DIY Farmhouse Big Kid Bed

When my littlest son began consistently climbing out of his crib every night (scaring the living daylights out of me), I decided it was finally time to get him a big boy bed. That said, I did not want to spend a lot of money and I had a few requirements regarding features the bed must have. After looking for a while and coming up short, I decided to make it myself. I found these great plans by Anna White and modified them to fit my needs. Below you will see how I created this awesome DIY farmhouse big kid bed!

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Inspiration

The plans I based my bed off of our linked here. I loved this style of bed but it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. Because Anna does such an incredible job with creating plans, I am not going to re-create the wheel here. I’m just gonna focus on the modifications that I made for this particular bed in the post below.

Bed Size

First of all, I modified this bed to be a full size versus twin size. I really wanted his bed to be a bit bigger as I know from time to time an adult might need to lay with him to help him sleep. I also wanted to be able to use this bed for guests if need be, which does not work well with a twin bed. Plus I knew he would grow into it and need more space at some point eventually anyway. I’m thinking long term here, y’all.

Materials

Anna’s bed used big chunky 4×4 legs which I swapped out for 2x4s. She also used vertical slats for the headboard and foot board. I liked the look of horizontal slats to mimic a sort of shiplap effect. Everything was attached with wood glue and pocket holes and this really came together very quickly!

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Bed Height

Overall, I did not change a lot on the bed height. Just so happens that Anna White’s plans allow enough room under the bed to add a trundle underneath, which is what I was looking for. I wanted the option to add a trundle or pull out storage at a later date and these plans accommodate that.

Finish

Lastly, I finished my little one’s bed with Varathane briarsmoke wood stain. Two coats were applied and then it was finished with a polyurethane sealant. I really love this stain! It has a nice weathered look and is somewhere between brown and gray. It’s pretty perfect honestly.

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Assembly

The bed was assembled inside the house (meaning side boards attached to head and foot boards) and furring strips were used as slats to go across the bed to support the mattress.

For the mattress, I decided to order this mattress off of Amazon, which was terrifying. How would I know if it would be comfortable? What if we hated it? How in the world do you return something this large?? But I love Amazon and know they have a great return policy, so I decided to give it a shot. Plus it didn’t hurt that this particular product had thousands of five star reviews! Seriously check it out. It is a super comfortable mattress and crazy inexpensive. Highly recommend! In fact, when I redo my older sons room a little later this year, I will likely purchase the same mattress for him.

Finished DIY Farmhouse Big Kid Bed!

I really love how this bed turned out! It is very sturdy, super cute, and it reminds me of a Pottery Barn bed! One day I will splurge on some new bedding but I’m holding out for some Beddy’s bedding (if you haven’t heard of this bedding, definitely check it out). This bed would also look amazing for a little girls room (just picture with some light pink and white with ruffles)! This is the perfect big kid bed and super easy to build. I hope you decide to give it a try yourself!

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