the three big windows on the front of the house, and it felt like a manageable size for the first attempt at completely furnishing an filling a space. The room is not finished quite yet, hopefully will be in the coming weeks, but we have made some great progress! The daybed has been the biggest addition, and I could not be more pleased with how it turned out. Greg is ever amazing me with the beautiful things he builds for our home, not to mention the actual home itself. The guy just continues to make all of my inspiration pictures and quirky ideas come to life in the most beautiful ways. My hubby is just very skilled, what can I say?!

The daybed started with determining the kind of wood that we wanted to use. We vacillated for a bit on this. I knew that I wanted it to be a mid to dark finish on the wood so we thought about going the stain route but ultimately, I couldn’t resist a lure of the beautiful piece of walnut that we found at Jensen Hardwoods. I’m a total sucker for just bringing out the original color of the wood and I am so glad that we went that route. The walnut looks absolutely beautiful and makes me smile every time I walk by.

After finding the wood, we finalized the size of the daybed. In the end, it turned out to be 7′ x 29″ x 16″. Greg then cut off the pieces for the legs, squared everything up, and routered the edges since I wanted sort of a mid-century, rounded corner vibe.

Then came attaching the legs. Which I am not going to pretend that I know much about. Something about pre-drilling the holes, a drill press, a new bit that was long enough and some very large screws. These legs aren’t going anywhere. One of the most interesting parts to me, however, was filling those holes created by the screws. Greg made plugs from a scrap piece of the walnut and glued them into the holes. He then cut them off and sanded them along with the whole top so that they were flush and smooth. I love the way they added a small detail to the top of the bed, and I thought the whole process was so interesting to watch.

Finally it was on to the finish. Greg had been wanting to try Rubio Monocoat finish for a long time and this was a great opportunity. We just wanted to enhance and darken the walnut so we went with the color “pure.” We troweled it on and then buffed it in. The whole process was extremely easy and I absolutely love the color and the matte finish. It is amazing to me how water beads on the surface, without having some shiny varnish on it. We will definitely be using it again.

We brought it into the space when it was still tacky because I couldn’t actually wait to see it in all of its glory. It is absolutely beautiful. It also weighs a ton and it basically indestructible. I am pretty sure one of our grandkids is going to have this daybed in their home one day and can say that Grandpa made it for Grandma, along with a million other things, long ago in 2020. Before then I plan to read many books, and drink a lot of coffee while snuggled up on this beauty.

sources: daybed cushion/ floor lamp/ coffee table/ carpet (vintage)

For more home inspiration check out: Entryway Design and On Houseplants