I have to say that people in polyamorous relationships don't have it easy when it comes to buying things. There are no tables for three in restaurants, or holiday deals for a family of four adults. And one problem always comes up - all beds that are on the market are for either one or two people. There are no more-some beds, that's it. So, I decided to build one.

The bed ended up 2m deep and 2.7m wide, comfortably sleeping four people. It is also modular - if I move to a place which won't be big enough to hold it, only one part can be used, leaving me with a 2x1.8m king size bed which is still quite ok for 3 people. Those sizes are determined by the sizes of mattresses available on the market, and can be reduced if instead of a king size mattress you want to go for a queen or double.

Additionally, the bed has a couple tweaks to suit our kinky lifestyle. One major one - it serves as a support for my bondage suspension frame, visible in the pictures. Of course, the bed can be made without such extra features in mind.

Step 1: Materials and Tools

Wood (S stands for on the single mattress side, KS on the king size side):

5x 2060 x 44 x 44 (posters)
1x 2060 x 70 x 70 (frame support poster)
2x    220 x 120 x 20 (KS support boards)
2x 1952 x 120 x 20 (bottom sides)
2x    1952 x 20 x 20 (bottom side support)
1x 2000 x 120 x 20 (bottom inside KS)
1x 1946 x 120 x 20 (bottom inside KS-S)
1x    1970 x 120 x 20 (bottom inside KS-S 2)
1x    1726 x 120 x 20 (bottom front KS)
1x 1732 x 120 x 20 (bottom back KS)
1x 860 x 120 x 20 (bottom front S)
1x 880 x 120 x 20 (bottom back S)
2x 1952 x 100 x 12 (top sides)
1x 1946 x 100 x 12 (top inside KS-S)
1x 1726 x 100 x 12 (top front KS)
1x 1732 x 100 x 12 (top back KS)
1x 860 x 100 x 12 (top front S)
1x 880 x 100 x 12 (top back S)
18x 1800 x 40 x 8 (mattress support KS)
18x 900 x 40 x 8 (mattress support KS)

If you are going to put the bed to some heavy testing (more than 6 people in it, especially if they are having sex), I recommend getting several additional 220x120x20 boards to use as additional support for the bottom side boards and 140x120x20 for the bottom inside boards.

Metals:

c. 40x    100 x 5 (for most boards and poles)
c. 100x 20 x 3 (for mattress support boards and attaching the central support in KS)
4x 60 x 6 bolts with nuts (for attaching the S extension)
4x 70 x 70 corner braces (for attaching the central support in KS)
4x 50 flat braces (for attaching the central support in KS)

Fabric:

4x king size duvet covers, or any fabric which will cover the surface of twice 2x2.7m, twice 2x2m for the sides (allow some extra fabric for the ruffles) and one 3x2.3m for the canopy.

Wood stain and varnish (about 1l each)

Tools:

Power Drill
Files and sanding paper
If you will get all the wood cut to size in the shop, you won't need a saw, but I guess it's always good to have one in case anything needs adjusting.

Step 2: Plans

The pictures show how the whole thing works. The first picture shows a view from above, the second is the front, the third is the back, fourth is side. Green is vertical, blue is horizontal, brown is underneath something. Should be fairly self-explanatory.

Step 3:

First, join the bottom sides and bottom side support boards. The sides will be above the mattress level, and the support boards are required so that you can add the thin boards which will hold the mattress. The picture show how to do that.

Step 4: Drilling

Next drill all the required holes in all boards. The picture shows what will be needed where best, but here's how it goes:

Each corner vertical pole should have 8 holes - 4 at the bottom, 2 for the front or back boards, 2 for the side boards, and 4 at the top, 2 for the front/back and 2 for sides.

The middle poles should have 10 holes each - 5 at the bottom, 2 for the inside KS-S boards, 2 for the KS boards and 1 for the S boards; and 5 at the top, parallel. The holes for the S boards should be exactly in between the holes for the KS - I'll explain why soon.

All the boards should have holes drilled at the ends so that they will fit their place with the poles. Best mark all the boards and poles somehow so that later you're not confused which element goes where.

Step 5: Paint

After all the holes are drilled, paint and varnish everything. This way you'll have it all done while it's still all in pieces, and you won't break the pieces any more by drilling in them again.

Step 6: Preparing the Middle Support Board

The next thing to put together is the support which will come in the middle of the king size mattress (what is called 'KS support boards' and 'bottom inside KS' on the list). To do this, use the metal corner braces to attach the small boards to the ends of the long board in such a way that the ending of the long one sticks out around 2cm above the short ones. It's much easier to show on the picture.

Step 7:

Now join all the posters with all the side and middle boards, leaving out the front and back for now. Make sure you screw things well together - after that's done, the elements may wobble a bit to the side, but should feel rather sturdy otherwise. You will end up with two side 'walls' and the middle 'wall'.

The first picture shows how every one of those should be done, the second - how it all should look when ready.

If you think you will need the extra support boards which will make the bed safer for more people jumping around it, now is the time to attach them. I didn't do it at first, but then painfully discovered that I should have. I added the boards later, so they don't show in the pictures, but I mark where to add them.Att

Step 8: Putting It All Together

Finally, join everything together. It is important now to do it in the following order:

First, put in all the screws in all the holes and drill them in so that they almost come out from the other side. It's easier to do that now than when you have to hold a board in your other hand.

Then call someone to help you hold the boards while you're attaching them. Makes things much easier.

Now for the joining - here's the steps:

1. Place the KS side next to a wall where it's going to stand (allowing enough space from the wall for the use of the drill, and put the KS support board you put together in step 5 where it's going to stand in the end.

2. Place the bottom front and back boards on the KS support boards and close to the side 'wall', and attach them to the side.

3. Use the remaining two corner braces to attach the bottom inside KS board with the bottom front and back boards, and use the flat braces to attach the KS support boards to the front and back boards. The whole should stand straight on its own now.

4. Ask someone to hold the top front and back KS boards and attach them to the KS side 'wall'. They should hold in place when attached, shouldn't need any holding.

5. Take the middle 'wall' and attach the S bottom front and back boards to it. Here's the main twist - you attach those boards to the poles using only one screw, which should come exactly in between the screws which will be used to attach the KS bottom front and back boards (see picture in step 4). If you attached it in place straight away, it would cover the holes for the other screws, but attaching it with only one screw allows to twist it - when you attach the bottom S boards, twist them to uncover the holes for the screws which will join the middle 'wall' to the KS boards.

6. Repeat the same with the top S front and back boards.

7. Now attach the middle 'wall' to all four KS boards.

8. Twist the front and back S boards back in place.

9. Attach them to the S side wall.

10. Attach the bottom inside KS-S 2 board to the bottom inside KS-S board using the bolts with nuts. The idea is to simply have the two next to each other so that one provides support for the KS mattress support boards, and the other to the S mattress support boards.

11. Take all the mattress support boards and attach them to the bottom side and inside support boards in even distances.

If you screwed everything in properly, the resulting construction should be very sturdy, and look as on the picture.