Four drawer storage bed critique

[Jozef Kaslikowski]

I am designing a four drawer full size storage bed. My idea so far is to make it in two sections, one for the head and one for the foot with two drawers to each section on the right and left sides. The bolt the two sections together when it is in place. I intend to build a mostly open case cabinet structure and then add slats to the top to carry the mattress.

I would like to paint the completed sections before moving them to the room also. I intend, so far, to leave the plywood edges raw and shellac and paint the entire thing. I have never painted anything I have made so I am not sure it will work out.

I haven't drawn in the drawers yet, but I am thinking basic plywood boxes with full extension slides, no pulls but leave a longer lip on the under side of the drawer to use as a pull. The drawer faces are also meant to overlap the plywood ends completely, down from the top stretchers to overlapping the toe kick maybe an inch.

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[Jamie Buxton]

Looks good so far.

I've never understood why folks use slats to support the mattress. Why not just turn that top frame into a sheet of plywood? You get support for the mattress, and easier construction. Also, the construction you've diagrammed might be a little weak. Consider a heavy person who sits on the edge of the bed, above the middle of a drawer. Really, all that's supporting him is a 1x6 that's over three feet long. It will certainly sag a lot, and might even break. If he were sitting on the edge of a full sheet of plywood, he wouldn't be able to break it.

[Jozef Kaslikowski]

Really the only reason for not using a solid sheet is weight. I agree that there may not be enough support over the drawers though. Maybe a vertical support at the front edge would strengthen it enough? I neglected to mention that the white sections would be hardwood, most likely beech or oak.

[Lee Schierer]

It is a good idea to make it in two separate sections. I made a similar four drawer bed support for our bed and made it all one piece for a queen size bed. In addition to handling the weight of the whole assembly, I had to remove the vanity from the bathroom to get the bed frame into our bedroom after it was built. Mine has face frames on the side and raised side rails to keep the mattress centered. I used 1/4" luan for the top cover and have had no support issues in 25+ years. LOML and I both love the extra storage room it provides.

[Lex Boegen]

Looks good so far.

I've never understood why folks use slats to support the mattress. Why not just turn that top frame into a sheet of plywood? You get support for the mattress, and easier construction. Also, the construction you've diagrammed might be a little weak. Consider a heavy person who sits on the edge of the bed, above the middle of a drawer. Really, all that's supporting him is a 1x6 that's over three feet long. It will certainly sag a lot, and might even break. If he were sitting on the edge of a full sheet of plywood, he wouldn't be able to break it.

According to the mattress manufacturers, it's necessary to provide ventilation to the mattress. They require a box spring, except for a few mattresses specifically designed for use on a platform bed. The cynic in me says it's all BS and the mattress manufacturers just want an additional sale (the box spring).

[Jamie Buxton]

According to the mattress manufacturers, it's necessary to provide ventilation to the mattress. They require a box spring, except for a few mattresses specifically designed for use on a platform bed. The cynic in me says it's all BS and the mattress manufacturers just want an additional sale (the box spring).

I agree that the box spring is just the additional sale, and serves no functional purpose. Platform beds work just fine. Just think about every other upholstered thing you rest your weight on -- arm chairs, sofas, car seats, you name it. None of them are anywhere as tall as the typical mattress plus box spring stack. But they work just fine. Heck, you're horizontal on a bed, spreading your weight over a large area, so the required support thickness should be even less. But manufacturers keep making the stack taller. Nowadays, a typical mattress has grown to be a foot thick! Heck, when I go camping, I'm sleeping on a thermarest that's less than two inches thick, and it is fine.

[Don Alexander]

i built one of these quite a few years back for a rather large individual bed was queen size ............. instead of the way you have designed the split in the base unit i split it lengthwise w/ 3drawers per side and topped it with 3/4 ply sanded and sealed i split it length wise for 2 reasons 1) ease of handling (i could move it by myself at the time) it goes thru doorways easily 2) it beefed up the finished product without adding weight to each piece and was the best use of the sheet goods

(the person sleeping on it weighs between 400 and 500 lbs) bed has been moved quite a few times in the 18 or so years since i built it and its still as rock solid as the day i finished it the 2 halves have never been attached to each other and its never moved other than the plywood platform the whole thing is made from solid oak

[Jozef Kaslikowski]

I originally wanted to split it lengthwise, but there were two reasons I didn't. First, the bed has travel down a somewhat narrow hallway and make a left to get to the room in which it is going. I never measured, but it looked like it might be tight. The other reason was that I didn't want the seam at the bottom of the bed to show. I just couldn't figure out a way to avoid the large vertical seam, so instead I hid most of it behind drawer fronts, and the part I couldn't hide will be minimized as much as possible. This bed will actually be for a three year old child (there was an unused full sized mattress already, so no sense in buying a smaller one), but who knows what kind of weight it may have on it at some point with kids jumping on it etc.

[Jamie Buxton]

I've built platform beds with drawers, and, like Don, split them head-to-foot. I include a footboard and a headboard in the design, mostly because I like the look. They attach from the inside, so there are no visible fasteners, and they cover the split between the platform pieces.

[Pat Barry]

Our old waterbed had the drawers split down the middle (lengthwise) with 3 drawers on each side. One nice feature was that the end of the bed actually had about a 6 inch overhang compared to the base, which was nice when it came to walking around it and making the bed. It gave room for your toes, kind of like a toe kick on a kitchen cabinet.

[Tim Sproul]

Really the only reason for not using a solid sheet is weight. I agree that there may not be enough support over the drawers though. Maybe a vertical support at the front edge would strengthen it enough? I neglected to mention that the white sections would be hardwood, most likely beech or oak.


Break the sheet into 2 or 4 pieces. That way you get the mattress support and can handle the size/weight of the pieces.

I agree with Jamie - 3/4 thickness spanning 35 inches is not going to support much weight, even if from dense hardwood. Lose some height of the drawer front by using something like a 1x3 across the top of the drawer opening. You won't lose much in the way of actual storage space since folks mostly store bedding in their bed...which is compressible.

The other thing I'd think about is legs instead of a platform base and legs with adjustable height feet. Those cheap metal bed frames don't need adjustable height feet because they just flex to match the irregularity of a floor. Your design won't be so accommodating of a warped floor. Be sure to put a leg in the middle where all 4 drawers touch each other.

[Jozef Kaslikowski]

I've built platform beds with drawers, and, like Don, split them head-to-foot. I include a footboard and a headboard in the design, mostly because I like the look. They attach from the inside, so there are no visible fasteners, and they cover the split between the platform pieces.

How did you attach your footboard? I thought of using T-nuts or hanger bolts, but was somewhat worried about how robust either of those solutions would be.

[Jamie Buxton]

How did you attach your footboard? I thought of using T-nuts or hanger bolts, but was somewhat worried about how robust either of those solutions would be.


I've used several different ways.

One way is to put brass threaded inserts in the inside face of the footboard (for instance http://www.mcfeelys.com/product/3606-BI/14-20-Brass-Threaded-Insert). Machine screws go through the wall of the the drawer enclosure into the inserts. If the screws are 1/4-20, nothing's coming apart. (I like to include cleats or locating pins or something to loosely align the footboard while I'm reaching around inside to insert the screws.) If you want, you can use connector bolts. They have a nice big flat head, and the hex drive keeps the screw on the driver while you're inserting it. (for instance http://www.amazon.com/Stafast-Products-Connector-Bolts-1-1/dp/B003F0730M)

To make the bed assemble without tools, I've used trunk latches. Here are two pics of the attachment of a footboard to the drawer enclosure. They're shot from the same camera position. You can see that the trunk latch is hidden behind the closed drawer front. Trunk latches are also sometimes called draw latches or spring latches. The pictured ones probably came from McMaster-Carr.

[Jamie Buxton]

One other thought.... I like to be able to sit on the bed to tie my showlaces. That sets the overall height of the bed. I also want to get as much storage space under the mattress as I can. Between those two needs there's the thickness of the mattress. If you go to a standard mattress place, they'll try to sell you mattresses that are 12 or 14 inches thick, leaving little room for drawers. Instead, go to Ikea. They have a nice line of mattresses that aren't that thick. They also say specifically they're good for platform beds, so if you believe the assertion that there's something different about platform bed mattresses, they've got you covered. My current mattress is one from them that is about 5 1/2" thick, and it is fine. Ikea's prices are also very reasonable.

[Jozef Kaslikowski]

The nearest Ikea is about 6 hours away. =)

I am shooting for a 24" height with the mattress. I don't know how that works for tying shoes, but it seems to work on the rest of my beds, so I just went with it.

PS, the pictures of your bed make my effort feel pretty weak. We live in a log house, so I am going to paint the bed for contrast (all of the interior is t&g pine), but its hard not to wish that I could build something that nice someday.

[Jamie Buxton]

.... We live in a log house...

Hmmm. How flat is the floor? A chest bed is a rigid structure with a big footprint. Like Tim mentioned above, you might want to include levelers, for instance ones like these http://wwhardware.com/catalog.cfm?GroupID=Levelers%20%26%20Casters%2C%20 Furniture&CatID=Cabinet%20and%20Base%20Levelers%2C%20Medium% 20Duty&showprod=1
There are levelers with heads or slot so you can adjust them from the top. And there are ones with different stem lengths.

You could hide them inside the drawer enclosure, and get access to them by removing the drawers.

[John Sanford]

I would like to paint the completed sections before moving them to the room also. I intend, so far, to leave the plywood edges raw and shellac and paint the entire thing. I have never painted anything I have made so I am not sure it will work out. I'd recommend that you not leave the plywood edges that will be "uncovered" when the drawers are open raw. Edge 'em with hardwood. This isn't an appearance concern, it's a durability thing, especially since this will be the bed of a young boy (aka Destructor the Younger). If you don't edge it, things will catch on the plywood, they will tear at it, shred it, pull splinters (which will end up in toes and fingers and such nonsense).



I haven't drawn in the drawers yet, but I am thinking basic plywood boxes with full extension slides, no pulls but leave a longer lip on the under side of the drawer to use as a pull. The drawer faces are also meant to overlap the plywood ends completely, down from the top stretchers to overlapping the toe kick maybe an inch. Use pulls. A lip on the bottom edge of the drawer will be blocked far too easily, and requires stooping further than a pull would require. Also, a lip encourages yanking on the drawer far off center, which can have less than satisfactory outcomes. Curved pulls without open ends would be best, to avoid snaggers.

[Jozef Kaslikowski]

I did edge all of the plywood with hardwood strips. That was a much bigger pain than any of the rest of the construction. But I did finally finish it after several late nights. I didnt see the the advice about the pulls until I had already painted.

Also, I failed to let the wood get dry enough and there were some shrinkage issues, so I had to add some edging on the side rails. They also sagged, so I had to reposition the drawer fronts to let the drawers close smoothly. Additionally, I would cut the narrower plywood with my circular saw or a crosscut sled, I did it with my miter gauge and ended up straightening the cuts again with an edge and circ saw. In the end this bed is very solid and the whole family has been on it at the same time with no issues. Thanks to everyone for the input and hopefully I will do even better next time.

If I had it to do over I would do several things differently. I would definitely go with a footboard as I dont like how the drawer edges show.

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[John Petsche]

i like the ideas shared, thanks.

[Ron Michael]

I am looking for some opinions/criticisms. I found this storage bed picture on line a while ago and unfortunately I cannot find it any longer so I cannot credit the original builder. What do you guys think of this design?
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I am planning to to reproduce it with some modifications. Queen size, 4 drawer only, 29"x29"x9" each with the 2 remaining spaces (~18") by the head just covered as it will be blocked the my night tables. What do you think of using particle board for these drawers?

[Jamie Buxton]

I am looking for some opinions/criticisms. I found this storage bed picture on line a while ago and unfortunately I cannot find it any longer so I cannot credit the original builder. What do you guys think of this design?

I am planning to to reproduce it with some modifications. Queen size, 4 drawer only, 29"x29"x9" each with the 2 remaining spaces (~18") by the head just covered as it will be blocked the my night tables. What do you think of using particle board for these drawers?

I'd break it into two subassemblies, with the break running head-to-foot down the middle of the bed. The reason is that as pictured it is a big thing. It will be heavy to move, and may not go through doors or up stairs.

[Ron Michael]

Here is my final version of the queen storage bed. The headboard and the night stands are my original bedroom set.

The bed frame (2 half bolted together) including the drawers made from a nice plywood and the bottom of draws is particle board. Foot board and drawers face is solid pine.

Initially I was a little concerned of being able to match the existing (30 years old) bedroom set finish. However, I am very happy with the results and my wife cannot tell the difference.

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[Yonak Hawkins]

They look really good, Ron, and very functional. It looks like you matched the headboard very well.

(As an aside, those headlights would spook the heck out of me. What if they spontaneously came on at the wrong time ? I'd imagine I was still in High School at Lookout Point.)

[G Douglas Fowler]

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/asset.php?fid=219253&uid=60970&d=1333759996


This is my approach to the same size bed. I used 3 single drawers and the bed pieces can be reversed depending on what side of the room the bed is placed. Regarding slats vs. sheet, I've always used 3/4" slats for air flow. Can't prove it is better but that is what is recommended by several design experts.

Doug