When our son outgrew his toddler bed we went shopping for the perfect bed frame for him to transition into. The problem we had with the store-bought frames was that they were all so high off the ground. Our son is not a quiet sleeper by any means. With all of the rolling and flipping around that he does in his sleep, we were definitely concerned that he would fall out of his new bed and get hurt. We decided that the spare pallets we had in our garage would make the perfect height for him. You can follow these 6 simple steps to build your own bed frame out of pallets.
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1. Get Your Pallets
Collect your pallets. The number of pallets you will need will depend on the size of your mattress and the size of the pallets. We made our son’s twin mattress frame out of 2.5 standard-sized pallets. You may be able to pick up the pallets from a local warehouse. Most warehouses keep their extra pallets in stacks behind their building. If you stop in and ask the manager, they will usually be able to give you the pallets or sell them to you pretty cheaply.
2. Sand the Pallets
Sand the pallets down pretty good. Pallets are great sources for splinters so you really don’t want to skip this step.
3. Paint the Pallets
If you plan on painting your pallet frame, you will want to use primer first. Follow the directions on the primer and wait the recommended time before painting. If you prefer, you could also stain.
4. Join the Pallets
If you don’t join your pallets together, they will come apart every time you need to move the bed or make it. Use extra pallet pieces or metal joiner plates to join your pallets together.
5. Add wheels
Attach wheels to the bottom of your pallet frame so that it will be easier to move around when cleaning or making your bed.
6. Add bedding and Cushion if You Prefer
Add mattress and bedding and the bed is finished! We decided to modify this frame by leaving a little bit of the pallet sticking out around the mattress to provide an extra little step for our little guy. I covered the pallet step in foam and fabric and he loves sitting on the edge.