DIY Grandpa Creates Incredible Castle Princess Bed For Just £800
- George Mee, 67, was asked if he could use his DIY skills to create a bed for his granddaughter
- Using MDF, IKEA Kallax towers and glitter paint, the amazing bed came to life
- The project ended up costing £800 - half the cost of similar beds online
If you’ve ever spotted a piece of furniture that you love online and wished you could recreate it for half the price, take inspiration from this dedicated grandfather.
George Mee, 67, a retired Royal Navy chef from Reading, was determined to make his granddaughter a beautiful castle bed.
Using his DIY skills, he pulled together the princess bed of dreams for half the price of those he had previously spotted online.
George told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: "We wanted a princess castle bed for my granddaughter Izzy, four, as this was her first step up from a toddler bed.
"We looked at castle beds, but couldn't find one we liked.
“The guys that were doing them provided them ready-made and I'm sure with a neater finish than ours, but they cost around £1500 to £2000.
“These came flat-packed and unpainted, so it was a lot of money for a very unfinished product, one that wouldn't be made to our specifications or room size.
"The ones we found also stopped doing them with a slide as this meant they were classed as a toy so were subject to more regulations.
“My son asked me if I thought we could make it ourselves. He sent me a design on paper and explained we were going to buy a mid-sleeper bed with a slide and use IKEA Kallax towers and build around it.
“My son asked me if I would like to help as I was going for a visit that weekend.
“The bed is made from the base bed, Kallax towers and MDF. The wardrobe at the end my son already had.
“The slide we were adamant about having, she's used about four times!
“The cost, not including the wardrobe we had, was between £800 and £1000 but that includes the paint and the paint for the walls.
“The painting was a very long process with several coats and sanding between each coat and on the final glitter paint layers, the paint had to be buffed to get the glitter to shine through.”
George, Izzy and the rest of the family were absolutely delighted with how the project turned out and are thrilled they created something bespoke rather than buying something double the price and unfinished online.
"We all love the bed, feel very proud of our achievement and ultimately love the fact it was done as a family affair,” George adds.
“My main tips would be that you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it.
“I’d also say that using a jigsaw works great for creating doors and wavy lines.
"The brick effect is really effective - this is just square and oblong shapes cut randomly, carefree and not straight, then sanded to create a brick effect.
“I’d also say that B&Q are great and will cut your sheets to size, so plan ahead and you can get a lot of your cuts done by their industrial machine.
"IKEA Kallax make great wardrobe - you can make your own doors from the cutout, but they will require lots of sanding.
"The palace turret toppers are light shades from B&M!
“I have no carpentry experience or background, but I always feel at home tinkering in my workshop and for the last few years I have discovered a talent making small projects from MDF.
“Working under the fun title of G&T’s Emporium on Facebook, I’ve done everything from small projects helping neighbours and making display units and props for small event hire companies to this princess castle bed for my granddaughter.
"When my son asked if I thought this project was possible and if I would help, I was only too happy to drive a 500-mile round trip that weekend to make it a reality!”
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “Izzy is super lucky to have such a dedicated and hands-on grandfather!
“George has created the castle princess bed of dreams - and best of all, it’s entirely bespoke for Izzy, and at half the cost of similar products online!
“If you’re trying to build something similar, inspire yourself on Pinterest and watch YouTube tutorials - even if you’re not a DIY pro, we all have to start somewhere."
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