Ikea Bed Hack (RYKENE)

I bought this bed frame a few years ago. Since then, I have always wanted to alter the bed to make it stronger and a little more sophisticated. 


The revisions that I have made: 

   - Increased the height to approximately 20" from the top of the mattress to the floor
   - Upholstered the headboard
   - Painted the unfinished frame
   - Added a custom made removable bed skirt  

Level of Difficulty 
 
I found this project to be very rewarding as it involves a few skills; Woodworking and sewing mainly. I have never really upholstered anything before, so it was very fun to work with new materials and experience new challenges. If i had to give this a rating, I would give it  a 7 out of 10. That might drop a bit if you sew frequently and have a similar level of woodworking knowledge. 
 
Cost

The total cost of the project is approximately $200 (not including the mattress)


Recommendation

I strongly recommend that you take on this project if you already have a RYKENE bed and you want to make it look a little more grown-up.

Warnings: 

Please read and understand the owner's/safety manual of all your tools before using them. Some guards and safety devices were removed for the making of this instructable, I DO NOT recommend you remove any safety devices or guides from your tools. Safety comes first. Never put yourself in danger.

 
Note:  I believe that this bed was previously named DALSELV

Step 1: Materials

- RYKENE Bed Frame from IKEA - [1 piece] $129 Current Canadian price
- 2"x4"x8' pine - [1 piece] $10 approx.
- 2.5" #8 screws - [12 pieces] $0.50
- Utility Shelf Brackets (3"x5" approx)  [4 pieces] $2/each approx.
- Black Paint and Primer in One [less than 1 quart]
- Fabric for the skirt - $6 [3 meters]
- Fabric for the headboard - $8 [1.5 meters]
- 1/2" velcro, black - $15 [5 meters]
- Foam mattress pad, full/double size -$15  [1 piece] *thanks to jessandstavro for this tip
- Flat Bed Sheet - [1 piece]  $8 I used this to cover the back of the headboard, 
- Thread
- Chalk (Fabric Chalk is best, but I didn't have any and was able to do with regular chalk) 

Comments

[newroger]

essa e a ideia!!! muito bom....

[Ride_forth!]

This is fantastic, I actually bought the DALSELV (which you are correct is the previous name of this bed) and after a year of use I upholstered the headboard like you did because I couldn't stand leaning against it. Might use this to make it taller though, because that would definitely be nice too.

[luch]

Great! Hope to see the pics if you ever decide to do it!

[Penolopy Bulnick]

I love Ikea hacks! Awesome job!

[luch]

Thanks!

[jessyratfink]

It looks so good now - great job. :D

[luch]

Thanks!

[PKM]

I've had a RYKENE bed for a couple of months now and it drives me nuts not having a proper headboard.  I can live with the height, and the odd gunmetal-grey-pine-grain look of the frame, but if I get a chance I'm definitely giving it a proper headboard.

On the topic of painted wood, the paint didn't cover the wood grain because if you put paint straight onto wood, it tends to soak in, giving an effect more like dying than painting.  If you want to avoid this you should use a primer, which gives an impermeable surface to the wood that your finish paint can sit on top of and not soak into the grain.

[luch]

Primer totally makes sense and should definitely be used if you want a 100% solid colour. I guess the paint and primer in one that I used just isn't as good as the old fashioned way of priming first and then painting.

Thanks for sharing your primer tip!