How to make a bed from timber (400 photos and drawings)

timber bed photo

If you need a very strong and reliable bed, our article is just for you. You can make a bed from timber with your own hands , even if the structure seems threateningly cumbersome to you. Here are descriptions and step-by-step photos of the manufacture of a wide variety of models of beds made of timber , suitable for different interior styles. Perhaps you will prefer a bed made of timber 100x100 or with a section of 200x200, glued or natural, or even from untreated (only in appearance!) logs. made from timber can be decorated with boards, slats, or as you wish, at your discretion, in order to have a super original, exclusive product. In any case, the natural materials of the bed will ensure you a healthy sleep and good rest. For more detailed tips on making the models you are interested in, see the source sites by following the links provided.

Important points during work

Since comfort is the main thing in any bed, sofa or chair, you need to choose the right mattress. There are two options here. First, buy a mattress, and based on its dimensions, write drawings. This is much simpler, as it eliminates the incompatibility of the mattress and the future center of the bedroom. If incompatible, the mattress may simply not fit into the gap between the headboard, back and sides, or, conversely, it may move around due to the presence of excess space.

The second option is to choose a mattress after finishing the carpentry work. On the one hand, this does not limit your ideas and allows you to make the bed the way you want it to be. On the other hand, you should familiarize yourself with the assortment of the nearest stores selling mattresses in order to know which sizes you definitely do not need to make. It is important to approach this problem with attention and a sober calculation of your strengths and skills: it is the mattress that determines the degree of comfort and convenience in using the future element of furniture.

Then you need to estimate the future location of your creation, starting from the real state of things in the apartment or house and the style of the existing interior. A children's bed is significantly different from any other. It is smaller in size and it is desirable that it has sides that will prevent the child from falling while sleeping.

Where is it most often used?

The use of rounded logs is relevant in many stylistic areas of residential decor, as it can be successfully combined with other materials, with many color shades in the decor of walls, ceilings, and floors. But most often such decorative items can be found in rooms with decor in the following styles.

No less relevant is log furniture for a garden house, a gazebo on a summer cottage or a park. But you shouldn’t leave it in the open air for a long time, as precipitation will negatively affect the quality of the surface.

You can complement the beauty of timber furniture with the help of decorative elements made of natural rattan, glass or metal, leather.

What to consider when using a wooden bed

Care and proper care of a wooden bed guarantees a long lifespan, so it is extremely important to follow the recommendations and keep your bed in ideal conditions.

• The room in which the wooden product is located should not be too cold, and the maximum humidity is 50-70%.
• Air conditioners, heaters and radiators should not be located close to the bed.
• Direct contact with water can be disastrous for a wooden bed: the wood will dry out and crack.

• A wooden bed does not tolerate aggressive use, so any active actions such as jumping on a mattress are contraindicated.
• Any contamination should be promptly removed using special wood care compounds.
• In order for the surface of the wood to look attractive, it should be periodically coated with wax or a special compound to protect it from external damage.

A wooden bed for an adult bedroom is an excellent choice. High quality and environmental friendliness allow you to fearlessly select such furniture for allergy sufferers and people simply concerned about their health.

A wide range of types and configurations of such products allows you to choose the ideal option for any style: from classic to modern.

Manufacturing technology of a standard bed

Making a solid wood bed with your own hands is carried out in several successive steps:

1. Preparation of necessary tools and materials.
2. Carrying out calculations of the quantity of required consumables and their sizes.
3. Pre-treatment of lumber.
4. Making the frame.
5. Assembling and installing the back and legs.

The final stage of work is treating the finished product with protective solutions, as well as decorating the bed.

Installation tools

To create a bed from logs, you will need the following tools:

• Roulette;
• Pencil;
• Construction corner;
• Level;
• Screwdriver;
• Axe;
• Plane;
• Bit;
• Grinder machine. The tool can be replaced with sandpaper of various grain sizes;
• Chisel;
• Mallet;
• tongue and groove;
• Hex key;
• Jigsaw;
• Electric drill.

To make a bed from logs you will need a jigsaw.
Also, to work with boards you will need a hacksaw.

Calculations

To calculate the required amount of consumables, as well as the dimensions of lumber, it is necessary to draw up a drawing of the future structure. In this case, a ready-made detailed bed diagram can be used. Using it, the parameters of the product can be easily changed proportionally, thus achieving the required dimensions of the bed.

The diagram must indicate not only the dimensions of the future bed made of rounded or chopped logs, but also the attachment points of the combined elements. For complex structures, it is recommended to create drawings of the future product in different projections.

To calculate the dimensions of the bed, you can focus on the dimensions of the existing mattress. It should be taken into account that a comfortable sleeping place is one that fully accommodates the width of a person with his hands clasped in the abdominal area, and at the same time there is a margin of 20-25 cm from the elbows to the edge of the bed or sleeping place.

Material pre-treatment

Before starting work on creating a bed from chopped solid wood, the lumber must be additionally processed. Pre-finishing of the material consists of the following procedures:

1. When purchasing solid logs, the bark must be removed from the lumber. This is done using a mallet and chisel or an ax. The bark can be left only in cases where it shows no signs of damage. Such logs cannot be sanded, but are only thoroughly impregnated with stain in 3-4 layers and covered with varnish. However, the use of beds made from bark logs often results in injuries. Therefore, it is still better to remove the top layer of wood.
2. Sand the logs using medium-grit sandpaper. In this way, the top layer of wood is removed, renewing it after storage in warehouses. This stage also allows you to further smooth out the unevenness of the lumber and prepare the wood for deep impregnation.
3. Impregnation of lumber with stain. When using the solution, not only the wood is painted in the desired shade, but also its additional disinfection.

Be sure to remove the bark from whole logs.
You can use both rounded and chopped logs when making a bed. Boards are used as additional lumber when creating beds from solid wood.

At the end of the preparatory stage, the logs are trimmed to the required dimensions. If you plan to make a massive bed from beams, semicircular cuts are made at the ends of the logs, allowing the rounded elements to be tightly placed on top of each other.

Frame making

When creating the frame of a classic standard bed 2x1.6 m from solid wood, you will need logs 2.2-2.4 m long, with a trunk diameter of at least 20 cm. You will also need boards 10 cm wide and 2.5-cm thick. 3 cm. The boards must be cut to a length of 1.6 m. They will be needed to create support for the mattress.

To install a support under the frame, you will need beams that will be attached along the inner perimeter of the frame, and one supporting central board.

An example of a log bed frame

The assembly of the frame from the beams occurs in the following sequence:

1. On a hard surface, 4 logs are laid out in the shape of a rectangle of a suitable size, 2 of which have cuts. The elements are connected to each other with dowels or self-tapping screws.
2. Along the inner perimeter of the logs, at the same level in the middle, a support beam is fixed using self-tapping screws.
3. In the middle of the frame, at the same level, parallel to the side logs, a support board is fixed.
4. Perpendicular to the sidewalls, boards are laid on the supports, which will serve as lamellas. They are fixed to the supports using self-tapping screws.

The optimal distance between the lamella boards is 4 cm. Instead of boards, you can also use a solid sheet of plywood. However, in this case the structure will be much weaker.

Attaching the back and legs

The backs and legs can be attached to a bed made of logs as separate elements, or built onto a frame. To make the backs and legs separately, a pair of logs are placed vertically at a distance of 1.6 m from each other. From above and 10-20 cm from the floor they are connected to each other perpendicularly by beams or logs. The elements are fixed using self-tapping screws.

For greater structural strength, the perpendicular elements of the backrest can be additionally equipped with stiffening ribs, in the form of thin beams or rounded logs. The second headboard is made using the same principle. If desired, it can be built of the same or less height. The backs with legs are attached to the frame using self-tapping screws in several places.

When adding the back and legs to the bed body, 2-4 logs are used as the lower support and 1-3 elements for constructing the frame. To extend the legs, 2 logs are connected using dowels. The bed frame is turned upside down and connected logs are fixed along its edges. After this, the structure is turned over to its normal position. At the same time, the legs extended along the edges should look like a continuation of the frame.

Finished log bed with legs and headboard

The back is made according to the same principle. Holes for dowels are made in the logs in the legs and at the head, and additional logs are fixed on top of them. For strength, such connections are additionally fixed with wood glue, which fills all the seams of the structure.

After assembly, the structure must stand until the glue completely hardens. Only after this can you begin the final finishing of the bed.

The final stage

After assembling the entire structure, the logs must be sanded with medium or fine-grained sandpaper. A grinder with an abrasive wheel of 140-220 microns is also suitable for this work. After processing, the wood is impregnated with a colorless or tinted stain. When it dries, the product is coated with varnish.

You can add shine to your bed in another way. The wood is coated with teak oil in several layers, and then treated with furniture wax and carefully rubbed with a leather grinding wheel. With this treatment, the tactile sensations when touching the bed will be much more pleasant.

How to do it yourself

To make a bed from timber, you need to familiarize yourself with the stages of the process, develop detailed drawings of the future product, purchase material and accessories. To work, you will need a standard set of tools and consumables.

Before making a bed, the dimensions of the location are taken, the dimensions of the bed are calculated according to the size of the mattress and the number of people who will use it, their height.

Materials and tools

First you need to purchase solid wood. At the same time, you need to monitor the quality of raw materials. The boards must be completely dry and free of bends and cracks. Boards needed:

1. for making a frame 25x200x2400 mm - 4 pcs.;
2. for support beams 50x100x2400 mm – 3 pcs.;
3. for decorative finishing 25x50x2400 mm – 3 pcs.;

Basic criteria for choosing wood

When creating a bed from logs, it is very important to pay special attention to the selection of wood. In this case, the main criteria that the log must meet are:

• Strength of the material;
• Ease of wood processing;
• Affordability of lumber;
• Pleasant tactile sensations from contact with wood;
• Resistance to deformation;
• Wood integrity.

The most suitable tree varieties for work are:

• Oak;
• Birch;
• Beech;
• Elm;
• Pine;
• Maple;
• Larch;
• Alder;
• Aspen;
• Cedar;
• Ash.

However, given the fact that some types of trees often provoke allergies, it is better not to use them in creating beds.
Based on this, the most acceptable materials are cedar, larch and pine. When choosing lumber to create a bed, it is extremely important to carefully inspect the cut lines of the logs. High-quality wood should not contain cracks, traces of parasites or fungus. Knots are also undesirable

When choosing wood, the color of the species plays the least role, since the finished product can easily be repainted using a tint varnish.