Farmhouse bed with drawer storage

Submitted by SE-Mark on Sat, 10/20/2012 - 22:56

I had to come on here to thank you all for inspiring me to build this bed! The thought of building such a big piece of furniture never really occurred to me until I saw the Farmhouse queen plans, which really got the gears turning.

I wanted to add some storage to the bed, though, and so I kept looking at other projects on this site. I don't know which plans are all combined into this one, but you can see the one side table in some of the pictures which is based on a hutch plan here, and the concepts there are used in the drawer fronts on the bed. I still plan to build a matching side table for this side of the bed and also a dresser unit to complete the bedroom set.

This entire project was built on my deck as I don't have a garage. Started at the end of September and working by flood light on nights where I could find the time. It was finally moved inside to paint. The bed is built into four sections for disassembly - headboard, footboard, and a base section that is split in half with knockdown fasteners. The headboard and footboard are also attached with knockdowns, so the entire bed comes apart with an allen key.

The cost was incredibly low. My biggest cringe costs were for the 4x4 posts, which I had to buy in cedar, and the birch 3/4" plywood for the drawers. All in costs are still under $200, though I did own a Kreg system which got used a fair amount.

I did modify the footboard / headboard construction since I had the Kreg system. Rather than using a 1x4 backing board with 1x verticals and a 1x4 front board, I used a Kreg'ed 2x4 as the backing board, flush to the 4x4 post... no 4 1/2" screws required! The 1x verticals were then glued and nailed onto the 2x4s, and the 1x4 front board was glued and nailed to it.

The drawers are huge! 29" wide x 26" deep x 14" tall (more or less). Also, they are positioned so that when a side table is placed beside the bed the drawers can still open. The panel at the head of the bed is a door with a magnetic catch. I think of that area as 'deep storage' as you would have to move a side table to get in there. The door is there to get there if you want to though.

One cost not accounted for... my 'work bench' patio table sustained an injury. I still maintain I did not drop anything onto it. In fact, I was using a tape measure to measure a drawer length when the glass shattered out from under the piece I was measuring. It was cold in the morning, so maybe that had something to do with it. But now I just have to add 'fix patio table' to the project list.

Thanks again!
Mark

Estimated Cost
$200
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Tremclad / Rustoleum semi-gloss white.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

5 tator tots (not verified)

Tue, 10/23/2012 - 19:04

I can't wait until we have time to build a farmhouse storage bed. Yours looks great!.

jaimej

Sun, 01/06/2013 - 19:35

Very smart placement of the drawers - I too am aspiring to build this some day and wondered about a fix on that - do I just store things in that drawer I rarely want to get at? No, I like your idea better. Beautiful job on the bed - it looks nice.

niki

Sun, 11/10/2013 - 17:49

This is exactly what I'm looking for. I love the drawers. Would you be willing to share more on how you did those, vs the plywood boxes in the plans?

SE-Mark

Thu, 03/20/2014 - 11:40

Sorry for taking so long to reply to your question! I missed it.

I don't have any pictures / details on how it was done, but I can explain it. The front face is built as a 2x4 surround with 1x6 inset boards. I then put a dado in the bottom side 1/4" up from the bottom.

I then made a drawer box from 5/8" plywood, kreg jigged to the front face. A 1/4" piece of plywood was used as the drawer bottom, and inset into the front face of the drawer.

This all sounds a bit difficult and confusing, but it isn't. Maybe I should take some pictures. Let me know if you'd like to see them.

briankerr

Wed, 07/30/2014 - 10:55

Great build! I'd love to see some more photos of the drawer surround/frame with the drawers out. Is it all 2x3 stud construction? Any problems with warping or the drawer slides not square/plum?

omegatek

Thu, 10/16/2014 - 10:22

Racking my brains out trying to figure out how you laid those slats across the top of the drawers...  If you wouldn't mind posting a few more pics, I would really appreciate it.  My daughter wants this for her birthday. 

Thanks!