DIY Farmhouse Platform Bed with Storage

I’ve teamed up with Kreg Tool Company to show you how to build this DIY farmhouse platform bed with storage!

It’s time to transition our daughter to a big girl bed and since you can never have too much storage, we decided to capitalize on the all too often wasted space under a bed and built in three full-width drawers.

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Here are the tools and items I used for the project:

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Farmhouse Platform Bed With Storage

• Rough Cuts
• Mill Headboard & Footboard Frame
• Laminate Beadboard Panel
• Assemble Headboard & Footboard
• Mill Bed Rail Face Frame
• Assemble Face Frame
• Mill Five Piece False Drawer Front
• Assemble False Drawer Front
• Build Drawers
• Paint
• Final Assembly

Rough Cuts

I used rough sawn lumber for this build, so I bought a bit more than what I needed to account for waste and “design opportunities.”

To start off, I crosscut the material about 1” longer than needed for my parts.

Mill Headboard & Footboard Frame

I used 8/4 poplar to make the headboard and footboard frame.  To begin milling, I jointed one face and one edge.

Then I ripped the boards to rough width (about 1/2” wider than needed).

I glued up material for the posts and then used a combination of planing and cutting to bring the parts to their final dimensions.

The posts, top rails, and bottom rails were dadoed with a 3/8” bit on the router table.  This dado is cut wide enough for the laminated beadboard panel to fit without binding.

Laminate Beadboard Panel

I started off by cutting the beadboard and 1/4″ plywood larger than needed.

I applied contact cement to the surfaces to be joined with a chip brush and allowed the adhesive to “tack” by sitting for 15 minutes before laying the sheets on top of each other.

Centering the sheets on one another is made easier by laying sticks across the bottom sheet and then laying the top sheet on the sticks.  Once the sheets are centered, the sticks can be removed and a laminate flooring roller can be used to evenly press them together.

With contact cement, you really only get one shot at sticking the pieces together in the correct orientation.

Once the panels are cured, I trimmed them to final size using the Kreg ACS. I also made sure to center the beadboard pattern while trimming down the panels.

Assemble Headboard & Footboard

The headboard and footboard are assembled using 2-1/2″ pockethole screws.  Before starting the assembly process, I sanded up to 150 grit.

To assemble, position the items as shown in the plans and screw the parts together.  Using clamps to temporarily secure the parts will make assemble easier.

Mill Bed Rail Face Frame

The bed rails double as a face frame for this bed and are made from 4/4 poplar.  The milling operations are very much the same as earlier.  I joint one face and edge, then rip stock on the tablesaw to it’s rough width.  After planing the boards to roughly 13/16, I head back to the tablesaw and rip everything to it’s final width.  Now I drill pocket holes as needed in the stiles.  I will be using 1-1/4” screws.

Assemble Face Frame

To assemble the face frames, I used bar clamps to hold the parts in place while screwing them together.

Once the outside stiles were in place, I check for square by measuring across the corners.  Then to space the center stiles, I used a scrap of plywood cut to the drawer opening shown in the plans and located the stile against it.  After this, I clamped the stile in place and used screws to secure it.

With both face frames assembled, I ran them through the drum sander until they reached final thickness and then, using a random orbit sander, sanded up to 150 grit.

Mill Five Panel False Drawer Front

Of course some of this is can be done while milling stock for the face frame, and to spare you the repetition, I’ll just get to what’s different about stock preparation for these parts.

Back to the router table, I set up with a tongue and groove router set.  I start by cutting the grooves in all of the parts per the plans.

At this point, all of the rails and stiles are cut to their final lengths.  Now back at the router table, I switch cutters and form the tongues in both ends of the stiles.  I used the Kreg precision miter gauge to safely run the stock through the cutter.

To mill the center panels, I raised the bit until the top cutter cleared the MDF and the proper rabbit was made.

For these parts, I like to use off-cuts to setup the router table.  Also, push blocks and a steady feed rate ensure good results.

Assemble False Drawer Front

To assemble the false fronts, I used space balls to center the panel and account for expansion and contraction (not completely necessary with an MDF center).  With this construction method, only glue the stiles and rails.

With the parts loosely together, I used bar clamps to firmly assemble the frame.  Before setting the assembly aside to cure, I check for square by measuring across the corners.

Once the glue is cured, I run the drawer fronts through the drum sander.  Again using the random orbit sander, I work my way up to 150 and then soften the edges by hand.

The last thing to do is drill for the drawer pulls.  I used Kreg’s Cabinet Hardware jig here which made this process very quick and repeatable.  Once I determined where I wanted the handle vertically, I just centered the jig on the drawer face, drilled the holes, and I was done!

Build Drawers

Building the drawers is by far the fastest step of this build. They are constructed from 3/4″ plywood with a 1/4″ bottom panel.  First I cut the fronts, backs, sides, and bottoms to size.

Next, I run the fronts, backs, and sides through the tablesaw and cut a dado for the bottom panel.  Now I drill pocket holes (for 1-1/4” screws) on the outside of the front and back pieces.

To assemble, I fit the bottom panel into the dados, hold the items together in clamps, and secure the sides to the front and back with 1-1/4″ pocket holes screws.

Told ya that was gonna be fast!

Paint

To finish the bed, we went with General Finishes Milk Paint again.  It’s a very easy to apply product that gives great results.

For the MDF panels, we first sprayed two coats of shellac to seal the material.  Without this step, the final appearance can be splotchy.

For all of the solid wood that would be seen, we first primed with a coat of General Finishes Stain Blocker Primer.

Then for the top coat, we applied two coats of a 4:1 mixture of Snow White and Antique White.  This gave us a crisp white with just the slightest touch of color.  We used foam brushes to apply both the primer and paint.

Final Assembly

To assemble the bed, we used the keyhole bed hardware by Rockler Woodworking.  Yes, I actually attached the hardware before we painted, but you can also add the hardware at this time.  Position the “keyed” plates as shown and use 3/4” screws to attach it.

Then secure the “hole” plates to the posts using 1-1/4″ pocket hole screws as shown.

With the rails secured to the headboard and footboard, you can now install the drawer slide supports with 1-1/4″ pockethole screws as shown in the plans.  Long bar clamps will make this process easier.

Next, install the drawer slides per the instructions of your particular slides.  With the drawers positioned in the bed, you’re now ready to attach the drawer fronts.

I use a stack of playing cards to center the spacing of the drawer front in the face frame and clamp it in place against the drawer box.

Then I drilled through the holes in the false drawer front into the drawer front.  Next just run the screws through the drawer front and false drawer front into the drawer pull.  If you use a knob instead of a pull, add some screws run from inside of the drawer into the false front.

Finally, I cut the 1x4s to length and secured them with no more than a 3″ gap using drywall screws.

For the mattress, we partnered with My Green Mattress because a good nights sleep that doesn’t expose you to the chemicals found in standard mattresses is important.  If you’re interested in an organic mattress (natural materials that aren’t treated with chemicals) then check out My Green Mattress and their story!

Now go take a nap, you’ve earned it!

Go Build One!

Well, what do you think?  Ready to build one for your home?  Head over to buildsomething.com, Kreg’s DIY project plan site, and get to it!  Make sure you snap a photo and tag Woodshop Mike (#woodshopmikeibuiltit) to share your build!

As always, if you have any questions, let me know.  And until next time, have fun making something!

Kreg Tool, My Green Mattress, General Finishes, & Rockler Woodworking provided me with product and/or monetary compensation as a sponsor of this build.  All opinions are my own and are not influenced by the sponsor.  All expressed opinions and experiences are my own words.  My post complies with the Word Of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Ethics Code and applicable Federal Trade Commission guidelines.

Milk paint and primer was provided by General Finishes.  Keyhole bed frame brackets were provided by Rockler Woodworking.  Mattress was provided my My Green Mattress.