Ikea Bookcase Bed Frame

We recently acquired an old trailer from my wife's grandfather. It was setup with a double bed for the master bedroom and an old pullout couch for guests. This couch sat in the tip out of the trailer. We have a 2.5 year old who needed a place in the trailer to call his own so we decided to remodel this tip out and make a new bed for him.

My wife found a similar design on pintrest and showed me it and we decided it would be perfect. Our design is simple. We are taking 2 Ikea bookcases to use as storage for the bed and creating something sturdy for my son to sleep on.

2 Ikea bookcases

2 x 4 (I had a bunch of spare laying around and donated from my mother in law)

Mitre Saw (any saw that can cut straight will do the trick)

Drill

Drill Bit(s)

Screws (I used deck screws as this is what I had laying around and more than enough for this purpose)

Level

Measu

To get the measurement that I need, I assembled the Ikea bookcases, following the instructions that came with them. I laid them end to end and measured this. I did not want the bed to go further than the bookcase.

After getting the measurement, I began cutting the pieces that I would need to create the frame.

Using the square and drill, I assembled a box. I then cut 4 pieces of 2x4 at the height needed (measured the Ikea bookcases from bottom to top to get this) to act as legs.

For added support and strength, I added a couple beams in the middle.

I put everything in place to make sure that everything was the right height and measurements and to get a feel for how it will look.

My wife suggested instead of using plywood to lay over the frame, to build bed slats (similar to Ikea). Having lots of spare 2x4s I was easily able to do this. Simply measured the size that I needed and cut. These were a tight fit and needed to be "hammered" into place (hammered with another piece of wood - not an actual hammer).

When adding the slats, I had the frame upside to ensure that the slats would be level with the frame. Secured with 2 screws per side per slat.

Placed the frame back into the tipout and laid the bookcases down in front of it.

Once in place, used a screw per box (3 per shelving unit) to secure it in place

Last step was to take a mattress and put on the bedsheets, pillows, etc

Time to enjoy and sleep!