The Little Frugal House

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DIY Day Bed on a Budget

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Are you thinking about making your own DIY day bed? In this post, I’m sharing how I made my own day bed on a budget.

DIY Day Bed on a Budget

See how I made a DIY day bed on a budget with this tutorial. I used an old vintage door to create a headboard and built a wooden day bed frame.

After we cleaned out our guest room, I wanted to find a day bed for the room. But all of the options I was finding were pretty pricey.

I wanted something simple and on a budget. So, I decided to make my own DIY day bed.

We found an old vintage door and I knew I wanted that to be the headboard.

The rest was just a matter of building a frame and finding affordable bedding.

See how I made a DIY day bed on a budget with this tutorial. I used an old vintage door to create a headboard and built a wooden day bed frame.

DIY Day Bed Materials:

Old vintage door

2″ X 6″ X 8″ – 3 used

2″ X 4″ X 8″ – 2 used

4″ X 4″ X 8″ – 1 used

1″ X 3″ X 8″ – 4 used

Stain – I used this Dark Walnut Stain

Screws

Wood glue

Nail gun and nails

Bedding:

I found the twin mattress for $50 on Facebook Marketplace. Someone had just ordered it, but it didn’t work for their bed. So, it was brand new and about half the price of the brand new one on Amazon.

I found these affordable sheets on Amazon.

The comforter and shams are from Walmart.

I used throw pillows we already had at home.

See how I made a DIY day bed on a budget with this tutorial. I used an old vintage door to create a headboard and built a wooden day bed frame.

DIY Day Bed Instructions:

1. Make headboard.

I used an old vintage door for my headboard. It just needed cleaning, and two coats of white paint.

See how I made a DIY day bed on a budget with this tutorial. I used an old vintage door to create a headboard and built a wooden day bed frame.

I painted over the knob and the hardware, also.

See how I made a DIY day bed on a budget with this tutorial. I used an old vintage door to create a headboard and built a wooden day bed frame.

2. Build frame.

Next up was building the frame for the actual bed. Here’s my super professional plans:

See how I made a DIY day bed on a budget with this tutorial. I used an old vintage door to create a headboard and built a wooden day bed frame.

I used 2″ X 6″ X 8″ pine wood to build a box frame. I cut 2 at 78.5″ and 2 at 38 3/4″.

These 4 pieces were glued and screwed together to form the box.

See how I made a DIY day bed on a budget with this tutorial. I used an old vintage door to create a headboard and built a wooden day bed frame.

Then, I added a 2″ X 4″ on the inside of those pieces so I would have something to nail the slats into.

See how I made a DIY day bed on a budget with this tutorial. I used an old vintage door to create a headboard and built a wooden day bed frame.

You will want to space these down just a couple of inches so your mattress can sit inside the frame. Make sure these are even and level, so your mattress sits level.

See how I made a DIY day bed on a budget with this tutorial. I used an old vintage door to create a headboard and built a wooden day bed frame.

3. Add slats for mattress.

Then, I was ready to add my 1″ X 3″ slats to hold the mattress up.

These were cut at 38 3/4″ long. I used 8 pieces, spaced out evenly.

Nail these into the 2″ X 4″.

See how I made a DIY day bed on a budget with this tutorial. I used an old vintage door to create a headboard and built a wooden day bed frame.

4. Build legs.

Next, I build 4 legs out of 4″ X 4″ wood.

See how I made a DIY day bed on a budget with this tutorial. I used an old vintage door to create a headboard and built a wooden day bed frame.

I cut these at 15″ length and screwed them under the frame.

See how I made a DIY day bed on a budget with this tutorial. I used an old vintage door to create a headboard and built a wooden day bed frame.

5. Add slot for door to screw into.

I wanted the door to be screwed into the frame and have a place to rest so there wasn’t so much weight on the bed.

We added these pieces of 2″ X 4″ for the door to sit on and then screwed the door into the frame.

See how I made a DIY day bed on a budget with this tutorial. I used an old vintage door to create a headboard and built a wooden day bed frame.

6. Stain.

I used MinWax Dark Walnut to stain the whole daybed frame.

See how I made a DIY day bed on a budget with this tutorial. I used an old vintage door to create a headboard and built a wooden day bed frame.

7. Decorate.

I tried to keep this project super budget friendly.

These are the sheets I ordered from Amazon. And this is the comforter set I got from Walmart.

I used pillows we already had, and got the brand new mattress for $50 on Facebook Marketplace.

See how I made a DIY day bed on a budget with this tutorial. I used an old vintage door to create a headboard and built a wooden day bed frame.

I love the way this DIY day bed turned out, and how frugal this project was.

Our guest room feels calm and cozy, ready for a nap or for company.

See how I made a DIY day bed on a budget with this tutorial. I used an old vintage door to create a headboard and built a wooden day bed frame.

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