How to Build an Upholstered Platform Bed

Measure the length and width of your mattress. Cut two pieces of plywood measuring 14 inches wide by the measurement equal to length of the mattress. Cut two more pieces of plywood measuring 14 inches wide by the measurement equal to the length of the mattress. These will form your platform bed frame.

Subtract ½ inch from the width of the mattress. Cut five pieces of plywood measuring 14 inches by this measurement. Cut 21 pieces of plywood measuring 14 inches by 12 inches. These boards will form the supports in the platform bed.

Add one foot to the length and width of the mattress. Cut your MDF sheet into a rectangle matching these adjusted measurements.

Spray the front of one of your frame boards with spray adhesive. Unroll the batting on a flat work surface. Place the board adhesive-side down on the batting. Wrap the batting around the board as you would wrap a gift. Secure it in place by stapling around the perimeter of the board. Repeat with the remaining frame boards and the MDF sheet.

Unroll your fabric face down on the work surface. Place one of the batting-covered boards face down on the fabric. Wrap the board with fabric using the same method as the batting. Repeat with the remaining frame board and the MDF sheet.

Arrange the frame boards to create a rectangle equal to the size of your mattress. Use your nail gun and penny nails to secure the boards together.

Space your long, interior boards one foot apart across the length of your frame. The boards should run parallel to the foot of the bed. These boards will act as interior braces. Secure the boards to the frame with your nail gun. Fire two nails through the right frame board into one end of the brace board. Repeat on the left side. Repeat with the remaining boards.

Space your three interior boards vertically between the foot board and the first interior brace board. Space the boards evenly along the width of the bed frame. These boards will act as the vertical supports for your frame. Secure the boards in place with your nail gun. Fire two nails through the foot board into the vertical support board. Fire two nails through the first interior brace into the vertical support board. Repeat down the row.

Adding vertical support boards between all the interior braces and the last interior brace and the head board in the same way that you secured the three interior boards.

Place the upholstered MDF sheet on top of the completed frame. Fire nails through the upholstered top into each corner of the bottom frame.

Count the number of visible nail heads on your frame and top. Cut out the same number of small circles from your fabric. Spray the circles with anti-fray spray. Place a dot of fabric glue on to the back of one dot. Press it over a nail head. Repeat with the remaining circles. Be sure to use circles that line up with the pattern or grain of the fabric.