A young UK man has made himself a beautiful new bed, with a lovely rustic look, for free by using fallen wood that had washed up in a stream.
Billy Walden, 20, from Bentham, Lancashire, has used his impressive carpentry skills to transform the gnarled river wood into a wholly unique bedframe.
This is just one of the talented carpenter’s stunning projects, as he’s already hit the headlines in 2019 for transforming a boat into a luxury holiday home for his family.
The results of his recent project are noteworthy to say the least:
Billy decided upon the project after taking inspiration from social media, which sparked his desire to create a bedframe from driftwood—wood that had fallen and been washed down a river.
After collecting the wood from a dam in a local stream, it took Billy just 12 hours to complete his project, transforming the loose pieces into a beautifully rustic work of art.
“One day when I was out on a walk, I noticed that a dam kept forming in a river near my home. There were huge pieces of fallen wood collecting in the dam after being washed down the stream,” Billy said.
“I thought that this wood would be perfect to make something out of and it would be something completely different to what I am used to.
“I am used to working with clean-cut boards and finer finished wood, so I wanted to challenge myself to work with chunky and uneven pieces of wood.
“I enjoy messing about with material and it was going to be something different from my day-to-day job.
Billy, who has been described as an environmentalist, says that he is a huge fan of recycling materials, and doesn’t like waste.
“Another reason I was so keen to do this project was because I was going to be able to reuse broken pieces of wood and turn them into something practical,” he added.
“It meant that I wouldn’t have to go out to a shop and buy a brand new bed. I could recycle the materials that I had found for free.”
After deciding to go ahead with the project, Billy returned with his chainsaw to the stream where the driftwood was gathering and dragged it back home.
“One of the most challenging parts of the project was deciding what bits of the wood I would use and which bits were roughly the right shape for the frame of the bed,” Billy said.
“I wanted to ensure the wood was going to give the bed a rustic look and lots of character.”
The finished product seems to capture that feel in all its gnarled, knotty glory.
“It was great working with the driftwood as it is much better quality than the usual wood you buy from hardware shops. It lasts much longer and means the product will be of a much higher quality,” the woodworker added.
“It is also a lot nicer to work with and allowed me to keep up to date with new skills.”
He’s happy with the results, he says, and proud. And he has gotten plenty of requests from people asking for him to make them a bed, too.
