Question from Annette Tweedel
Hi Debra, We are considering purchasing a mattress from Shepherd’s Dream and my husband wants to build the bed frame himself instead of purchasing that from Shepherds Dream. The lady did mail my husband instructions on how to build the bed frame with slats.
Now Shepherds Dream uses Tung Oil finish. What would you recommend as a safe finish? And what brand?
And, also, if you don’t mind, for the slats, they use latex, what else can be used that would be less expensive and non-toxic, because I cannot handle any odors. Thank you so very much for your time.
Debra’s Answer
I have a number of nontoxic wood finishes listed at Debra’s List: Interior Decorating: Wood Finish. This subject of wood finish has come up before and every time, if I recommend one, someone writes in and says they like another one better.
Of the brands on Debra’s LIst, I personally have used Vermont Natural Coatings, which is my current favorite, and the Varathane Diamond FInish, which I used for many years.
Lots of my readers like AFM finishes, and others can’t tolerate them at all.
So…the “best” one for you is the one you like.
For many years I slept on wood slats with no padding, and that is traditional. I do have their latex slat pads and have to say it is more comfortable, but I had to let them air out for many weeks before I could sleep on them. I suppose you could wrap the slats with cotton or wool batting, but they wouldn’t cushion as well as the latex. Or you could wrap the latex pads with aluminum tape or something else that would block the odor.
