It can be difficult to find the storage you need, so sometimes it is necessary to make your own. A storage bed is easy to make, and you can make one yourself using found materials and storage pieces. A storage bed can be used to store just about anything, including clothing, toys and books. Chuck Coaster, a home improvement specialist in Appleville, Minn., shares some suggestions about making your own storage bed. Does this Spark an idea?
Bed Measurements and Decisions
Measure the length and width of your bed. If you don't yet have a bed and you are trying to make a storage bed, get the typical measurements for the size of the bed you'd like, a twin, full, queen or king.
Decide how much storage you would like for your bed. Typically, storage beds have one set of drawers or cubes on one side so that the bed can be pushed up against the wall. You also can have storage on both sides of the bed, as long as you keep the bed away from the wall. Take full measurements of the areas where you would like storage.
Materials and Assembly
Decide if you would like storage drawers or storage cubes under your bed. Cubes can be used in a variety of ways--as shelving, with doors or without doors; or as drawers, with the cloth and plastic inserts you can purchase at a discount store such as Walmart or Target.
Buy enough drawers or cubes to fill up the amount of space you have previously measured for. Bring them home and assemble them.
Putting Storage Bed Together
Set up the assembled drawers or cubes where your bed is going to be. Because drawers and cubes are not meant to take the weight of an entire bed, you will need to put a sheet of plywood over the top of the drawers or cubes. For beds bigger than twin, you will need two sheets of plywood. Refer to the measurements you have already made of the bed, and buy plywood that is that size plus a 1" overhang on all sides. If your bed is 4 feet by 6 feet, you should buy plywood that amounts to 4 feet 2 by 6 feet 2.
Set the plywood on top of the drawers or cubes. It should hang off by 1" on all sides. Measure the distance from the bottom of the plywood to the floor. Make legs for your plywood structure using blocks of wood, or pre-bought bed legs that you can purchase at any discount store. The plywood should distribute the weight of your bed to the legs and away from the drawers or cubes underneath. Be sure to buy high quality plywood. If your plywood is flexible and you feel it might crush the cubes or drawers, use a nail gun to nail several strips of stronger, thin wood onto the plywood before attaching the legs and putting your mattress on top.
Set up the drawers or cubes. Place the plywood on top and set the legs under each corner. Then put your mattress on top of the storage unit.
Tags: drawers cubes, would like, away from, discount store, feet feet