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Thread: Live Edge Canopy Bed

  1. #1

    Live Edge Canopy Bed

    This is my first post here on this forum, so hello :-). We moved to Japan a little over a year ago and I decided to take up woodworking while I am here. We got rid of most of our furniture before making the move and I am slowy trying to replace it with handmade furniture.

    I'm in the process of building a live edge canopy bed and am hitting a snag when deciding the side rail and footboard height. This is what I am using as inspiration:

    TRACE_BasilBouris_Walnut_Queen_Canopy_main.jpg

    Instead of walnut, I am using kusunoki (Japanese camphor)

    P_20180127_172610_vHDR_Auto.jpg
    (Headboard) (Total height 36")

    I have a slightly smaller piece (without the massive check) that I am going to use as the footboard. I get one chance to get the height of the footboard correct and I am hesitant as to what height I should leave.

    The footboard has vertical sides of 22" and a total height of 33".

    In addition, I have enough material to make anything up to 15" rails but I'm thinking 7.5" would be adequate when paired with a 5" boxspring.

    Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

    Below is a picture of the log this material came from. It fell in a storm 14 years ago in Kitakyushu. The owner of the land cut it into 8 foot sections, carved a chaise lounge out of one section, took a 4" slice out of it for a live edge countertop and sold me the remainder of the tree.

    P_20171214_163507_vHDR_Auto.jpg
    Last edited by Allen Derton; 02-07-2018 at 11:55 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    SE Michigan
    Posts
    3,222
    Hello Allen, and Welcome! It appears you may be in the military? I see a commissary in the background of your picture.

    Regarding height of the footboard, there really isn’t a standard. Just depends on the look you want. Some are in the 14” range and are about half the height of the mattress/foundation (boxspring). And some will go as high as 36” (think iron arched footboards)...and everything in between.

    The side rail height also varies. The distance from the floor to the bottom of the rail is really just an aesthetic choice. I’ve seen them from resting right on the floor, to about 7” above the floor. Regarding the top of the rail, most will go to the top of the foundation/boxspring...but that depends on the boxspring (you mentioned 5”, but they also come in ultra low (1” or so) and high (around 9”).

    I guess what I’m saying is that there is no right or wrong. When designing though, have an understanding of the thickness of the mattress and foundation together (many mattresses today are around 12” - but I’ve seen thicker). So the rail needs to be designed so the slats are at a height that won’t put the mattress too high or low for your liking. Of course, the other option is to use a standard metal frame to hold the foundation/mattress, and the rails are just floating around it. In that case most will have rails that are low enough to cover the main vertical support for the metal frame and then again, height is up to you.
    Last edited by Phil Mueller; 02-08-2018 at 8:34 AM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Pueblo, CO
    Posts
    328
    When I have this type of question, I go to a local furniture store and take my tape measure, notebook, and cell phone camera. As I'm assuming you're sharing this with your significant other, take them too. You may not find exactly what you're after, but at least you can usually get close enough to get some usable measurements. As Phil mentioned, don't forget to allow for the mattress. Ours is at least 15", so I built our bed a little closer to the floor to keep the height reasonable. I've seen some beds that require a step stool to get into (or at least I would need one).

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Bellingham, Washington
    Posts
    1,149
    Just from the experience of many years of sleeping on beds one thing that I would do is make the footboard low. A high footboard, especially to this 75 yo, makes it difficult to make the bed (changing sheets, etc.), especially if you are using the new very heavy mattresses.
    Bracken's Pond Woodworks[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

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