Affiliate links to some of the integral products I used:
• Assorted Dominos – https://amzn.to/2jqm2Nj
• Titebond CA Glue Medium – https://goo.gl/X3afqX
• Titebond II https://amzn.to/2nejeTr
• Incra Miter Gauge 1000HD https://amzn.to/2kzprcj
My Typical Consumable supplies https://www.amazon.com/shop/influencer20170928266
I’ve been wanting to build a custom platform bed for a while now, and I finally got around to it this week. The design I settled on features a walnut frame, floating shelves, integrated reading lights, and a cozy sheepskin headboard.
Starting with the Headboard Frame
The headboard frame was going to have mitered corners, which meant I needed to be extra careful with my prep work. Nothing’s more frustrating than miters that don’t close up tight, so I took my time here.
I started by ripping my rough walnut stock a little wider than I actually needed. Why? Because sometimes there’s tension in the wood that causes it to warp once you cut into it. By leaving myself some wiggle room, I could correct any issues at the jointer and planer without running short on material.
Once everything was squared up, I set up a feather board at the table saw. This helped keep the wood tight against the fence while I ripped it to final width. Then it was time to cut those miters. Since the pieces were pretty long, I clamped them to the miter gauge to prevent any wobbling during the cut – wobbling is the enemy of clean miters.
After cutting all four pieces, I did a test fit to make sure the corners lined up perfectly. Once I was happy with the fit, I used CA glue to attach some pine clamping blocks. These gave me something solid to clamp against when it came time for glue-up.
For extra strength, I added a domino joint in each corner and used slow-setting epoxy for the glue-up. The slow-setting epoxy was key here – it gave me plenty of time to finesse each joint and make sure everything was perfect.
Adding the Mattress Support Rail
While the frame was drying, I moved on to the bedrail that would sit under the headboard. This is what the mattress supports would eventually attach to. Since it would be hidden under the mattress, I used alder instead of walnut – no point spending money on expensive wood that nobody’s going to see. Before fabrication, I made sure I knew the size of the mattress I needed.
I cut the piece to length, milled it flat and square at the jointer, then cut it to the final width at the table saw. After centering it on the bottom of the walnut frame, I clamped it temporarily in place and marked out for some dominos. These would add strength and keep everything aligned during glue-up.
Then it was just a matter of gluing in the dominos, spreading glue on the rail, and clamping it all together.
To beef up the frame and add some visual interest, I added a walnut filler strip where the mattress and lower shelf would start. Again, I used dominos to keep it aligned during glue-up. I also used parallel clamps long enough to catch the top rail of the headboard frame, which helped keep everything in the same plane.
At this point, the headboard was almost done – I’d come back later for the shelves and sheepskin.
Building the Mattress Support Frame
Next up was the frame that would actually support the mattress. I jointed and milled some more 4/4 alder for the supports that would attach to the side skirt boards and footboard.
I ripped them just tall enough to accept the knockdown hardware and sit just below the walnut platform. Then I cut them to length. These pieces were long and unwieldy, so I used the same clamping method as before – clamping them to the miter gauge ensured I got perfectly square cuts.
I milled up a piece of walnut for the footboard skirt and glued the alder mattress support to it.
Installing the Knockdown Hardware
While the glue dried on the footboard, I laid out the knockdown hardware on the headboard. I built a plywood jig the same size as the hardware and clamped it to my layout lines.
To set the depth of cut, I bottomed out the router bit and used the hardware itself to set the depth stop. Then, using a pattern bit, I followed the template and routed out a notch for the hardware to sit in. I cleaned up the rounded corners left by the router bit with a chisel and repeated the process for each corner.
There was one more step: the mating piece needed slots for the hooks so they wouldn’t interfere with the latching mechanism. I laid these out with a pencil and freehand routed the slots with a similar-width router bit.
Attaching the hardware was straightforward – just pre-drill some holes and screw them down. I repeated the same operation for the side skirt boards.
Making the Side Skirt Boards
Now it was time for the walnut side skirt boards. I ripped them to width and milled them to thickness, then cut them to length using my trusty clamping method. This technique has really been a game-changer for getting perfectly square cuts on long boards.
I wanted to hide the end grain of the alder on the headboard, so I notched the side skirt board where it would meet the headboard. I held the piece in place, laid out the notch, and cut it out (forgot to hit record for that part, but trust me, it happened).
I spread some glue on the support rail and aligned it to the edge of the notch for a tight fit. Once everything was lined up, I tacked it in place with a brad nail while I positioned the other end. There was a slight bow in the center, so I pulled it into place with a clamp and added a few more brads until the glue dried.
Creating the Platform Frame
Next, I milled up some 8/4 walnut for the platform frame that would go around the mattress. I cut it to length with the miter gauge clamping method, laid out for dominos to attach the top to the skirt boards, then glued and clamped everything together.
Getting those first few dominos lined up took some patience, but once they were in place, they kept everything aligned while I got the clamps on.
After the glue dried, I sanded off the squeeze-out and did a test fit to make sure the skirt board would pull tight to the headboard using the knockdown hardware. Perfect.
Building the Mattress Platform
For the mattress platform, I ripped a bunch of slats to support the mattress. To reduce shipping weight and make it possible to roll the slats up together, I beveled the sides of each one.
I cut each slat to length and test-fit them, installing them the full length of the bed. This is important: if you don’t use a box spring, the mattress needs to be fully supported underneath or you’ll void your warranty.
Before finishing this section, I installed a center support using the same hardware as the sides to help support the mattress slats. At the very end of the build, I stapled some nylon strapping to keep all the slats together during shipping, which would let me just roll them up.
Creating the Floating Shelves
Now for one of my favorite parts: the floating shelves. I wanted these to look modern with no visible end grain, so I decided to veneer them and miter all the corners.
I started by shop-sawing all the veneer I needed at the band saw, then cleaned up the saw marks at the planer. After cutting the veneer to width and length, I used veneer tape to prep everything for glue-up.
Since I had quite a few parts to glue up, I got my veneer bag ready so I wouldn’t waste any time. I always glue the seam in case there’s any shrinkage – you don’t want the veneer pulling apart later. I taped the ends to hold everything together while sliding it into the bag.
I kept an eye on the clock to make sure I didn’t take too long between adding glue to the first piece and sealing the bag. After hooking up the vacuum and making sure everything stayed in place, I left it under pressure for about 30 minutes.
Once out of the bag, I started cutting the pieces to size. I set a stop on the miter gauge to ensure all the pieces would come out exactly the same length. You can cut perfect miters all day long, but they won’t close up tight if the pieces aren’t the same length.
Since each shelf has five pieces with eight miters that all need to line up perfectly at once, I added dominos to act as a third hand during assembly. To cut the dominos on the narrow fronts safely, I screwed a stop block to my table with an opposing 45-degree angle to trap the piece.
To bring the inside of the shelf to the right thickness and give myself something to screw into when mounting, I glued and tacked in place a plywood filler strip.
Then came the fun part: applying glue and dominos to all the surfaces as I worked my way around each shelf. Once all the parts were in place, I used CA glue and some glue blocks so I could pull the miters tight with clamps and adjust the fit as I went.
I used slow-setting epoxy for this glue-up, which gave me plenty of working time to ensure tight miters on all sides. I repeated this process for all four shelves.
Once the epoxy was dry, I removed the clamps and knocked off the glue blocks with a light tap from a mallet and chisel.
Preparing the Sheepskin Panel
With the shelves done, I needed something to attach them to. I ripped a piece of plywood to size and laid out for the shelves and two reading lights.
I drilled a hole on each side of the plywood for the bases of the reading lights to go through, then attached spacer blocks so my upholsterer friend would know how big the light bases were.
After a quick test fit, I sent the plywood sheet up the street to have the sheepskin applied. And yes, before you ask – no actual sheep were harmed in the making of this bed. It’s synthetic sheepskin made from chemicals, which is… better? Maybe?
While the panel was being upholstered, I milled up and installed strips of wood to the inside of the frame so I’d have something to screw the sheepskin panel to. I installed these cleats on all four sides.
When I got the sheepskin back, I unwrapped it and it slid perfectly into place. I used an air hose to fluff up the fibers, then screwed it from the backside to the cleats.
Installing the Floating Shelves
Now for the shelf installation. I wanted these shelves to be strong enough that they wouldn’t rip off if someone got a little frisky, so I made custom brackets.
I started by cutting some flat bar to the same width as the shelves and cleaned up the burr with a grinder. Next, I laid out a hole pattern for bolting them to both the headboard and the shelves. I center-punched each hole so the drill bit wouldn’t wander, then spent some quality time at the drill press.
I cut some round bar for the support brackets, then built a jig out of scrap plywood to hold everything in place while I welded the pieces together. I used that same block to locate and drill the corresponding holes in the shelves.
I slid the brackets in from the backside, attached them with screws, then slid the shelves onto the brackets and secured everything with long lag bolts.
Final Touches
Installing the reading lights was the easy part. I fed the wire through the hole, attached the mounting bracket to the light, and secured the bracket to the back of the bed.
And that’s it! This project definitely took some time and careful planning, but the result is a beautiful, sturdy platform bed with some really cool modern features. The combination of the warm walnut, the cozy sheepskin, and the sleek floating shelves creates something that’s both functional and really nice to look at. Plus, having those built-in reading lights is just the perfect finishing touch.
I’m the owner of Benham Design Concepts, a mixed media art studio where I design and build custom furniture and other works of art using wood, glass, stone, and various metals.
In this blog, I talk about the art I create, my journey, and the things I learn along the way.