How to Make a Canopy Bed With a Wooden Dowel
Many little girls dream of canopy beds for their bedrooms. But a full-blown four-poster can be an expensive piece of furniture, beyond the means of many families. Still, with a little imagination, you can create the effect of a romantic canopy for your princess without spending a bundle. You can even make an elegant or sophisticated version for your own bedroom. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Wood dowels, at least ½-inch diameter
- Ceiling hooks
- Drill
- Screw eyes
- Fabric
Instructions
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Decide how you want your canopy to hang over the bed. For a twin-sized bed, you can create a simple tented canopy with a single dowel centered crosswise above the bed. For any size bed, you can use two or three parallel dowels to provide a more structured canopy over the full length of the bed or just the head.
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Drill holes in the ceiling and insert ceiling hooks from which to suspend the dowels (two hooks per dowel). Position one dowel along each lengthwise edge of the bed, with a third one over the center if you want more support for the canopy. Alternatively, for a half-canopy, position one dowel at the head of the bed, close to the wall, and a second one some distance out from the wall. For a full canopy, center the second dowel and place a third one over the foot of the bed. (You can use more dowels, evenly spaced along the length of the bed, for an even more structured effect.) All dowels should hang parallel to each other.
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Suspend the dowels from the ceiling hooks. You can use any of several methods for this. Attach screw eyes to the ends of the dowels and use lengths of chain to hang them at the height you want. With or without screw eyes, you can use equal lengths of monofilament (fishline), which won't show, or sturdy ribbon, for a touch of color or a pretty bow.
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Hang fabric over the dowels, allowing it to drape gracefully between dowels, or keeping it fairly straight, for a tailored look.
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Tips & Warnings
Paint or stain the dowels first to complement your décor.
Screw finials on the ends of the dowels for a more finished look.
Instead of draping fabric, sew rod-pockets along the bottom edge of sheets that complement your color scheme and slide them onto the dowels before you hang them.
Experiment with tie-backs and layers of fabric.
Try to drill into a beam to mount the ceiling hooks; otherwise, be careful not to overload each dowel with many layers of heavy fabric.
