Hey everyone! I’m really excited to share this project with you, not only because this house frame floor bed is so cute, but also because this is the first build I have been able to do in about a year. For years I have had a herniated disc in my lower back and I would have to deal with it off and on. Typically it has gone away on its own after a couple of months. This time it definitely did not. I ended up having to have back surgery in June and after many miracles I have been able to get back to building. So this project was even more fulfilling for me.

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This summer we decided to graduate our daughter from a crib to a twin bed. This was due in part to the fact that she started climbing out of the crib, and in part because after the surgery I couldn’t lift her anymore. Instead of transitioning through the toddler bed we decided to go straight to a twin. I wish I had done that for all of my other kids too! But it meant we needed a floor bed. Fortunately there are some super cute ways to do a floor bed out there!

As usual, I spent a lot of time on Pinterest looking for plans so I didn’t have to create my own. Nothing ever fit quite right. So again I decided to build my own. It turned out to be slightly more complicated than I was expecting, mostly because I kept making stupid educational mistakes. But don’t worry, I’ve made them all so you don’t have to! And the beautiful thing about this house frame floor bed is that it cost less than $60 to make! Check out the video below for a quick follow-along, or keep scrolling for the step by step instructions for how I built this twin floor bed.

Supply List:

13 – 2×3 studs

6 – mending plates

2 1/2″ wood screws

Miter Saw

Orbital Sander and Sand Paper

Kreg Jig

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Building the house-shaped end frames

First you want to build the side frames. Start by deciding how tall you want the bed frame to be. This won’t affect any other measurements, so feel free to decide what height will suit your room. If you have high ceilings you may want to make it 5′. That’s the height I started with and it ended up being too tall to feel right in our room with 8′ ceilings. I cut it down to 4′ 6″ and honestly I would even consider making it just a little shorter still.

After cutting to the height you want you will then cut the width. Twin beds are approximately 40″. Ours is technically 39, but I wanted some wiggle room. This is where I ran into my educational mistakes. I forgot to take into account the width of the side rails. So you’ll want to cut the short width boards 37″. With the boards cut I drilled two pocket holes into each end of the short boards. Then I screwed them into the vertical boards to form a box frame.

Next you’ll want to make the roof. This is where it got a little tricky for me. I wasn’t sure what I wanted the pitch to be. First I tried a 45 degree angle. While this would have been the easiest to cut it felt too short. In hindsight, with the total height of the bed frame and the size of the room, it would have been fine. I ended up going with 40 degree angles at the bottom corners of the roof and a 50 degree angle at the top.

I used the miter saw to cut the 50 degree angle and just free-handed it. While that method worked, if I was to do it again I would use my circular saw. Honestly, I’m not sure why I didn’t. I got in the groove cutting with the miter saw and didn’t even think about it. If you don’t have a circular saw, the miter will work just fine. You may just have to go back and shave off some of the angles to get it to fit nicely.

After I laid out the roof I used a 3/8″ bit to drill a short hole so that I could countersink the screw. This basically means that the screw head would be slightly under the surface of the wood. This way you can put some wood filler in the hole, sand it down and stain over it so it won’t be quite as noticeable that there is a screw there.

Another option would be to use your kreg jig to add pocket screws instead of countersinking a screw. For strength, I prefer that method, but in the end I was concerned that those corners already had two screws holding the box frame together and if I tried to add two more screws in the same spot I would run into issues. So I added one countersunk screw and then added a mending brace that I had spray painted black. And I ended up loving the look of the hardware so it was a win-win! When you add the mending braces make sure to add them to the front side of your frame. I initially added them to the back because that seemed like the logical place, only to realize later that I needed to add the cross-boards to each corner where the braces were.

With the roof on, the side frame was done! Now I just had to make another one. The second frame went quickly. When I had the boards cut for the first roof, I made sure to use those boards to mark where I needed to cut the second roof, so I would have to measure it all out again. That saved so much time.

Sanding and Staining

With the two frames done it was time to sand. And sand. And sand. I hate sanding. I hate it so much. But unfortunately it is so important! I used my random orbital sander and started with an 80 grit sandpaper and ended with a 320 grit. Some people like to sand the boards first before assembling their projects. While I do see the benefit of this, especially where the corners are concerned, I just mentally can’t bring myself to sand a bunch of long boards at a time. Find the way that works for you and go with it!

*Side note: when picking out your boards it’s important to make sure they’re not warped, but it is also important to make sure they’re not all chewed up on one side! I ended up with a couple boards that had a spot or two that I had to sand over and over to get it smooth enough that no one would get splinters. I’m not sure how I missed that.

After hours of sanding (ugh) it was finally time to stain! I used Minwax Special Walnut and I was so happy with the final look of the stain.

The Side Rails

With the two end frames built I cut the remaining five boards 75″, which will be the side rails of the twin bed and the boards that extend the roof. I sanded each board, drilled two pocket holes in each end and then stained it.

Assembly Time!

I took the the frames and the boards into the bedroom to assemble. You’ll want someone to help with assembly. I got my awesome son to help me with most of it. I screwed the bottom boards in first, followed by the upper side boards and finally the roof peak board. Done! Easy peasy. Mostly. Honestly, if it hadn’t been for the fact that I had to do homeschool in the morning and take care of small humans much of the afternoon I think this project is doable in a day. The sanding probably took the most time. Pick good boards that don’t require as much sanding! And if you end up painting rather than staining you also won’t need to be as thorough with the sanding.

I hope enjoyed this project! Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or comments. And if you make this house frame floor bed I would love to hear how it turned out!

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