Platform Bed Plans

Platform beds are having a comeback of sorts with both bedroom furniture shoppers and people who like to build furniture themselves. Perhaps some are attracted to the low cost, especially after seeing more conventional bed frames sell for thousands of dollars. Others might simply be looking for a bed that offers extra-firm support for the back.

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Most people are probably doing both. In fact, most people looking for a platform bed are probably now sleeping on a bare mattress on the floor (for one reason or another) and want to find a low-cost alternative. The simplest platform beds don't have a headboard or footboard. They don't use a box spring either, which does a lot to bring down the cost of the complete bed. Instead, the design of a platform bed uses a solid sheet of plywood to support the mattress. This makes for a sturdy, but somewhat flexible, bed cushion. People who sleep on the floor (and like it that way) will enjoy being up off the floor and still have the firmness they're used to.

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A popular type of mattress for platform beds is the memory-foam type - first used in hospitals for its extra comfort and health benefits. Memory foam mattresses are the perfect companion to a platform bed, and are easy to find at reasonable prices. However, a traditional mattress will also work fine.

For DIY project builders, the platform bed design is an attractive project, even for newcomers to woodworking. In its most simple form, a platform bed consists of little more than a basic wood frame with four corner posts to hold everything together. You'll find plenty of variations to this design, especially if you want something a little more stylish - like a headboard, footboard, canopy, storage drawers, etc. However, these extras are not necessary if all you want is the basic bed frame.

As you shop around for platform bed plans, be sure to find out what type of joinery the plan uses (some plan descriptions don't readily tell you this). This can make a big difference in whether or not you can build the bed. While the more simple joinery techniques can be done with more simple tools (like circular saws and hand drills), a platform bed plan that mentions things like dadoes, grooves, and mortises, is usually talking about table saws, routers, and drill presses.

If you end up getting a plan than requires lots tools you don't have, all is not lost. Most plan designs can be modified to fit the tools you have. All you really need to be looking for is a basic idea of how the parts go together. Once you start examining any platform bed plan, you'll be able to see how the joinery might be simplified. In fact you'll probably enjoy the bed more if you can find a way to customize the features to fit your particular style.