DIY Japanese Bed Frame

Cut the two wooden beams to match the length of your mattress. Twin and full mattresses are typically 75 inches long, while queen and king mattresses usually measure 80 inches. Cut a third beam if you are building a frame for a queen or king mattress.

Cut the wooden strips to match the width of your mattress. Twin mattresses are 39 inches wide. Full mattresses are 54 inches wide. Queen and king mattresses are 60 and 74 inches wide, respectively. You will need 2 extra strips for queen and king mattresses, so a total of 27 strips.

Sand all surfaces of your wood with rough grit sandpaper, then again with fine grit paper. You can paint the lumber a glossy black to make it resemble black Japanese lacquer, but very little of the frame will actually be visible once you install your mattress.

Set the two beams on the ground, parallel to one another with their ends aligned. The outside edges should be about as far apart as your mattress is wide. For example, the beams for a twin mattress will be abut 39 inches from outside edge to outside edge.

Line the wooden strips on top of the beams, with their ends lined up with the outside edges of the beams. Space the strips approximately one inch apart to allow for air flow.

Screw each strip in place with a wood screw, driven through the strip and into each beam where it intersects the strip.

Slide the third beam, if applicable, in at the midpoint between the other two beams. Screw it in place as you did the first two.