DIY Solid Wood King-Size Platform Bed: Getting Started

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I’ve since finished this project. You can check out the finished product here.

My wife has been shopping for a king-size bed for the last several weeks. When we moved into this house back in February we inherited a king-size mattress, box spring, and frame, but no headboard or footboard, and our prior headboard was sized for a queen-size bed. So she’s had a king-size bed in mind for a while.

On Friday things started to get serious. She texted me a few links to beds she was really interested in. Pretty quickly I realized three things:

  1. I could build a bed in the style she wanted. All the beds she sent me links to were simple, wooden design.
  2. I could build a bed in the style she wanted for about half what it would cost to buy the beds she was looking at.
  3. My plans to work in the yard over the weekend were toast due to the heavy rain in the area all day Friday.

So Friday night we sat down and talked about what she wanted and I sketched out a simple platform style bed I felt I could pull together.

Simple platform design with 4×4 corner posts, 1×4 slats in the headboard and footboard, 1×2 and 1×3 trim, and 2×8 rails.
Slats to be supported by a frame of 2×4’s. Corners reinforced with steel L-brackets.

Next I put together a shopping list and priced the wood and materials using the Home Depot website (the only place locally where I could find 4×4 untreated pine posts in stock).

Lumber and supplies needed for the bed.

Sure enough, all-in I would be in the ~$300 ballpark, which was about half the price of the beds she was looking at. So Saturday morning we headed to the Home Depot and I spent the rest of the weekend working on our new bed.

Left and right rails. The 2×4 goes on the inside as part of the frame that the 1×4 slats lay on top of. The 2×8 rails are fastened to the posts using 3 pocket screws at each end, and will be supported by steel L-brackets.
Slats cut to size and ready to go.
Headboard and footboard. Assembled, sanded, and ready to stain.

I made good progress over the weekend. The construction phase is done. I’ve also sanded the entire bed and applied a wood conditioner. All that’s left to do is one final round of sanding, stain application, two coats of clear satin polyurethane, and it’ll be time to haul it all upstairs and put it all together. I’ll update this post with more pictures as it comes together.

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