DIY Suspended Loft Bed
Maybe you’ve been looking for inspiration for floating bed designs and you’ve come to realize that for a kid’s bed, the hanging bed (suspended bed) is a better bet (save on space). And finding hanging beds for sale is crazy, they’re expensive. A hanging bed is easy to build, can save loads of space in a small room and is affordable. All you’ll need are a few tools and a trip to the home improvement store. And the best part is: this DIY hanging bed “plan” is really simple and takes just a few hours. This is a Twin XL (mattress) sized bed.
Materials Needed for Creating a Hanging Bed
Materials for the bed can all be purchased at Lowe’s or Home Depot. Links for materials for the hanging bed in this post are for Home Depot. Cost of materials for the bed (not the stain or guardrail) should total less than $100.
Cost of Hanging Bed Materials = $95.29
- (8) 1 in. x 4 in. x 8 ft. Premium Kiln-Dried Square Edge Whitewood Common Board $38.24
- (1) 2 in. x 4 in. x 104-5/8 in. Prime Kiln-Dried Whitewood Stud $2.96
- (2) 2 in. x 6 in. x 104-5/8 in. Prime Kiln-Dried SPF Stud $10.08
- (4) 2-3/4 in. 18-Gauge Gusset Angle $3.32
- (16) #8 2-1/2 in. Phillips Bugle-Head Coarse Thread Gold Screws (1 lb.-Pack) (BOX) $6.47
- (8) #10 3-1/2 in. Star Flat-Head Wood Screws (1 lb.-Pack) (BOX) $5.98
- (16) #6 x 1 in. Philips Square Drive Flat-Head Full Thread Zinc Coated (BOX) $1.94
- (2) 7/16 in. x 4-3/4 in. Zinc-Plated Spring Link $7.96
- (2) 3/8 in. x 4-7/8 in. Stainless Steel Screw Eye $6.56
- (25.5 Inches – 19 links) 5/16 in. x 1 ft. Zinc-Plated High Test Chain $6.46
- (8) 1/4 in. x 4 in. Zinc-Plated Hex Lag Screw $3.68
- (2) 5/16 in. x 5-1/2 in. Zinc-Plated Hex Lag Screw – $1.64
Stain and Varnish
Pick a stain that makes sense for the style of the room. We went with Jacobean (dark) the color also accentuates the textures in the wood.
Twin XL – DIY Hanging Bed for Kids (Build Steps)
You’re only going to need a few hours to get this project completed. Here’s the thing… the staining process takes longer than the actual build. Take your time with it, it’s worth it to get the finish just right.
Cut Wood to Size
You’ll need to cut the side guard rails, end rails, bed slat supports, bed slats.
- Side Guard Rails 2×6 – Need (2) – 82 1/2 inches (table saw or skill saw)
- End Rails 2X6 – Need (2) 39 1/2 inches (table saw or skill saw)
- Bed Slat Supports Take a 2×4 and cut it length wise in 2 pieces. Length must be 79 1/2 inches. You’ll need a table saw for best results. (table saw)
- Bed Slats 1X4 Whitewood common board. You’ll want 15 slats at 39 1/4 inches. You’ll get (2) slats for each 8ft board you purchase. (table saw or skill saw)
Assemble & Hang Bed Frame
Note: the end rails go inside the side rails. Use the 3 1/2 inch screws (2 in each corner on the guard rail sides).
The top of the guard rails will be exactly 33 inches from the ceiling. Mark the stud locations on the wall.
Level and mount the constructed frame with the top of the frame 33 inches from the ceiling. Use a drill bit smaller than the lag screw (bolt) for your pilot hole. Then secure the frame (using one lag screw) to the wall. We didn’t use washers but in retrospect, I would have.
While having someone hold the one end of the frame use a 2X4 (the one you purchased if you’d like / before the cut) to level the bed and to prepare to attach the chain to the ceiling. At this point (now that the bed is level) use the other lag screws to attach the frame to the wall. Attach a lag screw to each stud the frame touches. Add the larger lag screws (double up) to the ends (touching the wall) of the frame. Adding the extra (and larger) lag screw to the ends is just a little extra precaution.
Drill a pilot hole in to the joist (this is a basement room) as close to directly over the corner of the frame. Screw in the the screw eye using a screwdriver (horizontally for leverage).
Install the other screw eye in to the side guard rail, close to the edge so the screw enters the end rail as well. We placed the screw eye down 2 1/2 inches from the top of the rail. Connect the spring links to the chain and attach both spring links respectively to the screw eyes.
Remove the 2×4 brace you were using to level the bed, cut it (as explained previously) and attach it using the 2 1/2 inch screws. Add one screw every foot.
Mount the gusset angle using the 1 inch screws. This is to add a bit more stability to the frame.
Then hang on the bed frame like a monkey.
Staining and Prepping the Hanging Bed
Depending on your situation, you can stain the pieces of the bed frame before assembling, before attaching to the wall or after you’ve attached it to the wall. The after you’ve attached it to the wall is a little more difficult so we went with that. 🙂
Finish Preperation
- Sand with an orbital sander.
- Application of paint thiner to clean up and prep for stain with cloth.
- Application of stain using a cloth.
- Application of polyurethane using a foam brush.
- Very fine steel wool to work out any imperfections and prepare for second coat of polyurethane.
- Application of the second coat of polyurethane.
- Very fine steel wool application to finalize the look and feel of the bed frame.
Buy rubber gloves (that stain sticks around if you don’t).
23 Responses to “How to Build a Hanging Bed”
James
Don’t you need 3 of the 2x6x104-5/8 boards? 2 for the long ends and then 1 cut into two 39.5″ pieces for the ends? Also, why get the 104″ boards at all. When everything is less than 8′, just use that as the length for everything (before cuts).
Jeffrey
Just got back from Home Depot, and found the same: Yes another 2×6 is needed!
Thanks Rob for posting all this…my boy is gonna love it.
Amanda
What did you use as a ladder to get onto the bed?
Rieley Kiefer
A rock wall i think
Ashley
Could this be done with a queen size?
Rieley Kiefer
You could build it to fit around it
Charlie
Can it be done with any bed or dose it have to be made to fit
Rieley Kiefer
made to fit
Amy
Can this be done in a mobile home?
Rieley Kiefer
Pobally not
Rieley Kiefer
Hi this is cool but it doesnt look sturdy
Rob Benson
Sorry for the delayed reply! The hanging bed is very sturdy, we’ve been using it for quite awhile now and it’s rock solid.
Gabe Andrews
I was just taking some time this morning to draw this out and by chance did a search in Google; and BOOM here is everything I was planning! This is awesome. Thanks alot for the details and the pictures.
Rob Benson
You’re welcome, thanks for the kind words!
Did you build a hanging bed (sorry for the late reply)?
192.168.0.1
This is cool!
Ron Robinson
Do you have advice or plans for the climbing wall
Rob Benson
What we did for the climbing wall wasn’t all that great. Some of the “rock” pieces came out.
Here’s what I’d do if I knew what I know now:
Before adding the plywood to the wall I’d secure the “rock” pieces to the plywood with some type of lock on the back piece of the plywood. Then I’d take the plywood and attach it to the wall (studs).
What I did before: I hung the plywood then I screwed in the “rock” pieces via provided hardware as instructed via the company that sold the pieces. A few of them failed.
But… A nice lock (bolt and washer) on the back of the piece/hardware (then sink that into the dry wall when you hang the plywood would work great.
Hope that helps.
Lucy
This looks amazing and thanks so much for posting. I’m going to see if my husband is brave enough to make two of these for our boys. Couple of questions:
1. You’ve made this look quite easy to do but we don’t have much experience of carpentry, do you think a novice can handle this?
2. If our walls aren’t very straight how much of a problem do you think this might cause us?
3. What should we get for the slats of wood that the mattress sits on?
Thanks!
James
I just did this myself and if you have a drill and some kind of saw to cut the wood it really isn’t that hard. Just plan your layout carefully after locating studs. The hardest part probably was getting the chain taught and lined up. I also suggest getting an attachment for the chain that lets the chain rotate without linking. That way you can adjust the eye hooks as needed.
Amanda
My husband and I made three of these in the last two days! We adjusted sizes and made one queen and then 2 twin beds for our boys. Thank you so much for sharing! I’d be more than happy to share photos if you’d like to see!
Emmanuel
I would love to see some pics of what you did. I am looking for inspiration at this point.
Rachel
How much weight can this design support?
Anthony Meier
What methods or devices are there to insure the chain is tight? It seems like you would need some slack to attach the clips on the ends of the chains to the eyelets but once attache you don’t want that slack. Thanks. Getting ready to start this for my son.