It's a jumping-horse bed

Sunset, March, 1987

It's a jumping-horse bed

Counting sheep may be the norm in mostbeds, but this one's designed to conjure up visions of high-leaping horses. The ends of the bed resemble the official fences used in equestrian jumping competitions, complete with 4-by-4 posts, adjustable brackets, and octagonal rails.

The concept came from horse-ownerJeanette Derammelaere of Novato, California, who asked Dan Swofford of West Coast Jumps, Sebastopol, to make a queen-size bed incorporating the abbreviated fences.

Posts are 48-inch-high bevel-topped 4-by-4swith holes drilled through at 3-inch intervals to receive the removable pins that hold the metal brackets, or hunter-jumper cups, in place. Connecting the 4-by-4s, 2-by-8s bolted to the posts serve as a frame for the 60- by 80-inch box spring and mattress; for additional support, Mr. Swofford nailed 1-by-2 ledgers and 1-by-4 crosspieces to the inside of the 2-by-8 frame.

The 55 1/2-inch-long octagonal crossbars(three at the head, two at the foot) were made from 4-by-4s with corners ripped on a table saw with the blade at a 45| angle. Bright blue and green bands on the crossbars contrast with the white bed frame.

Photo: Bold banding on parallel crossbars adds color. To make a sturdier headboard, bars could be screwed to brackets

Photo: Removable pins run through holes,let owners move brackets up and down