Wood Bed: Build It

I have wanted a farmhouse bed for our bedroom for quite awhile now.   So, I set out to build a queen wood plank farmhouse headboard and a queen bed frame.  I’ve outlined how I did it below and provided plans so you can build your own bed frame and headboard out of reclaimed (or new!) wood.  It’s a great project to add modern farmhouse appeal to your room.  The queen bed is in a 14×14 room – just to give you a feel for what a bed that size would look like in a room that size.

 A couple weeks ago, some friends of ours tore up an old deck in their backyard and offered the old wood to us.  We jumped at the chance and came home with this loot so we could transform it into a modern farmhouse queen bed frame and headboard. (Thanks, friends!)

Step 1: Gather your materials

reclaimed wood bed

After throwing around a couple ideas of what to do with the wood, we decided to try our hand at building a bed.  It looked like it would be just the right amount of wood and if it didn’t work out…oh well…it was free anyways. So why not??

Using reclaimed wood is a great way to create a rustic bedroom on a budget. 

I’ve been eyeing this beautiful bed for the master bedroom but I wasn’t quite feeling the $2,000 price tag.

Step 2: Begin to layout the design of your headboard

We started by laying out the wood planks for the queen headboard side by side.

rustic queen headboard

Step 3: Design the scalloped outline of the headboard

And drew half of the outline of the headboard on a large sheet of paper folded in half.  I went for a scalloped look on the headboard to match my inspiration picture. 

diy bed how to

Unfold the paper, so that it is symmetrical, and tape it to the wooden headboard.  Then, trace the outline of the paper on to the boards.

wood slat headboard

Step 4: Trim the outline

Cut each of the boards one by one by using a jigsaw.

diy bed

modern farmhouse bed headboard

Then we trimmed the bottom of he boards with our miter saw, leaving the two on the outside longer.  You will want to decide the height of your headboard above the mattress and cut accordingly.

TIP: For tips on how to use a miter saw for beginners, check out this post!

modern farmhouse bed frame

RELATED: For more ideas for how to build your own bed, check out this post.

Step 5: Attach the braces

We use scrap pieces as braces for the back of the headboard.

diy queen bed frame

how to make a wooden headboard

And there you have it!  A gorgeous DIY modern farmhouse queen headboard.  I do love the look of it as is, but we decided to sand and stain it. 

wood slat headboard

Step 6: Build the Frame

For the queen bed frame, we built a simple box with legs.  I didn’t stain in all the way across the slats because it really wasn’t necessary. 

rustic bedroom ideas on a budget

To install the slats for the queen frame , we put a 1×2 the length of the bed an inch from the top…

farmhouse bed slats

along with a 2×4 down the middle (also an inch from the top).  I attached the stretcher to the frame with my kreg jig.  Then, we placed 10 1x4s  across to make the slats.

diy platform bed

For the legs, I drew the shape I wanted on a 1×10 and mitered one edge of each piece so they fit flush on the corners.

how to build a bed

Step 7: Stain and Seal

We stained it a mixture of Dark walnut and Provincial. Then, we sealed it with polyurethane.

And here is the modern farmhouse queen bed, in all it’s sanded, stained, and sealed glory…

14 x 14 bedroom

Tutorial for how to make the end tables can be found here.

diy queen headboard plans

Q: What color comforter goes with a brown headboard?

A: I absolutely love a white comforter and white euro shams against a brown headboard to make it pop.  You can bring it brown tones with throw pillows to tie in the brown.

wood plank headboard ideas

I love a neutral bedroom and coming up with tan bedroom ideas is one of my favorite things to do!  This farmhouse bed really helps pull that look off. 

For more bedroom projects, check out this DIY blackout window.

wood plank headboard

We used the same stain as that we used for the sliding barn door.

rustic queen headboard

As luck would have it, I found some plans AFTER we built ours…oh well.  Here’s the link in case you want to build your own.  It’s pretty similar to the one we built (ours is a bit taller with chunkier legs).

I’d say we’re pretty happy with our rustic queen bed frame and headboard on a budget…at least we know Wiley gives his approval!

diy queen headboard and bed frame

Find the web story for how to build a modern farmhouse headboard here!

134 Comments

  1. I just love this Suzie! It looks amazing with your sliding door. You made building it look so simple. And to think it is all from throw-away wood!

  2. Gorgeous! I just pinned this! I’ve been debating what to do for our bedroom headboard for awhile and this is beautiful! If I painted/whitewashed it then it would be the perfect shabby chic accent piece for our room! 🙂

  3. Lovely! Just lovely! Can you please tell me where your white quilt /blanket is from? Thanks

    1. Smitha,
      I got the white quilt and pillows from Marshall’s and the two blankets at the foot of the bed from Tuesday Mornings.

  4. Wow! Just found you via Pinterest, and I’m so impressed!! What a great project! I definitely prefer your version to the inspiration bed. I make lots of pretty throw pillows for my Etsy shop, but don’t have a nice headboard for our bed, so all my pillows look a little sad. This might be just the thing!!

    1. Anna,
      I just checked out your etsy shop and I love it! Especially the blue and white floating petals pillow. I will keep you in mind when I’m pillow shopping next!
      Thanks for stopping by and for the kind words 🙂

      1. That’s for looking at my shop! 🙂 I’d definitely love to make you a pillow or two!

  5. I think I’ve found my new master bed! Great idea. Thanks for sharing with us. I was also curious about your wall color…would you mind sharing?

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  8. This looks great. Does the frame make any noise at all while you’re on the bed? Any creaking or whatnot?

    1. Nope, it doesn’t. We used wood glue along with screws and it is pretty stable.

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  10. I love the very well shot photography for the tutorial of how to make this inspired bed. Well done!

  11. Love it! Love it! Love it!
    I dont have any old boards 🙁
    How do you think this would look or work with new boards and then painted? I need a pair for my son’s room and these would be perfect!

    1. Actually, I think it would look really good with new boards! And it might be a bit easier to build. We had to do a lot of finagling to get the boards to fit well together, since they weren’t perfectly straight due to weather, etc.
      You should definitely go for it!
      -Suzie

  12. Pingback: Building a Scrap Wood Bed Will Save you Money | Ct Roofing Contractors
  13. gorgeous! just wondering where you got that white quilt? i’ve been looking for one like that for ages!

    1. Hey Ariel,
      I’m a total Marshall’s junkie 🙂 I got it there a couple months ago.
      -suzie

  14. I Love your room! You totally inspired me!! I wanted to know what color stain you used? I found tons of wood on Craigslist! Are u from Washington we have tons of Tuesday mornings here!

    1. Thank you, Christine! I actually live in Texas, so I guess they are all over! I used 1/2 english chestnut and 1/2 special walnut.
      -Suzie

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  16. That last picture totally won me over – that’s 100% something I would do!

    We close on our new house on Thursday and I’m all over the blogs getting ideas for the house. Because of you, I’m DEFINITELY having a barn door in our bedroom and now I just might try my hand at making a bed!

    Love your blog!

  17. Love this!! Just curious… How did you attatch the legs? I don’t see any screws or anything…

    1. Hey Samantha, I just attached them from the inside of the bed railing. (You can see the screws if you look inside the railing).
      -Suzie

      1. My husband is making a bed like this for my guest room. We are ready to put it together and he is concerned weather the legs will hold up with the screws going in from the inside. I don’t want any screws showing. What size screw did you use on the legs and did you use any glue? Your worked is gorgeous and I admired all of it. Waiting to hear from you so I can finally see it put together. Thanks in advance for your help,
        Connie

  18. We made this as a headboard last weekend from pallet wood and it turned out great! Used a cleat to hang it from the wall and everyone (including us) is amazed at how well it turned out! Thanks so much for posting, we could not be happier!

  19. Love this DIY project! If you go without a box-spring you should try adding Froli springs to the slats to make it super comfy, we did that to our daughter’s platform bed.
    Elke

  20. I see that you found your quilt at Marshall’s, but can you tell me what brand it is? There is no Marshall’s anywhere near me (unfortunately) and I’m hoping I could find it online somewhere.
    Thanks!
    Beth

    1. Do you have the measurements of your bed? I like the look of yours better. Width? Height of center and end pieces? Great job. My daughter wants a headboard like this to take to college.

      1. Hi Pam, I had very similar questions and then later on noticed the link to the bed she got her inspiration from. On that website, not only does it give you the measurements for one bed, but all the sizes! Since your daughter will be in college she might need the twin size! Here is the link for the measurements: http://www.vivaterra.com/media/vtbase2/productspecs/GustavianBed_ProdSheet_v8.pdf Since I found this, I thought I might help you out with your question! I now think I’m gunna build two of these beds, one queen and one full! Anyways, good luck!

        P.S. Thanks Suzie for linking your inspiration, I really see how hard y’all worked on this bed and am glad it turned out great!

  21. Greetings:

    I absolutely love this bed. My husband has been trying to convince me to go with a more natural look but I couldn’t find anything until now. What stain did you use, I absolutely love the color.

    SLopez

  22. Great job! I’m in love with this bed! Can you please tell me where you initially saw this bed for $2,000? I want to show my husband so we can use it for motivation to build it ourselves! Thanks!

  23. This turned out great!! I want to make one now, it looks better then most beds that are sold here anyway <3.

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  25. I LOVE the look of your whole bedroom!! My husband and I are totally inspired to make a new bed or head board for our bed, can you tell me where you got your bedside tables? We love them!

  26. Suzie,

    In total–how tall did you all make the bed from the bottom of the pieces of wood that touch the floor to the top of the middle slats of the bed?

    Thanks!
    Emily

  27. When you say you stained it a mixture of the two stains, did you mix them together then apply to the wood?

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  29. I absolutely love this bed! We have ton of old wood in our barn and I’m gunna attempt to make this but am very curious on some things! One question is what size bed is yours, I wanna make a full? Another question I have is does the front of the bed have legs? Also I’m curious about how long/wide is your bed total? Also would love any tips or helpful suggestions if you have any! Love your style and your website. Wish you the best of luck!

    P.S. Your dog is precious!

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  32. I am planning on making this bed but I have a boxspring for my bed. Can i use the boxspring instead of the slats. any suggestions on how to do this instead??

  33. Beautiful!

    I’ve been looking at this bed awhile and am planning to build one.

    How thick are the boards you used for the headboard? I looked at some recoaimed wood and the 1x’s seemed too thin, like fence boards; and the 2x’s were so huge I’m not sure I can cut the curves out of them.

    Thank you!

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  42. I LOVE this bed!! Thanks for sharing! I’m going to make this bed for our master bedroom! I was wondering what are the dimensions of this bed? I need a king and the dimensions of the ana white plans are for a queen!

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  48. This is some really good information about making a reclaimed wood bed frame. I love how you showed that you can use tracing paper to lay out your design. That does seem like a good thing to know if you want to prevent messing up the process of cutting the wood.

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