I was so happy to finish this bed and get it set up today, one month and one day shy of my 20th wedding anniversary. My husband and I had never been able to agree on a bed but we got a new memory foam mattress after Christmas and found Ana's website through an "IKEA hack" type of page. We finally found something from Anna we agreed on and was affordable. : ) I used non-mortising bed rail brackets as well as a center beam support, all from Woodcraft, so that this bed could be easily disassembled if needed. I used a combination of 1x2 and 1x4 to create slats, 17 in all, about 2-3" apart, placed on cleats, all to hold the mattress and simulate the bed slats from IKEA. I sanded 80-120-220 then covered with a wipe-on poly product from Watco, which was easier to work with than stains etc that need to sit, since I had to work in my dining room (else risk getting lots of maple "flyers" and pollen in my finish...) Thank you, Ana, for all your great ideas and encouragement! One tip: maybe sand some of the pieces, especially in the head and footboards, before assembling. It was tricky to get into the tight places with the power sander and by hand.