DIY Pallet Bed

Kids grow up, and as they do they get longer and heavier. This was the case with my daughter.

Now a preteen, she also started complaining about everything. One of the things she complained about most was her bed. She said it was too short and sagged in the middle.

Since we put her in this bed when she was a toddler, it was the only one she had ever known. So, it shouldn’t have been too surprising, and, if I remember correctly, it was a hand-me-down from my grandmother. Who knows how old the cheap particle board base actually was.

However, I was amazed when I pulled her mattress off to reveal that the platform around the two central side supports had completely disintegrated. Your guess is as good as mine as to where the physical matter is today, but it explains why my daughter said her bed sagged in the middle.

Clearly we needed a quick solution. Thankfully, my daughter is okay with my frugal nature and has a bit of “country girl” in her as well, so she was good with a more rustic-looking bed.

Working together, we had a sit-down with the good people down at the internet until we found a design that we both were satisfied with. It was quick, easy and cheap for me, and looked “sick” enough for her.

Here’s what we made and how we did it:

As mentioned, this was a very easy build. Not only that, but the bulk of the materials I was able to get for free.

With every shipment we receive at work, it of course comes on a pallet. While we try and reuse as many as possible, ultimately, the pile behind the shop continues to grow. So, with permission, I combed through and picked out three that were still in great shape.

At this point, I could have just laid two of them on the floor and called it a day, but my demanding preteen daughter was having none of that. This meant I had to dig out my palm-sander and a few sheets of sandpaper. I made her do at least half of the sanding; it is her bed after all.

Since the bed was supposed to look rustic, we didn’t worry about working down to a too fine of a grit. We just made sure she won’t get any slivers while getting in or out of bed.

With that done, we brought the pallets up to her room and started putting the bed together. Despite the weight of the pallets, I still felt it necessary to lash them together somehow. Being creative (a.k.a. cheap) I went to my local hardware store and bought a few gate hinges.

My biggest concern was the “headboard.” I was worried that it could fall on my daughter in her sleep, but with a few screws in the base it feels quite solid.

And that was it. For a few finishing touches I added a couple of scrap boards from other pallets I had laying around to the headboard to act as shelfs, and she weaved a set of old christmas lights around the base to give it some flair. Done and done.

What do you think? Is this something you could build for one of your kids? Let me know in the comments below what you would have done differently.