Converting a Box Spring into a Platform Bed

When I was thinking about all the different kinds of beds I could make for E.  My main goal was to reuse as much as possible.  I already have 3 bed frames in my garage and I did not want anymore.  I had this vision of reusing the box spring. I figured reupholstering it and adding legs could turn it into a platform bed.  This is how it turned out. 

 

I can't say how much I love this bed.  I've made every bed in my home and I think this is my all time favorite.  This bed was a pure calibration between E. and I and that made it super special.

I started out shopping for fabric.  These were our top three choices.  I like the top right one the most, but we only 3.5 yards, I didn't think we had enough so we went with the bottom gray.

Here's E.'s box spring.  I removed the corner plastic protectors for a clean finish.

 

Next, I wrapped the fabric all around the box spring because I did not want a single seam.

I cut the fabric 4-5 inches from the edge.

 

I pinned and stitched the corners together.

 

I originally planned to sew the fabric right to the box spring.  However, after a few stitches and some throbbing fingers, I decided this plan was definitely a no go.  I searched through my fabric remnants and found a piece that was nearly the exact size of the box spring so I decided to sew that piece of fabric together with my gray fabric.

After sewing all around, I flipped the right side out.

 

I laid it over the box spring and stapled it into place.

Next, it was time to pick out some legs.  Traditional?

Nope.  How about this?

Nope.  How about mid century?

Yes!  However, they were too tiny in diameter to support my bed.  So I ordered these babies.

These are 6 inch mid century legs.  I love them, but since they were a little pricey, I didn't purchase them for 3 weeks.  Now it was time to attach them to the bed.  I used these furniture leg plates I found at the hardware store.

In the midst of the 3 week wait, I decided to change the fabric on the box spring again.  I went with my first choice (the fabric that I only had 3.5 yards of).  I made it work with a seam on each side of the box spring.  I know I didn't want a seam, but I loved the fabric too much.  I barely notice the seam so I'm happy with the choice.

Just love the linen look.

Back to the bed legs.  I cut the fabric where the screws were going to be and then predrilled some holes.  I then screwed the plate in place.  Easy peesy. 

 

Next, I attached the legs.  I already love it.

 

I decided to buy some glides for the bottom of the leg so that it would protect the wood at the same time allowing me to push the bed into place.

 

I love the addition.

I added some supports to the center of the box spring as well.  Since I didn't have enough wood to attach the leg plate, I added a scrap piece of wood.

Here are all the leg placements.  The center legs are different because I didn't want to splurge on mid century legs that wouldn't be seen.  Instead I got the cheapest 6 inch legs I could find. 

After flipping the box spring over, I get my semi-mid century bed.

I would have been happy to stop there even though I had originally planned to put nailhead trim on the box spring.  I showed E. his bed and he said, "I love it..but I think it would nice if it had the same trim as the head board."  I guess he was thinking of the exact same thing I was.

Therefore, I hammered the trim into place.

 

We started with this setup when E. moved into his new room last month.  A mattress sitting on a box spring which sat on the floor.

 

A little inspiration and a lot of research gave us this:

E.'s reaction was, "this is SOOO awesome Mom.  I love it."  I love it too!  I love every bit of it.

Here's he run down of converting the box spring into a bed:
Fabric - $2.25
Bed Legs - $42.91
Furniture Leg Plates - $14.18

Total cost - $59.24

I also made the head board.  You can find the tutorial here.  The final total cost of the complete bed is $122.17.  That's a little more than what I anticipated on spending, but I find the areas that I did splurge (nail head and bed legs) to be completely worth it because in the end, there is nothing I would change about the bed because I simply love it.

Here's where I bought everything:
Nailhead trim direct from the manufacturer.  I bought the #5 French Natural Nailhead Trim.  You can also get this.
6 inch tapered Mid Century Furniture Legs were bought here or some look alikes here.
Square Furniture Legs for the center of the bed and Leg Plates were bought here.
All the bedding was bought from Target except for the grey quilt which is West Elm's Frayed Edge Quilt.  The striped shams were taken from a duvet set which I converted into the striped curtains you see.  Tutorial for that can be read here.  The green pillows, throw and rug were also purchased from Target.

Bed is done, now we need some artwork on the wall.  Once we tackle that, we will face the other side of the bedroom.  I can't wait!  The room is slowly coming together.