| Project by Alan | posted 589 days ago | 1166 views | 7 times favorited | 20 comments |  |
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This was definitely one of the more challenging projects I’ve done. It was a commission. The client had seen an Art Deco bed (an original from the late 20’s) on a web site and wanted something similar. I took a few elements from the original and worked them into my design- sort of a basic DNA thing.
All the curved veneered elements were vacuum pressed over forms. The tops of the nightstands were shaped using 1/4” MDF patterns and a pattern cutting bit. The curved top of the headboard is solid maple. I found a bowed board at the lumberyard (imagine that!) and clamped it for several weeks on a form to make the bowing more pronounced. It’s a shallow bend, so lots of clamps and glue did the job. Wood’s pretty flexible, after all.
The nightstands and attatched backs are connected to the headboard with bed hardware. The footboard houses a TV lift. That was one of the trickiest parts of the whole thing. Getting the lift to fit right and have access to it with a removable cover took a while to figure out. Needless to say, when it all worked okay, I was much releived.
Installation took several hours because of all the parts involved. Fortunately. the bed itself fit inside the frame the way it was supposed to.
All in all, a very satisfying but nervewracking project. Lots of flop sweat going on.
You can see more photos of the bed on my website- alancarterstudio.com. Click on Portfolio, then Bedroom Furniture, then Custom Deco Bed.
-- Alan Carter, www.alancarterstudio.com
20 comments so far
Jimboe
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81 posts in 646 days
posted 589 days ago
Wow …beautiful …love the view too
trifern
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7894 posts in 663 days
posted 589 days ago
Extremely cool.
-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.
acanthuscarver
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157 posts in 608 days
posted 589 days ago
Another great project! I love the choice of figured veneers.
-- Chuck Bender, period furniture maker, www.acanthus.com
GaryK
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9533 posts in 884 days
posted 589 days ago
Great bed. The TV lift is great also.
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
Scott Bryan
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20707 posts in 718 days
posted 589 days ago
Alan,
This is a beautiful bed and I love the lift. The veneers are absolutely gorgeous.
I can well understand how challenging this project was. You certainly earned your commission on this one.
Thanks for the post. I really appreciated seeing this one.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
DAN
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6446 posts in 879 days
posted 589 days ago
another cool piece of work. makes me wants me to change-over to the deco style.
-- work from your heart and your spirit will live forever
grovemadman
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558 posts in 668 days
posted 589 days ago
Mighty fine job, the hidden TV is pretty slick!
-- --Chuck
cajunpen
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5968 posts in 962 days
posted 589 days ago
Great looking bed. I’m with everyone else with the TV lift. Bet they get up at first light each morning :-))
-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/
Thos. Angle
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4013 posts in 858 days
posted 588 days ago
Great project. Well done and an exciting finish. I doubt I would want the TV with what appears to be a great landscape out the window. Excellent!!
-- Thos. Angle
Mario
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882 posts in 947 days
posted 588 days ago
Great looking design. Beautiful look peice
Thanks for posting.
-- Hope Never fails
unknownwoodworker
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218 posts in 599 days
posted 588 days ago
W O W ! ! !
-- ??? My mistakes heat the house. It's very warm in here. ???
motthunter
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2079 posts in 695 days
posted 588 days ago
how cool. great sense of design
-- making sawdust....
Douglas Bordner
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3424 posts in 960 days
posted 588 days ago
You do some really high end work there. Great art.
-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.
JasonK
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49 posts in 691 days
posted 588 days ago
Alan,
This may well be one of the finest pieces of furniture I’ve seen on this site. Beautiful! I love your style of furniture.
-- Measure once; Cut Twice, Three Times, Four Times...
odie
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1602 posts in 736 days
posted 588 days ago
What a gorgeous piece of furniture … Nice Work !
-- Odie, Confucius say, "He who laughs at one's self is BUTT of joke". http://woodstermangotwood.blogspot.com/ (my funny blog)
Chris Davis
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556 posts in 878 days
posted 588 days ago
That is awsome. I’ve been looking for a reason to build a TV lift style cabinet. They are too expensive to do one form myself. Great work.
-- Watch live video from our shop. http://wwbeds.com/live.htm
Alan
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44 posts in 813 days
posted 588 days ago
Thanks, everyone. My ego just exploded! The TV lift mechanism is expensive. The cheapest one I could find was on Rockler’s website. I think Woodcraft carries them also. The one I used was around $1500.00 but some I saw on the web were $3-4000.00. It was an indulgence on the part of the clients. I had suggested it because I thought it would be a cool thing and they went for it. It seemed to me when it was all done, though, that the TV would be awfully close- maybe 6’ or so away. They liked it, though, so alls well…..
-- Alan Carter, www.alancarterstudio.com
woodgrain411
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139 posts in 749 days
posted 588 days ago
this is textbook master craftsmenship awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-- I love this site !
Nick Solimine
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38 posts in 627 days
posted 512 days ago
All i can say is i am jealouse. I hope one day i can come close to this kind of craftsmanship
-- Nick , North Carolina
DanM
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88 posts in 605 days
posted 512 days ago
Looks like a piece from a 1930’s movie set. Simply stunning
Dan