Update : Platform Bed

So we have assembled the outer frame. Jenn and I had already assembled the 4 Effektiv brand Ikea shelves, but they had no backing, no way of connecting to each other, and I wanted to add lighting to them. 

The backing was a simple idea that took quite a few revisions and backtracking to get together. We saved the long tops from the Ikea boxes and upcycled them into the backings of the shelves.  We took a trip to Joanne's fabrics and hit the remnants bin for 13 inch squares of cast-offs. We found quite a few, and purchased some cute ones in the clearance aisle that we couldn't pass up.

After marking the panels and cutting them out with pinking shears to resist fraying. I taped the cardboard to the shelf and traced the openings with a pen to verify the placement. Then it was just a matter of hot gluing the fabric to the cardboard. We tried to mix up the colors, patterns, and contrast as much as possible to create a patchwork feel. 

Once all four cardboard panels were traced, glued and cooled, we proceeded with attaching them to the shelving. Jenn did the bulk of the stapling with her new staple gun. I came in behind and cut a hole into the far corner of each shelf's backing to pass through the lighting cables.

Attaching the shelves to each other was tricky. The outer frame was far too big to assemble and then move into the bedroom, which means it would be too big to move OUT when we move. So we needed an idea that held the shelves in place and still allowed them to detach easily. I thought of door hinges. I screwed in the hinges at the corners where the shelves met, and then simply removed the pin. 4 hinges for 4 corners. Assembling the hinges was an easy matter of lining up the hinges and lightly hammering the pin back in.


Next was the lighting. I wanted the shelves to be lit. I dunno why, I just thought it would be kind of cool. And if we need something from the shelves after they're filled with...whatever, having installed lighting would be a good thing to have. So I took a trip to the hardware store and bought some round wood boring augers and went to work. I measured the width of the rope lights, grabbed the next largest bit, and drilled through the shelves, one at a time. This produced mixed results. The particle board the shelves are made of had unpredictible responses to the drill bit. Sometimes the drill cut cleanly through. Other times it  raggedly tore the hole open. As you can see in the picture here; clean... clean...ragged as all hell...clean. One of the ends needed to be drilled through as it butted up against the back of the following shelf. The hole was easy to drill here. Too easy. apparently Effektiv shelf ends are hollow.

Here's the rope lighting prior to installation. I think its really cool. Much brighter here than it looks when in the darker shelves, but that's okay.

Next time, we put the whole bed together and see how it goes..