Building a Tufted King Size Platform Bed

Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day Weekend! What could be more romantic than building a King Size Bed? Well, most things...but we still decided to tackle it after a cozy Valentine's dinner at Mio's anyway. The best part, we ended up with what we wanted and spent under $200 to build it!

The first thing we did was cut out the headboard. We had a couple pieces of plywood left over from pulling up the kitchen flooring so we saved about $20-30 bucks right there. The first thing we did was cut the plywood down to 78.5" which is little over the width of a King Size Mattress (76" x 80").

Cut the plywood down to size

 We wanted some shape to it so we decided to cut out a semi circle but went back and forth a couple times until we decided on the angle we liked the best:

Always draw before you cut, it will save you in the long run

Then we used a jig saw and cut out the shape we liked best:

Just what we were looking for

 Then we took the piece we cut and traced it on the other side so that it would match:

Brian cutting out the last side

Ta da! Not too bad for the first try!

There were several designs we looked at online first and put together several of them to come up with the design we wanted. We have never tufted anything before, but we decided to go out on a limb and try it. We looked for several tutorials on how to do it and eventually found a video that showed us exactly how to get started (I'll post links to everything at the end of the post).

We didn't want to tuft the entire bed, instead we decided to bring everything 3" in so that we could add some nailhead trim and there would be an added dimension to it. We used a chalk line to outline the bed, then we decided to measure about 10" from the base (where the mattress would cover) and found the middle of the plywood where our first tuft would go. We decided to use the chalk line and grid the section into eight equal parts. Then we started drilling the holes where our buttons would go through by starting with the middle section. We decided to do a diamond pattern so we had 2 rows of 3 button holes and 2 rows of 4. The chalk lines made it really easy to create the pattern.

Drilled the hole for the buttons

 Now if anyone has bought foam from a craft store before, it is ridiculously expensive. The best trick we learned was to buy 2 foam mattress pads from Walmart ($11 each). For our size of headboard, we used 2 full size mattress pads and laid them on top of each other.

So much cheaper than foam!

Brian used our electric knife to cut the foam to size...and Tequila supervised

Here's what we started with

Now cut down to size

We made some holes for where the buttons were going to go but I don't think that you have to. We ended up using another method when we got down to it. We didn't start this until late so we decided to save the rest for the next day. We did decide to tackle the buttons before we crashed for the day and they were so much easier than I thought it would be. We needed 14 and it probably took 20 minutes.

Making buttons...not the best picture, but one of my favorite parts

Day 2 started with a trip to the hardware store to get all of the wood needed for the bed frame. We decided on a raised platform style so we found plans that helped us create the bed frame of our choice. We started by cutting all the pieces for the bed frame and then got to use the new Kreg Jig we bought for Christmas.

Using the Kreg Jig to make the pocket holes

Hard at work

This is what we started with

 Once we had everything in side we started screwing the boards together. Luckily, my family stopped by to check out the progress and were kind enough to roll up their sleeves and help us out.

Tequila with the bed frame

 We also saved some time by buying fence post tops and painting them to use as the legs.

Drilling the holes for the legs

Not too shabby

Then we flipped it over so that we could get everything set up to attach the headboard.

Tequila posing with his G-ma

 Next we bolted on 2" x 4"s to secure the headboard when it was ready.

Shot of the bed frame

Once the bed frame was set up we decided to tackle the headboard. We wrapped the entire headboard with batting and stapled the edges of the foam and wrapped it around the back and stapled it too.

After adding the batting

Then we got out the fabric we planned on using. We decided we wanted to use white fabric on the back. We saw a few posts about people using Target curtains as the fabric because they are pretty sturdy and decently priced. The curtains weren't long enough for our King Size Headboard but we found a large tablecloth that was on clearance for $11 and it fit perfectly!

You have to start tufting before you can stretch the fabric around. We wanted deep tufts so we used the butt of a hammer to push the buttons in as far as we could. Check out the video of the tufting below for the best instructions on how to tuft. Always remember to start with the middle tuft first and then work your way out.

First couple of tufts

Once the tufts were completed

 The next step is to stretch the fabric around the headboard. We started by stapling all around the edge of the foam and then tightened the fabric behind the back and stapling it and smoothing it out as you go.

After tightening and stapling the fabric

After cutting the excess fabric off, we decided to add nailhead trim around the edges.

Adding the nailhead trim

 Then we decided to wrap the platform bed with batting and added fabric:

Not sure why there are orbs, but here is the frame with the batting

The next step is to screw on the headboard to the bed frame, and here is the final look:

 More orbs, but you get to see the size of the bed

Here is a little more clear shot:

From Brian's Phone

Not too bad for our first attempt for a bed. It's huge and will look great with a mattress and new bedding. We need to add some support legs before we get the mattress and then it will be sturdy and complete. I can't believe we got this done in less than a day and a half, but really glad that it's complete.

Tomorrow we have an electrician coming over to fix our wiring and then we can start cleaning and putting most of the room together! Until then...

XOXO,
Sara, Brian & Tequila

Still lots of snow, but it is warming up a bit

Here are the links with better instructions:

Bed Frame:
Ana White's King Size Fancy Farmhouse Bed

Tufted Headboard:
Headboard Video