Audrey's Big Girl bed!

ok, to start off, my daughter is not yet two but she's growing like crazy and out grew her crib much to our surprise. So, my wife asked me to build her a bed that would be closer to the ground and also would accommodate one of our several queen sized mattresses... wait. What? A QUEEN sized mattress for a toddler! Yeah. We didn't want to buy another mattress that would need to be swapped out again in a few years plus we already had the mattress so we were able to put only material cost into her bed. By the way, she LOVES the real estate! So, I started with a sketchup drawing to develop a style that would fit our needs and be close to my wife's Pinterest research.

The design is simple but really sturdy. I built the base so my daughter could sleep on it right away - she was starting to try climbing out of the crib so it needed to be done. The frame is about 10" off the ground to allow for air flow under the bed but no stubbed toes and things being lost underneath it.

The build took me a weekend to build while my wife cleared out Audrey's room to prepare for the new bed. I started with the 2x4 frame and used pocket holes to assemble the cross rails and frame together.

I built the frame to match the perimeter of the mattress first. Then I sheathed the top with some 1/2" construction grade plywood and screwed it to the frame.

I cut the sheathing slightly oversized and then flush trim routed it it match the frame exactly which worked really well.

i built the frame out of some left over maple plywood I had from the Murphy bed build. I assembled the corners using pocket holes which made for a really flimsy frame so I needed to be careful when clamping and assembling it around the bed frame. The clamps are holding the casing up so I could screw it all together. I edge banded the plywood to cover all of the plies and sanded all surfaces smooth to remove sharp edges. I think at a later time once I build the headboard, I will round over all the corners with a router. Next was taking the whole bed apart and getting it into Audrey's room!

Everything screwed back together and sitting in the feet I installed, this bed frame is rock solid! I walked all over it and jumped on it, not a squeak, shift or crack. Which impressed me! My wife and I put the mattress on the frame and we made her bed.

And there it is! Now, personally, I'm not a fan of how low it is to the floor. But, I'm 6'4" so anything is pretty much too low for me haha! The best part is that once Audrey saw the bed, she loved it! Every night since she started sleeping in her big girl bed, she is happy and plays catch me on a whole lot of space while we try to get her ready for bed and dressed in the morning. Her smiles are totally worth it! After I get the next couple of commissions out of the way, I'll build her head board and get it installed which shouldn't be too much trouble. And it will really pull the room together while removing a gap from the wall that Audrey likes to climb into at the head of the bed when she wakes up early some mornings.

I'm getting caught up with posts! Thanks for sticking with me and for checking out my work! Email me or message me for custom work you'd like to have done! See you in the next post!