Furniture Plans: Twin-over-Twin Flat Panel Bunk Bed

Introduction

Twin bunk beds have been on our to-do list for quite awhile now, but we were kind of just dragging our feet. Finally, when our three year old stopped sleeping through the night because she had outgrown her toddler bed, we decided to get to work. When we designed these beds, we wanted something that would grow with our girls. We knew that eventually they will want their own rooms and eventually they won't want bunk beds anymore. With that in mind, Kristen got to work drawing up a design for bunk beds that can actually convert to separate headboards and footboards for separate individual twin beds. Below is the finished product. I have put step -y-step instructions with all the tools, materials,and instructions needed to build your own twin-over-twin bunk bed.

Finished Photo

Finished Photo

Image of how the beds will look separated. 

Estimated Cost: $400*

*Depends on where you buy the wood. We purchased the dimensional lumber, plywood and paint supplies from Home Depot and bought the crown molding and MDF top cap from Stock Building Supply (a lumber yard here in Utah). We bought the bun feet from an online store (Osborne Wood Products) because they were way cheaper and had a huge selection. They did charge a lot in shipping, but it was still cheaper than getting it locally.

Dimensions:

The overall dimensions are 7' 4 1/4" long by 3' 11" wide by 6' 6" tall. It fits perfect in our girls' room because we have 8-foot ceilings.

Furniture Plans: Ana White Inspired Fancy Farmhouse King Size Headboard and Bed Frame

 Introduction

Our plans were inspired by Ana White’s Fancy Farmhouse Headboard found here:

http://ana-white.com/2013/04/plans/king-size-fancy-farmhouse-bed

Remember how we built a beautiful upholstered headboard and bed frame for our master bedroom a couple of weeks ago? Well, to make a long story short... someone we know wanted us to make them an upholstered headboard and bed frame. We agreed. I went with them and we purchased all the goods to build their headboard. They ended up picking out the exact same material as ours and they wanted the same shape of headboard as well. At the very last minute, I decided that it would be fun to make a different headboard for our room. I loved the upholstered headboard. I didn't love how it looked with my bedding. It all seemed a little too busy and a little too tufted. That probably doesn't make sense to anyone else, but I convinced TJ to play along with me and make a different bed for our room and then we could sell the upholstered headboard we made for our bed to the people who wanted one. I went and returned all the material that I bought to make the other headboard and then I went and bought all the lumber for our new headboard.

TJ ended up taking the day off a Tuesday (thanks to commuting half way to Salt Lake, realizing he didn't have his laptop, calling me to check if it was at home, my phone not working, coming all the way home to get his lap top, realizing it was in his car the whole time, then it turned into taking a personal day and not going in at all), so it ended up being the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time building in the basement.

Estimated Cost

$216.76

See detailed material list below.

Dimensions

Headboard = 81 inches wide by 61 inches tall

Bed Frame Dimensions = 86 inches deep by 79 inches wide by 15 inches tall.

Tools

• Table Saw or Circular Saw
• Miter Saw
• Kreg Jig
• Drill and Driver with drill Bits
• Nail Compressor
• 16 gauge and 18 gauge Nail Guns

Furniture Plans: King Size Upholstered Tufted Headboard

Over the Christmas break, and mostly during my recovery from my surgery, TJ decided to start this woodworking website. He’s wanted to do it for awhile and he just decided to do it. He thought it would be so fun to do tutorials and share plans for all the things he has built in the past and for future projects we do. I decided to take advantage of his new website and give him a project to build. I drew up my vision - an upholstered headboard and bed frame with tufted fabric, researched our needed dimensions, and I even figured out how much wood we would need. Then, I went out and bought all the non-wood supplies: foam, batting, fabric, buttons, upholstery thread, upholstery needles, etc. After I had everything we needed but the wood, I convinced TJ to go get the wood so we could get started. He obliged. He bought all the lumber on a Saturday night and we started building on Sunday afternoon. We had the bed completely finished six days later, on Saturday night. We made sure to document most of the building process so we could put together a tutorial.

Estimated Cost 
$282.62

(See detailed material list below.)

Dimensions
Headboard = 79 inches wide by 60 inches tall (note: it will be a little wider with the fabric and batting)
Bed Frame Dimensions = 86 inches deep by 79 inches wide by 15 inches tall. 

Tools 

• Table Saw or Circular Saw  
• Miter Saw  
• Kreg Jig  
• Jig Saw  
• Band Saw
• Drill and Driver with drill Bits  

Lumber and Materials List
See the detailed materials list below 

Cut List 

See the cutlist diagram shown below.

Furniture Plans: Beadboard Headboard for a Twin Size Bed

We built this beautiful headboard for our daughter’s twin size bed. The beadboard headboard with a crown molding cap was our first official woodworking project. We only had a cheap miter saw and a borrowed circular saw.

I looked at a lot of different headboards online and really like the beadboard with a crown cap. I drew up a picture of what I wanted and TJ did some calculations and figured out what supplies we would need. I wish I had pictures of the progress, but I don't. We spent the weekend building and painting the headboard. It was a lot easier than I imagined and a fairly quick project.

We drilled a hole through the 4x4 post, then used bolts to attach the frame to the headboard. It worked perfectly. I was so impressed with my talented husband throughout the whole process. This was his first ever furniture/woodworking project. We were very limited with the tools we had, yet he still made it work. He's a perfectionist and he did everything the right way and didn't take a single shortcut. Not only that, but he made the entire headboard off of a measly picture I drew.

Estimated Cost: Approx. $115

Dimensions
The overall size of the project is 44 ½ inches wide by 48 3/4 inches tall.


Tools

• Table saw or circular saw
• Miter saw
• Kreg Jig*
• Drill and drill bits

*or other method of joinery (e.g., mortise-and-tenon, biscuit joints, dowels, etc.)

Lumber

• 4 x 4 x 8 Douglas Fir S4S Lumber $8.24
• 1 x 3 x 6 Select Pine Lumber $5.54
• 3/4 in. x 49 in. x 97 in. Medium Density Fiberboard $34.45
• 32 sq. ft. Beadboard White V-Groove Panel $22.87
• Woodgrain Millwork WM 49 3-5/8 in. x 8 ft Crown Moulding $9.12
• 7/16 in. x 3/4 in. Composite Plastic Baseshoe Moulding $5.20

Materials

• (4) 4 inch minimum bolts, with (4) nuts and (4) washers $6
• Paint @ $10
• Panel adhesive @ $5
• Woodfiller
• Sandpaper
• Finish nails

Cut List
See the cut list diagram shown below.

Cut the 4x4 post in half to form two 4-foot equal pieces (doesn't have to be exact, just equal). Cut two 32 1/2 inches pieces of the 6-foot 1x3. Cut the 4x8 MDF sheet inches at 32 ½ inches by 30 ¾ inches for the main back piece and cut a 44 ½ inch by 6 inch piece for the top piece. Cut the bead board 4x8 sheet at 32 ½ inches wide by 24 1/4 inches tall. Make sure the beads run vertical the 24 ¼ inch way. The crown and shoe moulding can be cut to fit the finished dimensions after it is assembled.

Instructions
Step 1
Drill the proper pocket holes on the 1x3 piece and the MDF back piece with your pocket hole jig.

Step 2
Take your 4 foot 4x4 posts and lay them on a flat surface on the floor. Place the 1x3 pieces at the right locations (so they lay flat on the floor and flush with the front of the posts) and then screw the pocket hole screws in.


Step 3
Lay the 32 ½ x 30 ¾ MDF back piece on top of the 1x3 and flush with the top of the posts and screw the pocket screws into the posts.


Step 4
Attach the top piece centered on it on the frame (approx 2 ½ inch hang over on the sides). Attach it with some pocket holes from the inside face of the post or some finish nails or screws going down into the posts.


Step 5
Place the beadboard in the center and attach it to the MDF with panel adhesive. Trim it out with the 7/16 in. x 3/4 in. baseshoe moulding.


Step 6
Cut the crown molding to fit around the top of the headboard. See my crown molding tips here.


Step 7
Place the headboard next to your Hollywood frame and trace the holes for the bolts. Use a drill to drill a hole larger than the bolts.



Step 8
Paint the headboard with high quality furniture paint and then apply a clear coat of polyurethane.

Step 9

Bolt the headboard to the frame and enjoy the beautiful beadboard headboard.

*Note: If the back of the headboard is going to be visible, it may be a good idea to cover the MDF with a 1/8 inch hardy board.

Furniture Plans: Headboard for Kate

My mother-in-law had an amazing skill for woodworking.  She made such beautiful pieces of furniture.  If you look at the dresser she made when I was pregnant with my first baby, you will immediately notice the details she put into the piece.  Every drawer was dove-tailed, the trim pieces fit together perfectly; it is beautiful.  It never occurred to me that my husband could have possibly inherited the woodworking skill until I needed a headboard for my daughter's bed.

I was pregnant, about 25 weeks, with our third child.  I was nesting and trying to put together a bedroom for my girls.  I found matching bedding for Kate's bed and Hailey's crib, accessories for the room, and it was almost perfect.  Except for Kate's bed.  I absolutely hated her headboard-less bed being next to a big beautiful wood crib.  It just didn't look right.

See what I mean?  It just needed a headboard.  In my pregnant nesting mind, it was unbearable.  I found a cute headboard online and I kindly threatened my husband.  We could either build a headboard for Kate's bed, or I was going to order one.  He, out of fear of my hormones, agreed to help build one.

I looked at a lot of different headboards online and then I drew up a picture of what I wanted.  TJ did some calculations and figured out what supplies we would need.  I wish I had pictures of the progress, but I don't.  We spent the weekend building and painting the headboard.  It was a lot easier than I imagined.

It turned out exactly how I pictured!

We made the headboard so that we could easily attach it to the metal bed frame we already had for Kate's twin bed.

We drilled a whole through the 4x4 post, the used bolts to attach the frame to the headboard.  It worked perfectly.

I was so impressed with my talented husband throughout the whole process.  This was his first ever furniture/woodworking project.  We were very limited with the tools we had, yet he still made it work.  He's a perfectionist and he did everything the right way and didn't take a single shortcut.  Not only that, but he made the entire headboard off of a measly picture I drew.

The bed looked so much better next to the crib.  I love everything about how it turned out!  The best part?  All of the supplies for the headboard were less than a hundred bucks.  Can't beat that!