Supersize your bed

I wanted to share this project with you, especially since many of us are interested in low cost home decor. This falls into the "change what you have to make it work for you" category.

This is our guest bed. Sorry, Martha, I didn't adjust, iron and fluff very well before the picture. It's a queen-sized bed, but it didn't start out that way.

A long, long time ago, Mom and Dad bought this full-sized brass bed. Then shortly after Randy and I got married (a long time ago), Mom gave it to us. It was perfect and I loved it, except that we preferred a queen-sized bed.

Well, the rails were L-shaped, and the mattress sat on the bottom of both Ls (make an L with your left hand and a backwards L with your right hand using your index fingers and thumbs). If I lengthened the rails and flipped them over, the larger queen mattress could sit on top of the upside-down Ls (turn your finger Ls upside down). So, I looked in the yellow pages under "welding" and found the closest shop. I took my basic L shaped bed rails to the shop with instructions for lengthening and voila! They cut my rails and inserted matching pieces, then joined it all back together. Much, much cheaper than buying a bed!

I use wooden slats for additional support, and flipped the rails so that they rest on the inside of the headboard hardware, instead of outside (the previous position). This modification raise the mattress several inches, but not to an uncomfortable height.

Next project, finding a larger covering for this bed.