DIY Captains Bed

Having solved our dining table situation, I turned my attention towards issues in other rooms.

I love our master bedroom. It was originally the attic, but the previous owner gutted it and made it liveable.

It probably wasn’t a difficult decision as it’s naturally a great space. While it technically is only a half story, the roof has a high peak creating a high ceiling, and large windows on three sides let it plenty of light. It’s fully finished with two crawl spaces and a small walk-in closet.

All the troubles we were having revolved around the furniture we owned before moving in. We were able to tuck our long, low dresser in the closet, but due to the slanted ceilings, out highboy only fit in front of the windows - clearly not an option.

This meant I needed to get creative and see what the good people down at the internet had done.

Here’s what I came up with:

To start, I used Ana White’s plans for a full-size storage bed. I took a few measurements and made a few adjustments to make the plans work for me.

The biggest alteration I made was on the inside. Since we have a queen-size mattress, I beefed up the centre support. I had some 2x4’s laying around, so I just used them. Now I know our bed can handle any “extracurricular” activities we engage in.

The other change was more rudimentary. I took a quick trip to Walmart and bought a few storage baskets. Knowing how big they were, I simply moved the divider on the side cubbies, and added another, so the baskets would fit nice and evenly.

With that done, it was building time. I went to my local lumber store to pick up the materials I still needed - I let them cut the plywood into the widths I needed - and was back home in no time.

Assembly was quick and easy, too. Since all I was essentially making was three boxes, I was able to do everything in my workspace in the basement and then move it all upstairs after I was completely done.

To finish off, I just stained the trim pieces to add a bit of contrast. To complete the look, I took an old door I had sitting around that was original to the house, and mounted it to the wall to act as our headboard.

And that was that. All in all, it was a pretty quick and easy project. It may not be the prettiest bed anyone has even seen, but it is solid, easy to move, and very practical.

I use the baskets on my side to store most of my clothes. The end cubby is open and that’s where we keep extra blankets and quilts so we can quickly grab one if we wake up cold in the middle of the night. I don’t know what my wife keeps on her side, but I’m sure there’s all sorts of stuff in her boxes. (That sounded a lot dirtier than I meant it.)

What do you think about my homemade bed? Let me know if you built one yourself in the comments below.