DIY guide · Beds
Platform beds, storage beds and beds that fold into the wall, built around the mattress you own. Sizes, slats, joints and plans made to measure.
IllustrationWhere to start
A weekend
A plinth box with slats on top, screwed together and sized to your mattress. No legs to wobble and no joints on show.
Two weekends
Drawers in the side of the frame, a headboard with shelves, and bed bolts so the frame comes apart when you move.
Two to three weekends
A cabinet with a rated lift mechanism and a frame that swings down. The panel work is ordinary; the hardware sets the rules.
Types of beds
IllustrationLow, solid and calm: a plinth with slats on top and no legs. The simplest frame to build well.
See the plan
IllustrationDeep drawers in the side of the frame, for bedding and the clothes that are out of season.
Design yours
IllustrationA bed that folds up into a cabinet, with shelves either side. A guest room that is a study the rest of the time.
See the plan
IllustrationSleep up high, with a desk and shelves underneath. One footprint, two rooms.
Design yours
IllustrationWall to wall, with a shelf for books and a light at each side. Turns any bed into a fitted one.
Design yoursPlans
Each one becomes a 3D model, a cut list, drilling maps and step-by-step instructions, at the size you need.
Size it to the mattress
Pick your mattress in the sizes your country uses. See the frame it needs, inside and out, how many slats, and whether it needs a centre rail.
Mattresses vary by a centimetre or two between makers, so measure yours. Inside sizes leave 10 mm of play all round.
Before you design
Mattress sizes differ between countries and between makers. Measure the real thing and add about 20 mm to the length and width so bedding tucks in.
Most mattress makers ask for slats no more than about 70 mm apart. Anything wider than a single needs a centre rail with a leg to the floor.
A mattress top at 450 to 600 mm suits most people for sitting down and standing up. A low platform looks calm. A higher one makes room for storage underneath.
Murphy beds and storage beds rely on rated hardware. Buy the mechanism first and design the cabinet around its instructions.
Joints
A bed carries more weight than any other furniture. These four details do the work.
Slats no more than 60 to 70 mm apart, resting on a batten inside the frame. A spacer block keeps every gap the same.
Slats, a spacer block, screws
A long bolt through the post into a nut set in the rail. Strong and tight, and it comes apart when you move.
Bed bolts, barrel nuts, a drill guide
Anything wider than 1.2 m inside needs a rail down the middle with legs to the floor, or the slats bow.
Rail, adjustable legs
Hang the headboard on a bevelled cleat fixed to the wall. It stays put when you sit up and lifts off when you move.
Saw set to 45°
Materials
| Material | Cost | Stiffness | Edges | Finish | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birch plywood | €€€ | Layered edge: show it off or band it | Oil, lacquer or paint | Platform boxes, headboards, drawers | |
| Pine | €€€ | Solid wood, no banding needed | Oil, wax or paint | Classic frames on legs | |
| Oak | €€€ | Solid wood, no banding needed | Hardwax oil | Posts, rails and headboards | |
| Beech or birch slats | €€€ | Ready made, rounded | Left bare | Slats that flex without breaking | |
| MDF | €€€ | Smooth, paints well once sealed | Paint | Upholstered or painted headboard panels only |
Tools
Enough for every first-build plan here.
No saw? Most timber merchants cut sheets to a list. Take the cut list from your plan and pick the panels up ready to drill.
Each one opens up a new kind of build.
Safety
A bed frame on the floor needs no fixing. A wall bed does: the cabinet carries the mattress as it swings down, so it fixes to the wall as its mechanism's instructions say. A headboard on the wall needs fixings for the wall it hangs on.
Something else in mind?
Say it the way you would to a carpenter. Caminu draws it, checks the spans and writes the guide.
Questions
Any. Mattress sizes differ between countries and makers, so enter the real length, width and thickness of yours.
Most mattress makers ask for gaps of no more than about 70 mm. Check the guidance for your mattress, since some warranties depend on it.
The cabinet and bed frame are ordinary panel work. The lift mechanism is not: buy a rated spring or gas-strut kit for your mattress weight, design the cabinet around its instructions and fix the cabinet to the wall structure.
Enough that no gap is wider than about 60 to 70 mm. For a 2 m bed with 70 mm slats that is around 16. The bed size check on this page counts them for your mattress.
Yes, anything wider than about 1.2 m inside. A rail down the middle with a leg or two to the floor stops the slats bowing.
From the blog
Keep going
Show Caminu your room and describe the piece. You get the 3D model, the cut list and the assembly guide.
