DIY Canopy Bed

Oh, canopy beds. I’ve always loved canopies. When I designed my little lavender bedroom as a little girl, my favorite piece in the whole room was the canopy. It made me feel like a princess every day, and it also protected me from spiders.

Seriously, one morning I woke and a spider was on my face! Well, if I didn’t have a canopy, it would’ve been right on my face, but luckily my canopy protected me and it was just in my face instead of on it.

My love for canopy beds rekindled when we went on our honeymoon. Our resort had a canopy bed, mostly to protect from the million mosquitoes, but it was so gorgeous. I think I asked Andrew multiple times every night on our honeymoon if we could build a canopy bed once we moved into our new house. Eventually, he got on board!

Alright, let’s start DIYing!

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Tools

• Miter Saw
• Drill
• Electric Sander
• Clamps
• Kreg Jig
• Safety Equipment (glasses, ear plugs, mask, gloves)
• Tape Measure

Prefer printable plans? Grab your canopy bed PDF plans HERE.

How to build a canopy bed

New to DIY? Download our free 5 Steps to Getting Start with DIY guide!

Step 1: Cut your wood

Start by cutting your posts to ~88 inches (this doesn’t need to be exact, because you’ll re-cut to the proper length after gluing). Glue three 1×3 boards together to make the bedposts. Use a stainable glue and start by putting two boards together, then add the third board (picking the best sides of the boards to face outward). Use clamps to hold the 3 boards together and ensure they are lined up as much as possible on the long sides.

Repeat this process until you have 4 posts created, if you have enough clamps you can do them all at once, otherwise you’ll want the glue to dry before unclamping. We got the idea to glue together 3 – 1×3 boards, rather than use 4x4s from Kreg Tool.

Make your remaining cuts using the cut list provided in our premium plans. All common bed dimensions are provided: twin, full, queen, king, and California king.

In addition to the cut list, cut a spare piece to 7”. You’ll use this to help level the side and end rails during assembly.

Step 2: drill pocket holes

Pocket holes are the foundation of most DIY furniture. Become a pocket hole pro in less than an hour in Pocket Holes: Explained.

Drill pocket holes in the end rails and front and back top rails. Pre-drill the side rail attachment and slats:

• 4 pocket holes on each end of your end rails (16 total)
• 1 pocket hole on your front and back top rails (4 total)
• Pre-drill 8 small holes (smaller than your screw size) across your side rail attachment 2x2s.
• Pre-drill holes 1 hole in the middle and 1 hole close to the edge on each side of the slats. For 3 of the boards, drill 2 holes spread out evenly instead of the 1 in the center.

Great news! We’ve created a PDF version of these plans, complete with 3D renderings that show you exactly where to drill holes and how things fit together. Get the plans.

Step 3: sand, stain, and seal

Focus a lot of your attention while sanding on the outward-facing pieces of the bed. We didn’t sand the 1×4 slats that hold up the bed since those didn’t need to be stained and will never be seen.

For this bed, we mixed 2 parts Dark Walnut to 1 part Classic Grey. Stain all the boards and let them dry before applying a coat of sealer.

 Seal your wood once the stain has fully dried.

P.S. we have a full post explaining everything you need to know about staining wood.

step 4: Add supports

While the stain is drying, attach the 2×2 supports to your 1×4 wood slats with 1.25” wood screws. Most will have just a single support in the center, however we will have 3 slats with 2 supports for extra stability.

Once everything is dry, you’re ready to bring the wood up into the room you’re putting the bed in! You’ll want to assemble in the room to ensure you can get the wood up the stairs and through the door.

Step 5: assemble the end pieces

Each end piece is made up of 2 posts and an end board. Attach the end board 7” from the bottom of the post using 2.5” Kreg pocket hole screws. You can use the 7″ scrap board you cut earlier as a guide. Ensure you attach it to the side of the post where you can see the 3 boards you glued together and that your favorite sides of the boards are facing out. Screw your end board into the other post. Repeat to create the other end piece.

Step 6: side rails

Attach the side rail attachments to each of the side rails. The side rail attachments should be 1.5” from the top of the side rail and 2.5” from the bottom and centered horizontally so that you have room on the end of each side rail for the metal brackets.

Attach the metal side rail bracket hardware with 1.25” wood screws. Start by attaching the metal piece with the L-shaped metal brackets sticking out to the end of the 2×6 board. Before attaching the other half of the 2 piece hardware to the post, slide the metal hardware together.

With help from someone else, line up the side rail 7″ off the ground, mark the top and bottom of the metal piece. Aligning this hardware is a crucial step and may take a few adjustments. Using the places you marked, attach the other side of the metal bracket to the post. Repeat until all 4 brackets are attached.

If you’re looking for more photos of the side rail hardware, check out our more recent platform bed DIY.

Step 6: assemble

Time to make this look like an actual bed frame! Lean one end piece up against the wall and grab a friend to help you hold up the other end piece. Slide the metal bracket that is attached to your side rail into the other half of the bracket on the post until it locks into place. Repeat until you have the outside of the bed frame assembled.

Space out and screw down the slats. Mix those three slats with the extra supports in to help distribute the weight.

Attach the top rails. The front and back rails are attached with 1.25” screws in pocket holes. The side rails are attached with the metal ties and 1.25” wood screws.

Optional STEP 7: Add Netting

I love a good four-poster bed, but I’ve always been a sucker for the whimsical mosquito netting that surrounds a canopy bed. Here’s the exact netting we got. It’s a great price and fits everything from a Full – California King!

OPTIONAL STEP 8: ADD A HEADBOARD

You might have noticed that this bed doesn’t have a headboard. Well, 78 weeks later, we FINALLY got around to making one! Check out our DIY headboard tutorial. It’s pretty cool. You don’t want to miss it.

Enjoy the sleek lines of your new canopy bed and take a look at some photos to gain some headboard inspiration to finish off your dream bed! And once you have that nailed down, be sure to check out these DIY nightstand plans to complete your DIY bedroom furniture set!

Don’t forget to grab your printable plans.

More Bedroom DIYs: DIY Platform Bed Frame with Built-In Nightstands | DIY Wood Headboard | The Easiest Floating Nightstands | 10 Unique Headboard Ideas | DIY Nightstand