Many people think of bedrooms as a kind of sanctuary, marked by their purpose of providing a space to rest, recharge, and restart, so it’s no wonder that many people want to be sure their bedroom makes them feel comfortable and happy. Creating the perfect, cozy space to drift off into dreamland can be difficult or expensive, however, especially if you want contemporary bed furniture.
Chris Heider, the man in the video below, came up with a brilliant alternative to buying a platform bed for his daughter, opting to build the bed frame out of kitchen cabinets instead. While that strategy may seem a bit bizarre at first, it actually made the construction process quite simple for Heider, as cabinets provide a modular set of building blocks.
Heider explains in the video description that he got his cabinets from IKEA and ended up spending $480 on all materials, including lumber, paneling, carpet, and knobs. A platform bed frame from IKEA with significantly less storage space than Heider’s design could cost anywhere from about $249 to $589. At a department store like Macy’s, however, the prices start around $799 for a very similar looking frame to IKEA’s. In creating a bed frame from scratch, Heider was able to include a slew of impressive features that were totally customized to his and his daughter’s wants and needs, including stairs to allow for a higher-up frame and more storage underneath.
Though Heider chose to use IKEA cabinets, he does mention in the video description that really any brand would work. The particular style that he used were the SEKTION wall cabinets, and the smallest step leading up to the bed was the TUTEMO open cabinet laid on its side. You can see the diagram with all of Heider’s sizing below. After putting the cabinets together and assembling them into a frame shape, Heider then used the lumber to create a sturdy support for the mattress.
Worried about weight capacity of the cabinets used as stairs? Heider suggests you shouldn’t be, mentioning in the video’s description, “The bed has been tested with three full-size adults and two dogs so I’m not worried about weight capacity. The ‘steps’ are very strong and do not sag under my weight (and I’m a big guy). Really, don’t worry about weight.”
