Handcrafted Bed with Custom Joinery

For video, see here.

We have moved many times since we've been together, but no matter where we live, we always ended up sleeping on a mattress on the floor. It's cozy and easy, but now we're too pregnant for that shit. Javi started sketching up ideas for our cama para tres sometime in mid-summer while he was still setting up the workshop in our new house. We knew we wanted something simple, strong, and made of joints. Strong- yes, joints- yes, but the detailssss are anything but simple. It's a real work of art that's been amazing to see come to life. Most days, I sat in my puffy green chair in the corner of his workshop and studied spanish while he worked away, always covered in a flurry of sawdust. I didn't want to miss anything.

It turned out so beautiful and well-crafted, and I am so excited to share the process.

Something I love about it is that, unlike most metalfree beds, this one can be disassembled and reassembled for ease of transportation. That makes a big difference for us considering all the moving. Here are all the pieces together. As you can see, it's easy to pack up and take with you-- no moving van required.

We drove all the way to Bratislava (twice) for this wood. It's just a much better quality than what we could find in Austria, and anyway, we always take an excuse for a road trip.

The pieces of the exterior frame look like this:

He carved the joints by hand, using a chisel, having to be extremely precise so that they fit flush together without any glue or screws, while still being able to disassemble as needed.

A side and aerial view of the conjoined exterior frame pieces (in both photos, the leg piece is also in place):

Once the exterior frame is assembled, we can lay the spine, the central piece for stability:

Because the edges are hand-carved, they each have barely-perceptible differences that bring the system together. One corner of the exterior frame, as well as the pieces for the transversal supports and spine, are marked with a colored dot to signify where they should fit in relation to the other pieces.

These dots were made by drilling a small hole in the wood and filling it with the pigment of a deconstructed colored pencil.

Here, you can see the dots on the transversal pieces, which match the dots on the exterior frame so it is clear which piece goes where:

The transversal pieces, which hold the mattress, fit perfectly into the exterior frame and designed for maximum stability. To do this, Javi created an empty space in the middle of each piece for the spine. Then, the small pieces can be inserted on both sides of each joint to complete the shape. Notice how the angles in all the pieces are designed to optimize weight distribution. This creates an interconnected system where the burden of force is balanced among the entire structure.