Well I have been at it again. Ever have one of those times where you go to buy something and it is three times as expensive as you remember? Then you remember the last time you went to buy that certain thing was actually twenty years ago? Yeah that pretty much inspired this creative foray. When I went to find a frame and headboard for the new bed we put in the guest room Big Lots (supposed to be cheap right?) wanted $70 for a crappy metal frame and don’t get me started on the pasteboard headboards for twice that. So I went to Lowes and bought a dozen of the straightest 2x4s I could find and got busy.
Seeing as how people are now making furniture out of pallets and old boards from a 1850’s outhouse – the bar on furniture construction has been set pretty low. In fact this is right uptown since nothing came out of a dumpster etc…
If you need a rock solid bed foundation this works really well. Here is the frame I put together.
Here is a detail of the frame “rails” are assembled. I used nails and glue to make sure everything stayed solid.
Then for the headboard. Even though it is super simple the lines of the horizontal boards look very clean and modern. The headboard is attached to the frame with 2.5” screws so that it can be removed in case the bed needs to be relocated.
Here it is after sanding with 80, 120 and 220 and a coat of Bombay Mahogany PolyShades.
This shows you the frame and headboard and how the box springs set right on…
Next we needed some side tables to match…
Note that to hold the top 2x4s solid I used a 1×4 crosspiece glued and nailed before the 2×4 “frame” was glued and nailed. The end cuts from making the 2×4 frames make awesome “cleats” for attaching the frame to the top. No fasteners through the table top! 
Depending on what size you make the frame (and how crazy you get with the nails) be careful with the outer two 2x4s of the top until your glue is good and dry.
Sanded and stained…
Love that Polyshade finish – no second coat of polyurethane to mess with.
And finally the complete package!
Not too killing bad if I do say so myself! Affordable, good looking and best of all – durable!