How to Build A Pallet Bed
We are in Week 4 of the ORC and our southern sleeping porch build out. This week we discussing How to Build A Pallet Bed.
This week we will be sharing a fun DIY on How to Build A Pallet Bed for our Southern Style Sleeping porch. Since this one of the largest pieces for this area this will be a very important factor in how this space comes together.
For those of you following along on the Spring 2017 One Room Challenge, this is a link where you can check at all the participants in the 2017 ORC hosted by House Beautiful and Linda @Calling It Home.
WEEKLY RECAP:
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6
WEEK 4: PROGRESS REPORT
So my rug saga continues….. the replacement for southern sleeping porch rug I ordered has been placed into the room for me to look at, but it just is not working for me. I truly had my heart set on the other rug and this new style is just not living up to my expectations. Sadly I will probably be returning it, and scrambling to find a new suitable replacement, or none at all. I have been know to just wait for what I want, especially once my heart is set on something. So we will see how the RUG SAGA sorts itself out, LOL.
Don’t forget, you can catch a sneak peek of the mystery DIY Antique as a subscriber at Designer Notes.
As a recap or to bring you up speed, we are updated a basic screened in porch, into a southern sleeping porch. This is the inspiration board for this project:
DAY BED BLUEPRINTS:
We were able to obtain 15 pallets, 6 of which will be used for the bed base and the other 9 will be deconstructed for wood to create the pattern for the arms and back of the day bed. When picking pallets to utilize for furniture or wall treatments, you really want to make sure of two things. 1. What are the pallets are made out of and 2. What did the pallets originally transport. Some pallets have housed potential poisonous substances, while others are made out of wood treated with poisonous substances, and these are not suitable for reuse. 1001 pallets is a great resource for looking up this information and has a great article available at this (article link). I have included a copy of the pallet codes below from 1001 pallets, these are for the wood type used to make the pallets. All of our pallets are HT and were originally used to ship concrete pavers……bet you can’t guess where I got those from….maybe the patio paver project?
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So as I mention above we had to deconstruct the 9 of the pallets to reuse the pallet wood for the side arms and back side of the day bed. The easiest way to do this is by cutting directly through the nails that hold the pallets together. We used a reciprocating saw with a Diablo metal cutting blade, which I highly recommend and made quick work this project.
WEEK 4 PROJECTS:
This weeks project scope was 100% focused on building the day bed for the sleeping porch. Last week, we posted the actual blueprint designs for the pallet daybed. These plans were designed and drawn by my super talented husband Ron. You can check them out above in case you missed them. Just as a quick recap we obtain pallets in Week 1, disassembled pallets in Week 2, drew up plans in Week 3 and are now ready to build in week 4.
This weeks project started with building the base for the mattress, or pallet boxsprings. The base is just a little bit longer than one standard pallet width, mainly because we chose to use a full size mattress, a twin would have been the exact pallet width. A full size mattress run 54 inches wide by 74 inches long.
In order to accommodate this size we were able to split a pallet and attached it to the back side as seen here. Then we replicated this process for the second layer. The next step was to build a frame out of 2×4’s to house the pallet bed frame. This frame work creates the faux head board and side rails of the daybed.
Once we completed the frame we added a plywood backer to make the adhesion of the pallet wood easier. I know this seems like an unnecessary additional step, but as we learned on a previous project, if you have a solid backer surface you can cut the pallet wood to any length.
This will enable you to make a pretty pattern with the wood, instead of being locked in to full size boards that can only be attached at ends. Plus it also makes the frame very sturdy.
The final step in building the bed was cutting the pallet boards at random length and attaching them to the plywood. While attaching the boards keep in mind the more random of the sizes, placement and colors the better. This will help create a that rustic farmhouse look, which is the look we are going for.
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Since the bed is very large, for moving purposes, we will assemble the base, frame walls, and sides on the porch, in place. Please keep in mind that this beast is being moved up 3 flights of steps to our screened porch. Prior to moving up to the porch, I will be sealing the pallets with a great new product I found. Weathered Wood Accelerator by Varathane. This product is amazing, with one pass coverage!!! It weathers the all wood both new and old to beautiful gray, brown and black color depending on piece of wood.
Make sure to check in next week as we start to assemble the room for the BIG REVEAL!!! On the agenda for next week: hang curtains, assemble bed, finish up mystery antique item, and get ready for staging.
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Jen, you guys amaze me! I can’t wait to see how it turns out AND test it out! My room is stagnant and will likely send me to the grave next week haha
I want a sleeping porch! Great work on the daybed. It looks awesome!
Looking good, you’re making lots of great progress!
Thanks Jessica so is yours!!!! Hard to believe we are coming up on week 5 for the ORC.
Thank you Bre!!! It is really coming together now!!! So excited for the reveal 🙂
Girl….. I feel you on the “challenge” part…. I now truly understand why they call it a “one room challenge” LOL Let me know if you guys need anything!!! I am not sure I can do much on those nightstands, but I can refinish anything 🙂 And of course you guys are always welcome to quality control check the “Ronster’s” construction techniques 🙂
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Great article! Keep up the great writing, and I love your outdoor spaces.
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This is a very nice post. I took a hop back to look at last season’s room after reading you current fall ORC post.
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Thanks a lot for giving everyone this remarkably brilliant, do it yourself project, from your site. You blog really is very jam-packed with fun project that anyone can do.
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Oh this room is really coming along nicely! I just would like to give my congratulations, for the great info you might have here on this post. I shall be coming back again for more soon.
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This actually turned out really nice, the white brightens up that bathroom area a lot. Keep up the good work can’t wait to see the reveal!
I have been interested in adding some Batten Board to my laundry room this turned out great! Thanks foe the tutorial in week 3, it seems like a project we can do.
Wow this room is shaping up to be a beautiful guest bathroom. The white batten board has made all the difference in the world.
You made some great design points here. I have always regarded this website for the best place to address design issues and located most deign trends and information.
Jen this is straight up amazing I would have never dreamed about building a day bed out of pallets. Wow you are so wise.
I would spend all my time in a day bed like this on a sleeping porch. Love how you built your your own what a money saver.
This is really a good idea for those hot GA nights.
I simply wished to say thanks once again. I love the space and that you are designing a bed for this outdoor space. The pallets are a really great idea too. Can’t wait to see how you are protecting they mattress from weather and water.
Great site and I love all the designs challenges that you participate in.
I so want a cute little souther sleeping porch like this, my granny used to have one and loved it. I would stay up late and watch fireflies with her while she knitted.
Hi. Good Job this looks so relaxing and idyllic, I want a space like this now.
This is so beautiful! I love it, I wish I had a back porch to put it in
What a fun idea! I love that you repurposed a pallet and made it into something so cute!
I would sleep on the porch every night with this!! So cool !
I love this idea! I wish we had room for something like this on our porch!
Very awesome! I can’t wait to make this!