Knocked Off: Restoration Hardware Durant Twin Bed for $180

Update: Find the plans HERE

One aspect of my early childhood that I look back fondly on is sharing a room with my big sister. We didn’t “officially” share one, but we slept in the same bed until I was 10. Now that Charlie will be three (THREE!) next week, and Caroline is edging closer to one every day, I decided it was high time to trade in the Pioneer Bed I built a few years ago and build matching beds for the girls’ shared bedroom.

I fell in love with Restoration Hardware’s Durant twin bed the moment I saw it. It was so lovely! The hardware, the doors, the storage! It was perfect. But the $1499 price tag wasn’t, nor was the fact that it was discontinued. So I did what any builder would do, I asked my DIY guru Ana White to help me with plans! And wow, did she deliver. I requested a couple of style changes: that the bed sit on the floor (that tiny gap looks like every parent’s nightmare of lost toys and dust and snacks) and that the overall height be under 13″ so that the bed with a standard mattress would fit under the windowsill.

They fit perfectly in the room! Plus it only took one day to build, sand, stain, and install each bed, so I was able to finish both in one weekend.

I want to take a second to talk about this fabulous stain. It’s Golden Oak by Minwax, and isn’t it just glorious? I’ve used it before, on my Tidy Up Coffee Table, and I’ve missed the rich warmth ever since. I love that it only took me one pass to get the color I wanted, without being streaky or too grainy. I used half a can on both beds, and am dreaming up new projects so I can finish it off!

Each bed offers loads of storage. I decided to go ahead and put doors on both sides, so I can have the option to move the beds around (or even move one back into the other room, should sharing not work out) and still have them look fantastic. The bed is divided down both centers, so each cubby has two doors so I can store some longer items.

Can we talk about this amazing hardware for a second? When we were originally planning the bed, I scoured the internet for hours and hours trying to find hinges and a latch that could accommodate a full 3/4″ overlay door. The largest I found was a half inch, unless I was looking at $200 EACH refrigerator hardware. Um…yeah…now I guess I see why the bed was $1500, it was mostly in hardware costs! Ouch. So we changed up the plan to feature inset doors, and I found the best hardware ever. D. Lawless carries these reproduction Hoosier Ice Box style hinge and latch sets. They have a 3/8″ offset which made it look almost exactly like my inspiration! The doors pop out just a bit away from the frame. I also love the thickness of the hardware, it feels very solid and durable. Plus the interesting design takes what could be just another cubby bed and makes it into something fabulous. I purchased four left hand and four right hand 4 piece sets for their sale price of $10 each, which is a total steal in my opinion! I could spend that on plain old normal hinges and latches at any hardware store, so scoring these beauties for the same price really got me pumped up.

Since we needed to remove the nightstand to preserve full door functionality, we installed a plug-in adjustable wall sconce for each bed. It keeps that industrial vibe going up on the wall.

For the wall storage, we made a shelf using a scrap 2×8 and some metal flashing and followed Ana’s tutorial over on HGTV.com to wrap it around, and added some sheet metal screws for aesthetics.

Both my girls LOVE their new beds! Even our ten month old can open and close the doors to hide things inside.

The plans for these beds should be up on Ana-White.com very soon! I hope to see a whole lot of them up in the brag boards soon

Disclaimer: Minwax stain was provided by the company free of charge. Having been a Minwax fan for years, I’m proud to endorse it!