DIY Daybed

With the small size of this room the daybed is supposed to be the focal point and it was imperative that it have storage drawers, because there is no room for a dresser.  The new DIY closet will definitely carry a bulk of the storage in the room, but these drawers will be the secret weapon to keeping clutter at bay.

I did a lot of research into daybeds and looked at other DIY daybeds to see what had been done.  I was most impressed by my friend Brad’s DIY Daybed with Storage drawers.  I loved the design of the frame that housed the drawers because it eliminated plywood and used cheap 2×4 lumber.  So giving credit where credit is due, I patterned my storage section like his, no point in recreating the wheel.  I designed my sides and back differently.  If you don’t know Brad at Fix This, Build That.  You should, he’s awesome. Just sayin.  Plus he has building plans!  Woot.  I will eventually post plans for this bed…after the one room challenge is over!

I started by cutting and prepping all my wood.  You can see how bundled up I am…below freezing with almost a foot of snow on the ground does NOT make for happy building…good thing I have a small space heater, it takes the edge off.

I used my Kreg rip cut for my larger plywood pieces and my Kreg jig to drill my pocket holes.  Once all the pieces were cut and sanded I headed inside to build.  Must have warmth.

I began with building the front and back of the frame, the three windows will house the huge storage drawers.

Then I connected the front and back with my middle support boards using 2 1/2 pocket holes and my Kreg right angle clamp to hold the joints while I drilled.

With the frame built it was time to make the drawers.  I used 3/4 pocket holes and 1 1/4 in pocket hole screws to attach them, then I screwed on a 3/4 plywood bottom to each drawer.

Just to give you an idea how large these drawers are…my daughter almost fits inside!  Granted she is pretty small, but still.  Ahh, it makes me happy…storage, she is pretty happy too!

To install the drawers I used Brad’s tricks you can watch his YouTube video, to see how it is done.  I personally don’t enjoy doing drawers, and I have done several, but I learned few new tricks that were helpful so check it out!

With the drawers we installed I cut the drawer fronts for a perfect fit.  Once I had my drawer fronts in the proper place (note the cards as spacers…Brad is a genius) I used my nail gun to nail it onto the drawer.  Then I screwed the drawer front on from the inside of the drawer. 

I used yet another Kreg tool to drill the holes for my drawer pulls and the drawers were done!  Phew!

Next, I built my sides and my back panel, using pocket hole screws.  I also added some lath strips as trim for character.  You can see I have a piece of wood cut as a spacer so I didn’t have to measure where to put the lath strips.  On the back piece, to make my lath trim long enough, I cut the connecting ends at 45 degrees so they could match up pretty seamlessly.  Just like you do with moulding. 🙂 Works like a charm.

Time for Paint!  I filled all the pocket holes with spackle and then sanded them smooth when dry.  I painted all the surfaces that would be seen once the bed was built, making sure to sand with a 400 grit sandpaper after the first coat.

Once the paint was dry it was time to build the bed!  Yay!  I took all the pieces into the room and decided to add some center supports on the bottom, just in case.  Then I attached the sides to the middle frame.  

I attached the back with pocket hole screws and added a 1×3 (thanks again Brad…) to the front to help keep the mattress in place.  I could have used this on my Farmhouse Storage Bed, when my kids run and jump on my bed my mattress slides…a stopper would be helpful!

Last thing was to add the drawers!

Oh and did you notice the new carpet?!  Yep, I got new carpet in the room this week.  I couldn’t, in all good consciousness, redo a room with that nasty old carpet, it was just morally wrong.  

I LOVE this bed!  It is so fun and trust me it looks a little too white in here at the moment…but it won’t come next week!  

So be sure to come back and see the final reveal!  

In the meantime check out everyone else in the One Room Challenge!  Lots of amazing transformations happening!