Plans

Free Woodworking Plans to Build a King Sized RBR Hudson Bed

02.28.11 By //
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Are you in the dog house for your weak attempt at a Valentine’s Day celebration? Spring yourself from the big house by making up for the error of your ways… Build this for your Sweetheart as a romantic peace offering…. I promise it will work! This is the first part of the full set of plans for building the bed that I am currently building for myself! If you hang out with us on my FB Fanpage, you know that I have been working on my very first “big girl” bed for the last week and a half! Through the process I have fully committed to the fact that I need a NEW SANDER and I also might benefit from investing in some oversized clamps. Sigh…it’s awfully hard to work on a project without having all of the proper tools necessary and you find yourself making compromises..and also learning some new tricks for getting the job done sans specific tools required! I consider the design of this bed to be a sophisticated farmhouse bed with a bit of cape cod or coastal style added to the mix! And this is just the beginning. Part 2 for this bed will come shortly, and will transform this baby into my dreamboat bed! yahoo…

Estimated Cost

$75-$100

Tools
  • Tape Measure
  • Sander
  • Drill
  • Saw – Optional if you have your local lumber supply cut your boards.
Lumber
  • 4 – 2×4 at 8′ ** 9 – additional 2×4 at 8’ if you will not be using your own bed frame.
  • 8 – 1×6 at 6’
  • 2 – 1×8 at 8′
  • 4 – 1×2 at 6′ (head/footboard top trim)
  • 1 – 1×2 at 8′ (everything else listed for 1×2 cuts)
  • 2 – 2×3 at 10′
Materials
  • 2″ Wood Screws
  • 3″ Wood Screws
  • 3 1/2″ Wood Screws
  • Wood Glue
  • Wood Filler
  • Sanding Supplies
  • Finishing Supplies
Cut List
  • 2 – 4×4 at 42 1/2″ Legs
  • 2 – 4×4 at 31 1/2″ Legs
  • 8 – 1×6 at 71” Panels
  • 4 – 1×2 at 71” Head and Footboard Top/Bottom Trim
  • 2 – 1×2 at 6 1/4″ Upper Foot Side Trim
  • 4 – 1×2 at 11 3/4” Upper Head and Lower Foot Side Trim
  • 2 – 1×2 at 17 1/4″ Lower Head Side Trim
  • 6 – 2×3 at 72 1/2″ Head and Foot Board Surrounding and Center Boards
  • 2 – 2×3 at 33 1/2” Headboard Surrounding Side Boards
  • 2 – 2×3 at 22 1/2” Footboard Surrounding Side Boards
  • 2 – 1×8 at 82 1/2″ Frame Side Rails
  • 2 – 2×4 at 87 1/2″ Top Trim Boards
  • **8 – 2×4 at approx. 77” Joists for Mattress support (dimensions will depend on exact measurement of your mattress, and this is only necessary if you aren’t using your bed frame)
Instructions

Before beginning to build, always check in on my site to make sure you have the most up to date set of plans, I occasionally update and change the plans to make the building process easier or to allow for less expensive purchasing of materials! Read through the entire set of instructions and all comments before beginning this project. If you print out or save plans, be sure to check in on my site to be sure you have the most up to date set of plans, as I occasionally update things for ease of building or buying. If you are new to building, read through the GETTING STARTED section and other articles found under the BUILD tab in the menu on my site, it has valuable information about how to get started, tools and techniques. If you are unfamiliar with the finishing process, visit my Finishing school for some tips and tricks for painting like a pro and for special finishing practices. Use glue to secure your joints and Consider Painting or Staining individual sections prior to assembling. This makes the paint application virtually flawless. Coat with a spray on Poly or Wipe on Poly to protect your finish and your piece and it will last for ages. Adhere to all safety standards and guidelines, and be sure you follow safety protocol throughout your build. If you are unsure about whether you are building safely, run a quick online search for the tool or technique you are using, or contact me via email or post to the forum before you move ahead. My contact info can be found in the menu of my site.

Step 1
Step 1

Build your Headboard and Foot Board units. You are going to be building a puzzle essentially, that will fit together and sit perfectly inside a sandwich of surrounding boards. Use glue to attach adjacent boards and sandwich with side trim to secure in place. The Panels should be centered perfectly on the side trim pieces (1×2’s shown in green and blue) leaving equal spacing on either side. Use 2” screws to fasten the side, top, and bottom trim to the panel boards. Use your 3″ Screws to fasten one set of panels (probably the bottom)to the Center Board (red) and glue the top section to it. Be sure the panel boards are centered on the Center Board as well. You want everything to be centered with equal spacing on front and back. Don’t worry about the pieces not being screwed together vertically, this design is not dependent upon it. Instead it will be the side attachments that matter.

Step 2
Step 2

Fasten the Surrounding Boards to the Panels you just created. Use 3” screws and glue to connect. Be sure the Surrounding Boards are centered with equal amounts of overhang on front and back of each unit. Everything should feel nice and sturdy with no wiggle wobble.

Step 3
Step 3

Fasten the Units to the Legs. You will fasten from the inside of the Surrounding Side Boards into the Legs on both the front and back of the unit and on either side. Use 3” screws and glue. The Units will sit flush with the top of the Legs. Once they are secured in place, you will fasten the Top Trim Board in place using 3 1/2” screws and glue. This should have an overhang of 2 1/2” on either side and will sit centered on the units, but flush with the width of the legs.

Step 4
Step 4

Since this is for a King Sized bed, you have a few options where it relates to the Frame. The first option is to simply attach your metal bed frame to the Head/Fottboards themselves and add a Side rail to disguise and beautify (This is recommended for a much faster build and will save you quite a bit of money as well since you likely already have a frame since they tend to come free with your bed sets). You can also create adequate support for your mattress if you don’t have a frame by building a frame constructed of 2×4 joists with dimensions 1” longer than the width of your exact mattress and fasten them to the Side Rails and then to the Legs on the Head/Footboards. This is the recommended frame construction for not using the metal frame with your bed set since the 2×4’s should provide adequate support for the heavy mattress. I don’t recommend using slats for a bed set this heavy..I just don’t see it being the best solution here. Use 3” screws to fasten the 2×4’s to the Rails and use glue. Fasten the first and last 2×4 so that it sits perpendicular to the rails at the very front/back edge so you can use those joists to fasten directly to the head and foot boards. You can also use your pocket hole system to fasten the rails to the legs. I show the rails sitting centered in the legs, however you will want to place the rails at a location on the legs that best fits your exact mattress width. Mattresses are somewhat standard in size, but when you are talking about exact measurements…they are all over the board. You should fall somewhere near 76×80, but you could waver by 1-2” in any direction and this would be problematic if you haven’t secured your rails and joists accordingly.

Finishing Instructions

Fill any Screw, Nail or Pocket Holes, Sand and Finish as Desired. For Finishing Tips and Tricks visit my Finishing School

**Disclaimer: Some rights reserved. Private use only. Feel Free to link to any of my plans so long as you provide an adequate link back to the appropriate post! Plans from this page are not to be used for commercial purposes or republished without the express written consent of Rayan Turner, The Design Confidential I hope to provide accurate plans, however, I cannot guarantee each plan for accuracy. Not every plan that I post has been built and tested, so you are building at your own risk. It is recommended that you have a clear understanding of how the project works before beginning any project. Please contact me if you find an error or inaccuracy so that I might fix it.

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