How to make a bed from a headboard?

This bed was made for a beautiful little girl named Cami. I built it several years ago and so I do not have a lot of pictures (didn’t think to take many back then). It is a king headboard made into a bed. I will walk you through the steps and if you have any questions I will be happy to try and answer them. Let’s get this bed started!

To build a bed like this you need a king headboard, lumber, lag bolts, wood glue and a twin mattress. You then need to measure the mattress to determine how big the area for the mattress needs to be.

You then need to build the ends to the specifications you measured. When you have all the bed frames you need, then sand and clean them to prepare them for painting.

When the wood is prepped, paint any indented designs on them a different color than the main part of the bed. (I used pink in my indentions). Let the paint dry good and then paint the main body of the bed. Once the indention color is dry, roll the next paint color on the headboard. (I used a roller so that the main paint color would not go down into the indented design.)

When the bed is painted with a second coat and completely dry it is time to attach it together. The bed is held together with 4 inch lag bolts and wood glue. Drill pilot holes first and use as many as needed to make the bed sturdy. When they are secure measure across the front to see what size board is needed. Take that measurement and cut a 6 inch width board to length to go across the front. Also attach the front board with lag bolts and wood glue across the front. (Make sure you predrill for the screw holes).

Now that the bed is put together measure 3/4 of an inch down on the inside on all the sides of the bed. Start with the front board and make sure all the other sides are level with it. Then screw a 2 x 2 to each side with the top of the 2 x 2 being level with the line you made going around. (Don’t forget to predrill). This ledge is to attach the boards for the mattress to lay on. Then measure 1 x 4’s to fit from the front of the bed to the back of the bed and screw them onto the 2 x 2 ledge. Paint the boards whatever color you want so they match the color of the indented design!

I wish I had taken pictures of all the steps! Hopefully this will get you started on creating your princess a beautiful bed made just for her!!!