Industrial Shelf to Awesome Bed Build

Instead of buying an expensive frame that was large enough for a queen size mattress and provided storage I decided and be cheap and build one dubbed The Princess Bed or Big Girl Princess Bed because it’s so tall and my wife is so short.

Video below

Materials

  • Shelving
  • 6x 2×4
  • 4×8 sheet of half inch plywood
  • Reciprocating saw
  • Circular saw

The sides of the shelving came whole instead of 2 pieces so I had to cut out the supports using a reciprocating saw then cut them in half using a metal cutoff wheel on my circular saw. The bed was a bit too tall after this so I went back and cut another 2-3″ of each leg. Because the supports were welded in place I had to cut new 2×4 angled supports to make the bed more rigid. The 2×4 supports for the mattress are just the right height so that the cuts on the shelving did not have to be exactly even. The plywood was cut to fit the platform and then covered with canvas to protect the mattress.

Next for this project is a small staircase with additional storage inside.

Cheap DIY platform bed with storage

Everyone needs storage especially my daughter. Raised platforms with storage can be pricey so I grabbed shelving from a local hardware store and got busy. This particular shelving can be put together tall or side by side which made assembly so much easier and the bonus is that the shelving is almost the same width as the mattress.

  • 6 x 1×4
  • 1 x 1/4″ 4’x8′ plywood
  • Shelf
  • Wood or decking screws
  • Canvas drop cloth to protect the mattress

I assembled the shelving then laid out the boards to get an idea of where to go next. Then a quick layout of parts, measuring the area needed for the mattress and cut down the plywood to fit. The 1×4’s helped square the decking and once the desired alignment was achieved (using the wall,  a level and a square) I fixed the square in place by screwing the plywood to the slats. So now even if I took the bed and decking off, moved the bed then making everything square again is just a matter of adjusting enough so that the decking fits in place again.

At least once a day my daughter can be found hanging out underneath the bed because awesome.

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