This tutorial is to show you how to make a really simple and nice looking bed frame. Perfect for Attic Flat or to update your palette bed. It cost me about 50euros to make, but if you can find some old beams it will be a lot cheaper. Thats the only thing that was expensive. Personally I would of preferred old ones because I think they look better and its a good way to keep your life style more ecofriendly but sadly I just moved to Germany and have no idea who to ask or where to look. Anyways the result is pretty classy so its all good.

Also see matching Vanity

For this you will need:

4 Beams

Sanding paper (Or you can buy pre-sanded beams) i

Wood Dye/Varnish or Paint (Optional)

Sponges/Rags or Paint Brush

Screws

Screw Driver or Drill

4 to 8 flat brackets (depending on their size)

4 L Shaped brackets

Palettes

Saw

Hammer & Hammer Nail

Step 1: MAKE a PLAN

So this is pretty important to make sure your bed is the right size.

You can make it what ever size you want. Leaving a little bit of space between the mattress and the frame will make it a lot easier to make the bed and place the mattress in the frame. You also need to know the size of the beams you're gonna use.

So My mattress is 160cm by 200cm. So I decided to leave 5cm on each side like mentioned above. (Now that I have finished the bed though I realize that the 5cm at the top of the bed wasn't necessary and that it would actually look better without the space)

The inside of the bed frame is then 170cm by 210cm.

The beams are 7.8cm by 7.8cm. That means that the outside of the bed frame will be 185.6cm (170 + 7.8x2) by 225.6cm (210 + 7.8x2). Like you can see on the second image I decided to put each beam going to one corner. This means that my two shorter beams are 177.8cm and the two longer ones are 217.8cm (basically just add the whit of the beam to the length of inside frame)

You can use this for any size mattress.

Step 2: GET YOUR BEAMS

Get your 4 beams (I know theres only 2 on the picture but I had 4 in total).

I got the beams at my local hardware shop. They also offered to cut them the size you needed there which saved me a lot of arm aches and blisters.

I got the un sanded beams because I wanted to keep the ''wood feel'' for the look. They did offer perfectly sanded ones. If you get these skip the next step.

Step 3: SANDING TIME

This is by far the worst part. Here is where you can play with the texture of the wood which will have a big impact on the final look. Be creative, you can carve shapes and details in the wood if you fancy.

As you can see on the second image, I don't own a sanding block. Therefore I took a little Tupperware and fixed the sand paper on each side with the lid. It did the job.. I still recommend an actual sanding block.

I didn't want it perfectly sanded, I like the holes and cracks of the wood. So as you can see on the last to imagines I only removed the "hairs" of the wood. They get in the way when dying the wood.

Make sure to wipe down the wood with a damp cloth to get rid of the sanding dust.

Step 4: DYING THE WOOD

First choose the color of Dye/Paint or Varnish you want. I chose the brownish dye to keep the wood feel. But take something that will suit your taste and room.

I used a sponge to apply the dye to avoid brush strokes.

Apply thin layers always following the grain of the wood. Be careful on the edges, wipe up dribbles as fast as possible or you might see them later on.

Color the ends of the beams too.

Always remember that many thin layers look a lot better and even then tin ones. Add layers until satisfied with color.

The last pictures are my finished beams.

Step 5: ASSEMBLING THE FRAME

Here is where you need the screws and brackets. You can use a Screw driver but I recommend an electric one. Beams are very sturdy.

You can screw them together what ever way you like, but this technique makes for "invisible fixing".

First of all put your beams upside down. Consider which side of the beams will be visible when the frame is finished.

I had tine flat brackets so I used two for the bottom. Make sure your beams are straight when fixing them.

For extra hold I fixed an L shaped brackets on the inside corner of the frame.

When you've secured all four corners, flip the frame over.

Step 6: PALETTE TIME

When you are chosing your pallets, make sure they are safe to use. Pallets can be treated with very harmful chemicals and therefore aren't always good for DYI project. This is espcially important if you are using them for a bed project like this where you will be in close proxemity with the possibly toxic wood. Find out what the codes are for the pallets in your country first. Look for HEAT TREATED (HT) pallets. Here is a link with some useful info: Pallet Safety

Pallets main use in this project is to protect the mattress. Leaving it directly on the floor will trap moister and dust and it can go moldy. You can use alternative things to keep the mattress just off the floor but the palettes were the easiest for me.

So all you need to do is get a few palettes and take the legs off them. Use a hammer and a Hammering NAil (see image 3, if you look at the third image you will understand why I do not recommend using a screw driver) or a crowbar. Make sure to keep the two top layers of wood together.

The nails will be sticking out but you can cut does off with good pliers. (see image 5)

Wash the palettes with a bit of soapy water.

Once thats done measure your palettes and saw them down if needed and put them together to get "one" giant palette the size of the inside of the frame.

Place inside the frame. Put the mattress on top and make your bed.

VOILA! Your classy ass bed is done.