The Bed of my Dreams: A Tutorial.

My dad is a Jack-of-all-trades, and like him, I am restless without a project. Because we share this need to create, I wanted to create something with him, to learn from him, to craft an heirloom that would forever remind me of him and his talents.

So when Amazon Prime Day hit, I bought a mattress. 

I didn't buy a queen to replace our old mattress. I upgraded to a king.

That left us without a bed.

I'd been dreaming of giant tufted headboards since the hotel we stayed in on our honeymoon, but they just weren't in the budget. (They can easily break four figures.)

But I did have a trailer full of salvaged lumber, a sheet of pegboard, a fistful of coupons to Joann Fabrics, a ton of ambition, and a sweet, patient dad.

So I decided to make my own bed.

We did it in two parts: the headboard (the giant tufted masterpiece of my dreams) and the frame. Here's how we did it:

First, the headboard:

First, I cut the pegboard to size (4 feet by 7 feet), and I circled the tufting holes using a diamond pattern.

Next, I built a frame around the pegboard and included two vertical supports. These both added stability and provided a place to attach the French cleat that was used to attach it to the wall.

I used a two-inch thick memory foam pad instead of upholstery foam to save on costs. I covered this with a layer of quilt batting, and I covered that with enough upholstery fabric to leave a foot of excess on each side of the headboard. (My piece of fabric measured 6X9 feet. I had to sew about a foot of fabric onto the bottom to make sure I would have enough to wrap around because I could only find fabric that was 60 inches wide.)

Using a very long needle, I used the grid I had made on the back to make the tufts. (I used small shank buttons in the same color as my fabric.) I started at the bottom of the headboard and worked my way to the top.

Progress!

I used a washer on the backside of the headboard to anchor the thread, and I finished each tuft by making my knots on the front side, beneath the button, and then cutting my strings.

I attached the French cleat to the vertical supports. Also, you can see the washer anchors and the circled grid holes.

At this point, all that was left was stapling the excess fabric to the wooden frame!

I pulled the fabric tight and stapled it down, and the headboard was ready to hang!

I attached the French cleat to the wall, anchoring it into three wall studs, and then I hung the headboard on the French cleat! Neat! (Sorry, I couldn't help myself there.)

So, what's a French cleat? Click here to learn more. They are great! (My dad made mine for me.)

At last, the bed:

I used salvaged lumber from the old house we tore down on our property. Needless to say, I had some cleaning to do! First, I pulled out the nails.

I used a mixture of Dawn dish soap, hot water, and tea tree oil.

Sturdy gloves and a good scrub brush were a must!

Gizmo approved of the finished product as the boards dried in the sun.

This photo does not do my situation justice. I was covered in dirt and dust and mud and grass and slivers.

The boards were pretty rough, so I gave them a good sanding.

We cut them to size.

My father-in-law helped me varnish them. I did not use stain because I wanted to preserve the natural color of the wood.

They were very thirsty!

Look at the difference!

Here are the boards, freshly varnished.

Here they are the next day. The color faded, but they are still beautiful.

We made a pine frame the same size as the mattress (76X80 inches). We placed slats about 12 inches apart. We used 4X4s that were 16 inches long as legs. (One in each corner and two more in the center.)

Using clamps, we secured the board 2 inches above the pine frame so that the mattress would sit inside the platform. Once this was secure, we screwed it into place.

We used very long screws!

We drilled pilot holes and attached the side boards and foot board with lag screws and washers that I had painted.

The wood is so beautiful, but the green legs really aren't.

Gel stain to the rescue!

We left enough space for the mattress to fit beneath the headboard. (Our mattress was 10 inches thick.)

We topped the slats with sheets of plywood cut to fit the frame.

​Ta-Dah! The bed of my dreams:

Thanks, Dad, for all your help. This literally would not have been possible without you. I learned so much and I'm so happy with the way it turned out. Thank you for working for the low, low price of love, hugs, and chocolate chip cookies. I love you, and this is an experience I'll never forget.