July 23, 2012

✥ Reader Feature: Rooftop Pallet Bed ✥


I think I am going to admit something a bit shameless about the blogs I read. In my mind, I have them separated by the type of blog they are. No, I do not mean DIY or fashion or something not al all embarrassing. {Well, unless maybe I had some freakishly strange interest or hobby.}
But rather the categories are based on the reason I follow them. Today's feature is of Karah, from the Space Between, and Karah falls into my "funny writer" category. That's not to say she doesn't have other reasons you should follow, I mean take a look at her rooftop bedroom for example. It's just that she is so real and unassuming, and I like it when someone makes me laugh and unveils a projects. THe two work well together. ;-)
Karah hails from the North East {like me!!}, but she now lives in Curaco, while I only live in Utah. {Maybe I should talk to her about a location trade?} She now rents {like me!!}, but she rents this little island home {whereas I only rent a condo.  wah wah!}


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I had dreams.  I had visions.  I had pinned beautiful outdoor beds, and spaces and had images of what was sure to be our awesome, Awesome, AWESOME new pallet bed on our roof.
You saw this sneak peek this morning …
And, I have to admit, I do NOT have all that I had dreamed of.  But, considering that we have been talking about putting a pallet bed on the roof 
for.like.ever
 since we moved in, 2 and a half years ago, and we now have pallets on the roof with a mattress on top of it and a few cute accessories 

that will never hold up to the wind so I have to carry them up and down whenever we use the space

, I am thrilled.

I am also VERY 
relieved
 happy to report that we had a few rainy mornings this week (you would know it delayed my rooftop photo sessions if you are a Facebook friend) :) and the bed is in what, so far, has stayed a dry zone.  Yippee!!  Of course, if we get any freaky sideways rain (this has totally happened before), that would be different.

Now, I really, REALLY wanted a hanging bed.  How cool would that have been?  Gently swinging in the breeze.  Down right dreamy I imagine.  But then I realized that the roof rafters weren’t conducive to hanging a bed.  And I didn’t see the landlord looking favorably on my drilling big holes in her rafters.
No, I don’t know why that picture is at that angle.  I’m just taking ‘arsty photo angles’ to extremes, I guess.  And, no, I didn’t clean the roof at all or do anything with the random cords we like to keep up there to corrode in the elements.  ;)
Aaaaanyway, back to the not-nearly-as-awesome-as-I’d-imagined-but-awesome-all-the-same-rooftop-pallet-bed.
When push came to shove, I realized I really didn’t want to make a pallet bed at all … I really just wanted pallets to magically make a bed all on their own.  And, with a little painting of the pallet slats you can see (oh no I di -en’t paint the slats under the mattress), it does fit the bill of ‘pallet bed’.
And, back to those stinkin’ high roof rafters, I didn’t actually realize how high they were until after I strung together what I think could be a pretty-cool, beer-bottle, star-like, hanging pendant light and realized we don’t have a ladder tall enough to hang it. So, I did what any self-respecting 
blogger
 person would do, I nestled it by the pillows for a pic. 

Oh, yeah, and then we have what is supposed to be the ‘headboard’ for the bed.  There was actually cutting and nailing and measuring involved.  There was also a bunch of wind and a few curse words and the need to totally re-evaluate what to do with the headboard.
Once the mattress was in place it was more a game of ‘where’d the headboard go?’ than a relaxing spot to lean back and take in the view.  How happy am I that I didn’t 
waste
 take the time to paint it?!?!  VERY happy.  :)

And speaking of wind, approximately .0011 seconds after each picture I had to re-tuck, fluff and otherwise prep the photo area.  Does this photo seem inappropriate to you?  Put your duvet down!

Yeah, just setting down 4 pallets is definitely not the only part I cut corners.  I put what I like to call a ‘skim coat’ of paint on the end of the pallet AND on the rug.  And, as you saw from the close up of the 
useless
 headboard, I didn’t even bother with the skim coat on the other end of the pallets.
I did, however, try my hand at up-cycling some fabric into envelope closure pillow covers with success.  Yay!!  Score 1 for the good guys.  And, for anyone who is counting, we’re at 5 for the 
bad guys
 roof and pallets.  Sigh.

And, I did a little DIY pillowcase/cover embellishment.
And, I made these cute little candles …
 … and this ‘our beach house’ sign.
Which, (side note), was intended to go across the top of the headboard all cute like until it turned out it would be hidden behind all of the pillows because I made the headboard so flippin’ short!  ACK!!!
I also had visions of a flowing mosquito netting, especially after seeing ‘The Lucky One‘.  Hello this-isn’t-a-Disney-movie Zac Ephron.  But, with the wind, it is just impractical and unnecessary.  Would be uber romantic 
when it’s not blowing up my nose
, but not worth the expense or the effort to hang it from those high rafters.
All-in-all, we are stoked to finally have our version of a pallet bed on our roof.  It has been a long time coming and it will definitely get primped, tweaked and prodded 
again in 2 1/2 years
 over time.  But It. Is. Here!  And We. Will. Use. It!  Hip hip hooray!!

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And, because I am the best bloggy host, ever {say that emphatically, like a valley girl from the 90's} I have rounded up a few of the tutorials included the post so you can better peruse Karah's awesomeness!
You guys will have to stop by Karah's- to find the blog behind the humor that was happening all throughout this fantastic post!  Andknow you want to know where the beer bottle lighting fixture ended up