I’m tall. When it comes to beds, you think a King size bed would be the thing, and you’d be wrong. It seems as far as kings are concerned, the challenge is width, not height. Fortunately, there’s a solution to this problem: the California King! When I discovered these were available, I jumped at the chance to get a California King mattress.
Unfortunately, both California King bed frames and bedding are harder to come by. I can get by with limited choices in bedding, but there’s no way I’m going to pay a ludicrous premium to buy a specialty bed.
When in doubt, build it yourself!
This idea comes with its own set of challenges. The bed has to have some form of modular construction. A bed in one piece is simply too big to be negotiated into the house, let alone the bedroom. It has to look good. A design masterpiece isn’t required, after all it’s going to be hidden by bedding for most of the time, but it shouldn’t be ugly, either. And it has to be tough. The foam mattress clocks in well over 50kg. Add bedding, two people moving around during the night… flimsy is not an option. Inexpensive is good too!
The result: a core made from three sections of construction grade spruce two by fours, assembled with deck screws with a surrounding frame that screws into the core assembly. The visible part is made from MicroPro Sienna deck boards (non-toxic, low VOCs, suitable for indoor use), and OSB boards support the mattress in the middle. The whole thing is strong enough to be used as a stage.
A fun build, great result and all at a total cost under $200.
