how to make a daybed {with a hanging bed option!}

Remember that post a few weeks back when we were oh so close to being finito and I promised I would talk about how to make a bed two ways? Here’s the end product, though I’d originally hoped for well, a hanging bed.  {Pssst… see the original post and all the sources, here!} 

Well, lemons into lemonade suckas, because today we’re talking about how to make a daybed, with a hanging bed option… Even if it didn’t end quite like I’d hoped. In other words, how to build not-a-hanging-bed. I’m sure if I thought harder, I could come up with a more succinct title, but… It is what it is. 

CliffsNotes version: I initially thought I wanted a hanging bed in this room. Because of a few un-forseen variables, {see: gorgeous wallpaper and realizing that long term, I didn’t want to babysit a bed of all things when we have enough going on…} we would skip the bed and add some legs to make it a daybed instead. And let me tell you, we love it just as much. So today, we thought we’d share with you how to make a daybed: Two ways. 

Both are very similar with a minor adjustment that we will point out along the way.

Supplies you’ll need: 

(5) 2 x 4 x 8

(5) 2 x 4 x 10

(2) 2 x 6 x 10

(2) 1 x 4 x 8

(9) pre-cut 39″ bed slates or (3) 1 x 4 x 10

(16) 2-inch mending brackets if you opt not to drill  pocket holes

Orbit sander

Sandpaper

Finish nail gun or just nail

3 1/2 inch deck screws {We prefer these because they self drive better and strip less.}

drill

wood glue

wood putty

For the day bed

(4) furniture legs 

For the hanging bed

chain/rope or steel bar, times 4 for the length you will need to hang it.

(4) 5-inch eye bolts with washer and nuts with an appropriate weight limit for your bed

(4) 4-inch eye hooks

Frame cut list

For the day bed cut (4) of your 2 x 4 x 8’s down to 79″.

For the hanging bed cut (2) of your 2 x 4 x 8’s down to 79″ and (2) of them down to 87″

For both versions cut the remaining 2 x 4 x 8 into (2) 39″ pieces.

Sanding

We choose to save a little money and build with Southern pine. This did require a little extra time in the sanding department. Either way, it’s always a good idea to give your wood a quick sanding. And yes, if you’ve been reading for a while we always have some pretty bizarre work spaces over here. 

Building the frame

Lay (2) 79″ and (2) 39″ on their sides and form a rectangle with them. Screw these together on the ends.

For the hanging bed only.

Take your other 79″ pieces and screw the 4 furniture legs onto the ends.

For both ways.

Lay the  79″ piece flat on the other 79″ pieces. {you’d sub in your 87″ pieces here if building the hanging bed}. The flat 79″ piece should overlap the 39″ pieces connecting to the rectangle you just built. Screw these pieces to the rectangle in multiple locations.

This will form the base of the bed. 

For the hanging bed only:

Cut (4) 10-inch with one end being cut at a 45-degree angle. Attach these pieces on the bottom of the frame you just built..

Building the crossbar X

Cut (8) 20″ 2 x 6 pieces and attach them. On the short side, you’ll attach them on each corner. Once you have the side pieces attached simply space evenly and attach the ones for the back. 

Then attach your 1 x 4 across the top with your finish nails.

Now you’ll want to build your crossbars. Here is the simple non-geometry way to do this. Measure from corner to corner diagonally. Cut one of your 2 x4’s a few inches longer. Then place it on the backside of the portion where you are building the “X”. Line it up in each corner and trace the corners. And just like that, you have your angles to cut.

Simply cut them and attach them using a combination of glue, screws and your finish nails.

Do the exact same thing for the crossbar going the opposite way, except this time make sure to trace where it crosses over the one you just installed.

Repeat these steps until you’ve created all your crossbars.

Now you are ready to fill and sand any gaps with wood putty. {Cheater’s tip since we’re not woodworkers.} 

The fun part is then to paint and we highly recommend the Wagner FLEXiO 3000, it is amazing for small jobs.

You can add the bed slats before or after painting, they shouldn’t show so it really doesn’t matter. To add them simply screw them into place on the bottom, spaced evenly.

If you are building the bed you are literally ready to put the mattress on and take a nap. If you are building the hanging bed you still have another step.

Hanging the bed.

This is your final step, but you need to make sure you hang it properly in the rafter or joist of your ceiling. You’ll simply attach your eye hooks to the ceiling and the eye-bolts to the bed ends. Then run your rope, chain or whatever you decided to use and hang the bed.

Which would have worked out wonderfully for us from there if we’d had a succinct plan in place. Instead, we had nice wallpaper indoors with an A-frame ceiling and it was only then that we were all, we don’t want to do this. In retrospect, we will probably utilize this design again in our pool house {coming in the future} and if it were our only project, not as big a deal. But we’d just taken on an entire addition and we were kind of over it.

In our case this is where we put our heads together and decided there had to be a way to simplify. And we have to say NO REGRETS. The bed has the same feel and it works just as well. You can still nap on it while watching football. Basically, we quickly mourned our loss and moved on. 

We actually found some legs here and knew they were a great fit, design wise for the bed. So it was just an issue of trimming it down a little.

We think it turned out pretty great in the end, if we do say so ourselves. ;} Thanks so much for tuning in today. As always, let us know if you have any questions. 

Happy bed-making, and napping! 

Have an inspired day!