How to build a DIY modern farmhouse bed for less than $100

This DIY modern farmhouse bed build started because we were given a king sized mattress. We weren’t really in the market for a new bed, but when you get a fairly new mattress for free you take that opportunity. I had just completed our master bedroom makeover a little over a year ago, but a new bed also called for a mini room refresh.

Master bedroom before

When I worked on our bedroom for the fall 2017 One Room Challenge, I made an effort to add some color and pattern to our bedroom. However, I tired of it quickly. I loved the blue color of the bed, but not the pattern. The polka dot wall was fun, but it felt busy and not very calming. That changed when my in-laws gave us a mattress. When you give a girl a mattress, she will build a bed, then the bed will make her want to take down the stickers, add a curtain, switch the carpet…. you will see.

I didn’t want to buy a new bed frame though, so decided to make an inexpensive king sized bed frame. You can adapt this DIY modern farmhouse bed build with whatever size of mattress you have, and whatever building materials you have around your house.

King size headboard

I started by making the king size headboard. We had a few boxes of hardwood flooring left from when we installed it throughout our house. I cut all the boards down to 36″ tall. This bed will sit under the window, so I wanted it to be a very specific height to fit under the window trim. The boards are 5″ wide, and I used 15 boards to make it 75″ wide.

Next I cut a strip of plywood to add stability to the headboard. I glued all the hardwood boards together using PL premium. I also used PL premium to glue the boards to the strip of plywood, and held it all together using clamps until the glue dried.

The footboard is 16″ tall and 75″ wide. I chose this height because I wanted the footboard to be just a couple inches shorter than the mattress height.

Up to this point I hadn’t spent any money on this bed build. I used the material that I had leftover from other building projects.

Trim around the headboard and footboard

The next step is to add trim around the headboard and footboard. I bought 1.5″ x 1.5″ poplar, and Tony cut a groove with a dado blade down the center. This was the most expensive part of this project, I spent about $80 on the poplar. Pine would have been cheaper, but it’s not as strong as poplar.

I cut the ends of each piece at a 45 degree angle. I glued the poplar pieces onto the headboard and footboard, and fastened them using a finishing nail gun.

Paint the Modern farmhouse bed

For the side rails I used rails from our spare bed. (That bed had metal rails that actually held up the mattress, and wood rails that were just decorative. I took the decorative wood rails for this bed.)

Before painting, I lightly sanded the bed to scuff up the surface. This was supposed to be an inexpensive project, so I mixed up a few cans of leftover paint I already had at home. I have a lot of blue paint, so it wasn’t hard to mix up enough to cover this king sized bed. I used some chalk paint, and some higher gloss furniture paint, so the sheen is somewhere in the middle.

Seal the paint

Once the paint was dry, I did three coats of sealer. I brushed on General Finishes high performance top coat in a flat finish, and lightly sanded in between each coat. The sealer really tones down the navy blue and makes it more into a grey blue.

DIY Modern farmhouse bed build

Once the sealer was dry, I moved the bed upstairs, added some cross bracing, and set up the bed. I love the blue paint with the lime green bedside tables. I also removed all the polka dots from the wall, and figured out that a hair dryer is great to remove vinyl wall stickers. I installed a curtain rod over the bed, using plumbing supply brackets and a spare closet rod I had. \then I bought sheer curtains from a thrift store for $5, which I still have to cut in half. Throw on a few colorful throw pillows, and this mini master bedroom refresh is finished!