Bed Construction

Our handcrafted Pencil Post Beds, Shaker Low Post beds, Classic Modern and French Country Beds are all made using time tested joinery and hardware. You can rest assured that you will be both comfortable and secure in a bed crafted by Michael’s workshop. All we need to know is your mattress thickness. Some beds are best setup as a Platform setup (no boxspring and only a mattress). The more modern beds we make work well as a platform and don’t use Box Springs.

Contact Mike for help on deciding on a bed! or get a bed Custom Made

Check List:

  1. Mattress Height is the first thing we need to make a bed. If you don’t have a mattress yet or are buying a new mattress, then we can tell you the ideal mattress thickness.

  2. Do you want space for vacuum under the bed.

  3. How tall from floor to top of mattress, ideal height is 26”-30

Platform Setup: Two Options: Option 1 - Slats and Plywood / Option 2 - Full “Wooden” Slats

  1. Slats and Plywood Platform

Picture shows the Center Slat Board on Queen and King Beds. Twin and Full beds don’t need a center slat support. The Center Slat Board is bolted into and angle iron on the Head and Foot Rail. On the underside of the Center Slat Board are two, 2-3/4” square legs which extend to the floor. This construction allows for considerable weight. We use 10 slats that span from left to right side rail. On top of the Slats rest two sheets of 1/2” plywood. These construction is usually used for beds that are shipped locally or local pickup. Full Slats are easier to ship then two large pieces of plywood.

Unfinished wooden bed frame with holes for hardware in a workshop.

Picture shows the full 1/2” plywood. This bed was a 15” Deep Mattress. Most bed mattress’ are 9” thick which is ideal for a plywood foundation to be 1-1/2” below the top of rail. Perfect for dressing the mattress, when bed platform is recessed only 1.5” from top of rail.

2. Full Slats

Wooden bed frame with metal slats, headboard, and four tall posts against a black background, with instructional text about setup and materials.

Option 2. Full Slats Setup for Platform Bed. The “Full Slats” setup is the best option when someone doesn’t want plywood used for the platform, or if the bed is going to be shipped FedEx, UPS or Blanket Wrap.

These slats are made from Yellow Poplar at 3.5” Wide and 1.5” space between them.

Mattress and Boxspring Setup:

Picture shows the Center Slat Board on King Beds. Twin and Full beds don’t need a center slat support. The Center Slat Board is bolted into and angle iron on the Head and Foot Rail (seen in picture). On the underside of the Center Slat Board are two, 2-3/4” square legs which extend to the floor. This construction allows for considerable weight. We use 10 slats that span from left to right side rail.

This is how we make our beds for a Boxspring and Mattress. Thin Boxspring can be used with a 6-9” thick mattress.