Upholstered Bed Frame

 

It has taken me awhile to update this post.  I can't find my notes with all the measurements for the bed frame. I kept thinking they would show up but I have given up. They must have been thrown away...boo! They were pretty precise measurements. I don't want to guess and lead anyone astray, so I won't be including that in this tutorial. Sorry! We made the headboard first and then had to figure out bed frame measurements off our existing headboard which was a bit tricky. With the wing back headboard the bed frame has to fit perfectly between the two arms and also be able to fit your mattress. So, if you did the headboard first but didn't make it wide enough then you might have some problems. If I were to do it again I would probably start with the bed frame and then make the headboard to fit. I didn't realize how tricky it would be to explain how we did this. I apologize in advance if I don't make any sense. :(

 

First off, as you can see in the picture below there is a space between the headboard and the floor. On ours it measures about 12.5 inches. You have to take that space into consideration when building the frame. When the frame is done. It needs to be able to slide into that spot so that the back of the head board and frame are flush. So the legs + the board(2x6) can't exceed that length otherwise the frame won't fit underneath the plywood portion of the headboard.

Width wise you want to making sure the mattress fits inside the frame and that the frame fits perfectly in-between the arms of the headboard. Basically the main part of the headboard(not including the arms) should be the same width as the frame. The way you figure out what that width should be is by measuring your mattress and then adding an extra 2-3 inches on each side. So an extra 4-6 inches total. It's probably safer to go with the 6 inches to make sure your mattress fits inside the frame. The last thing you want is to finish the whole project and then your mattress doesn't fit... You will also want to do the same thing for the length of the bed. Once you have the wood cut, lay it in place to make sure the measurements are perfect. You could even put your mattress down to make sure it will fit. Am I making any sense?? (I'm probably making this harder than it needs to be. lol )

 

 

Drill the wood together. It will need a screw on the top and the bottom to secure it.

 

 

 Then you will add L bracket supports. We added this step for extra support. You will need to leave room for the wood cross-board supports above the L brackets 

 

 

  The wood cross-board supports get screwed in about 2 inches from the top of the frame. Make sure this is level because this is what your mattress will be laying on.

  

  

 Then add a few more supports down the middle.  Make sure they are all leveled with each other.

 

 Now it's upholstery time! Lift the frame up on some chairs. I tripled up the batting. It should be at least 8 inches wider than the wood you are covering so that you have enough to wrap around the wood and staple 

 

 

 

 Start wrapping and stapling. Make sure to keep it as smooth as possible. Don't pull too hard or it might rip. When doing the corners just think wrapping a present.

 

 You don't have to upholster the entire back because it won't be seen, but I would do at least a foot.

 

  

 

 

 After the batting you will do the exact same thing with muslin. This will make the finish product look smooth. If your muslin isn't one continues piece than I would sew it together so that you just have one piece.

 Then do the same thing with your fabric. There are a few different ways to go about this. The first option would be to have one continues piece of fabric that wraps all the way around the bed frame. This will eliminate any seems.  But buying that much fabric can be spendy.

 

The other option is to cut a piece of fabric for the front and two pieces for the sides. You will wrap the sides first and then the front. For the front add 2 feet or more depending on where you want the seem to show when it wraps around the sides. You will center that piece on the front and it will wrap around to the sides. When you get to the end of the fabric fold the ends of the fabric to make a smooth end.  This will be where your seem will show, so you will want the seem to hit at the same spot on both sides of the bed so make sure you center the fabric on the front. ( I don't have a picture of this because I just used one piece of fabric.)

 

Another option would be to sew your fabric together to create one continues piece. You will just want to be aware of where the seems hit.

 

 

 

 

 

With the muslin and fabric you want to pull it as tight as possible so that it will be nice and smooth. When you staple, staple a foot or two on the top then tighten the fabric and staple the bottom and work your way around the bed.  

 

 

 Wrap the corners like you would a present and use LOTS of staples. Staple are your friend. ;)

 

 We bought the unfinished legs at Lowes and stained them espresso.  

 Screw the hardware on to the bed frame

 

 

 Then attach the legs.

 

 

 

 

We added a few extra legs( extra pieces of wood) to the center of the bed for more support.

 

Then lay the wood slates down evenly spaced. We didn't attach these, but you could.  

The last step is to slide the bed frame into place. Then on the back side you will secure the frame to the headboard. We just used extra wood we had laying around and drilled about 5 boards, equally spaced along the back into the frame and then the headboard. (I'm pretty sure I have a picture of this step, I just need to find it.)

 

 

There you have it!  You just made your own bed!!