Why Your Mattress Deserves Better Than That Metal Frame From College
I used to think platform beds were just expensive boxes.
Turns out, they’re actually one of the most forgiving woodworking projects you can tackle on a weekend, assuming you don’t mind the fact that your bedroom will smell like sawdust for roughly three days afterward and you’ll definitely find wood shavings in your socks for at least a week. The basic structure—four sides, a handful of support slats, maybe some legs if you’re feeling ambitious—doesn’t require fancy joinery or a workshop that looks like something out of a craftsman’s fever dream. You need a drill, a saw (circular or miter, honestly either works), some two-by-fours or two-by-sixes depending on how much weight you’re planning to support, and wood glue that you’ll inevitably get on your hands no matter how careful you think you’re being. Most contemporary bedroom aesthetics lean toward clean lines and minimal hardware, which actually works in your favor because it means you can hide your mistakes under the mattress.
The Geometry Problem Nobody Warns You About Until It’s Too Late
Here’s the thing: bed frames are rectangles, which sounds obvious until you’re actually building one. Standard mattress dimensions are 60 by 80 inches for a queen, 76 by 80 for a king, and if you don’t account for the extra half-inch on each side for the mattress to sit properly, you’ll end up with a frame that’s either too tight (mattress won’t fit) or too loose (mattress slides around like it’s on a hockey rink). I’ve seen people recieve their lumber delivery, cut everything precisely to mattress dimensions, and then realize they needed to add depth for the support structure underneath.
The frame needs to be about an inch wider and longer than your mattress. Wait—maybe an inch and a half if you’re using thicker side rails.
You’ll also need to decide on height, which is where personal preference collides with structural reality.
Slat Spacing and the Weight Distribution Thing That Actually Matters
Every furniture forum will tell you something different about slat spacing, but the general consensus hovers around three to four inches apart for solid wood slats that are at least three-quarters of an inch thick. Plywood works too, honestly, and it’s cheaper if you’re covering the whole base, though it doesn’t have quite the same airflow benefits that individual slats provide for memory foam mattresses that tend to trap heat like they’re personally offended by the concept of coolness. The physics here are straightforward—closer slats mean better weight distribution, which means less sagging over time, which means you’re not replacing this thing in two years when the center starts to bow. Some people add a center support beam for queens and larger, which definately makes sense if you’re not interested in waking up in a wooden hammock six months from now. I guess it depends on whether you trust your initial construction or whether you’re the kind of person who double-checks that the front door is locked three times before bed.
Finishing Touches That Separate Amateur Hour From Actual Furniture
Sanding matters more than you think it will.
Raw lumber has splinters, rough edges, and weird imperfections that will absolutely catch on your sheets, your skin, or that one blanket you’ve had since 2015 that’s somehow still in rotation despite having more holes than fabric at this point. Start with 80-grit sandpaper for the rough stuff, move to 120 for smoothing, and finish with 220 if you’re feeling fancy or if you’re planning to stain or paint the wood. Speaking of finish, you have options—polyurethane for durability, Danish oil for a more natural look, paint if you’re going for a specific aesthetic that matches your walls or your general vibe or whatever design philosophy you’re pretending to follow this month. The key is applying thin coats and letting each one dry completely, which takes longer than anyone wants to admit and will test your patience in ways that scrolling through your phone between coats doesn’t quite solve. Some people skip finishing entirely for an ultra-minimalist raw wood look, which works until the wood starts to darken unevenly from skin oils and humidity.
The Assembly Reality Check and Why Pre-Drilling Saves Relationships
Here’s what nobody tells you: assembly is where relationships go to get tested. If you’re building this with a partner or a friend, establish ahead of time who’s holding what and when, because the moment you’re trying to attach a side rail while someone else is supposed to be keeping it square and level, miscommunication will happen and someone will say something passive-aggressive about measuring twice. Pre-drill every screw hole—not just the pilot holes, but countersink them slightly so the screw heads sit flush and don’t create pressure points that’ll crack the wood when you’re tightening everything down. Use wood glue on joints even if you’re using screws, because the glue adds shear strength that screws alone don’t provide, and honestly it just makes the whole thing feel more permanent and less like you’re assembling Ikea furniture at midnight while questioning your life choices.
The finished product will probably wobble slightly until you tighten everything one more time. That’s normal, I think.
