Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Rustic Homemade DIY Twin Platform Bed


We made this twin bed platform today in about two hours. Using the measurements of the twin bed mattress, we took these to find wood at a big box store. Three 2x12x8 rough pine lumber boards for about $7.00 each worked, and with two feet in length to spare for a shelf. We were going to add sections of one foot tall rough pine posts for the legs, getting the cuts at the store, but I spied some lumber in the trash bin at the end of the lumber aisle. They were thick packing pieces, very roughly cut with a bit of the tree bark still attached. All except one were even cuts of 18 inches. I thought we could work with this, so we chose the free lumber in lieu of the post. We also picked up a small box of drywall screws.


We pieced the bed together, three feet across and eight feet long. The middle support leg(pictured) has not been attached. The power drill ran out of juice, so we'll add middle support legs(double thick) later, probably hidden ones, further under the bed. I had some felt adhesive dots, left over from another project, that I added to the bottom of the legs so that they would not scrape the floors.
This was so inexpensive and easy! I like that we didn't need to do any cuts and got free wood for the legs. This could still have been done inexpensively with the purchase of two thick posts from the lumber section. The big box store would have done the cuts for us free of charge.

This bed would have made a nice couch as well. All it needs is some foam, fabric, cushions, and oversized pillows, or even easier, a twin bed mattress. A back support would be easy to screw into the back.

Add longer legs and you've got a table! I'd add an apron of wood and possibly a trestle for stability though.

It's very sturdy. I sat on this bed while reading a story to my young daughter, and it held nicely. There is plenty of room underneath for storage, or for a little play cave area. It was easy to sweep/vacuum under as well.

7 comments:

Eva said...

This reminds me of Ikea! Maybe you should get a second job there :). Lovely project.

Alexandra said...

Ha, ha, maybe, but I like IKEA a little too much! It's a good thing IKEA is too far away. Thanks, homemade is a lot of fun for us. I love to customize our furniture to suit our needs. This was a good price as well...around $25.00 with the half a box of screws.

Eva said...

Ikea is very popular in Germany, my family has bought a lot there. We also always stopped there for lunch, if we had to go on longer trips as a family. The food is good and cheap for six children plus parents.

Our nearest Ikea store here is in Toronto, Canada! That is really far and we haven't been there often enough.

Alexandra said...

Yes! My favorite dish is the Scandinavian platter with salmon and lingonberries. Ours is about 2 hours away, and now I'm wanting to visit. ;)

Eva said...

2 hours, we have to drive 1 hour to get decent groceries! I think I would go a lot if I lived so close. It's kind of funny, you are much closer to Ikea, but our libraries seem to be better.

Alexandra said...

Yes, they got rid of many of the good old books! I guess our library thinks they are progressive, sigh.

Eva said...

Sometimes it pays off to live in a "backward" area.