This article is part of The GOOD (and ReadyMade) Guide to Slowing Down, from GOOD Issue 18. Read more of the guide here.Travelers to the coastal resorts of Mexico-Tulum, say-might have already experienced the world's single best piece of furniture. Consisting of a mattress supported on a wooden platform swinging gently from four lengths of rope, a Mexican swing bed looks like the product of an illicit bed-hammock union, and there's no better place to spend an afternoon. Because luxurious beach vacations don't happen every day, we taught ourselves how to get the swing bed, without the Mexico. This should give you an idea of how to get your bed together.The Steps1. Procure a mattress. We recommend a full.2. Cover the mattress completely in waterproof fabric. Fix the seams with waterproof tape.3. Construct a platform of two-by-fours to support the mattress. Use sturdy bolts as fasteners.4. Tie a length of strong rope around each corner of your platform.5a. To suspend your glider from an existing structure (such as the ceiling of a porch), fasten four large eye hooks to sturdy areas of your structure. Tie the other ends of the rope to them, hanging your platform at the desired height. Set the mattress on the platform, hop on, and unwind.5b. To make a freestanding glider, you need to build supports. This means digging holes and pouring concrete to anchor four sturdy vertical beams (which should be at least eight feet tall). Cut a notch in the top of each vertical beam big enough to seat two additional beams to run parallel to each other, from the head to the foot of your mattress platform. Once the vertical beams are in place, bolt the upper beams to them. Tie the other ends of the rope on your platform to the upper beams, suspending the mattress platform at the desired height. Use bamboo or tiki-hut thatch to build a shade-providing ceiling, if you like. Put the mattress in place, and then jump up there and take a load off.6. Close your eyes and picture an undulating shoreline of white sand with tiny, cerulean waves...Our Good Guide to Slowing Down was a unique collaboration with our friends at ReadyMade magazine. Check out their good work at ReadyMade.com, and follow them on Twitter at @ReadyMadeTweets.Illustration by Tim Lahan
Share on Facebook
