When we bought our youngest son a new soft side water bed, he didn't like any of the bed frames on display at the store. He said he wanted a plain headboard and either no footboard or one that was real low. I decided at that point to build one as soon as I could. 

Although his requests were simple, I had to decide on a style and construction methods that would be strong. Since the waterbed had its own support platform, the bed frame would not have to carry any weight. However, I realized that this may not be true in the future if he decided to use it with a conventional box spring and mattress.

The bed rails are made from one inch thick red oak and attach to the bed posts using heavy duty steel bed rail fasteners mortised into the rails and posts. Since bed slats aren't used with this bed, I did not install any bed slat cleats on the inside of the rails. These can be easily added at a later date if necessary.

This bed frame fits a queen size bed but can be modified to fit any standard bed size. The rails on the head and footboards are mortised into the bed posts and pinned with dowels from the back sides for extra holding power. The panels on the headboard are recessed in the face of the frame only 1/8 inch. This design decision was made because I felt it would make it more comfortable on the back when sitting against the headboard while in bed. The entire frame is finished with only a clear top coat. No stain was used.

The bed posts are solid red oak and measure 3 inches square. The posts for the headboard are 48 inches long while the posts for the footboard are only 20 inches long. The post caps were made from 5/4 stock. They are beveled on the top and have a 3/16 bead at their base.

Below is a list of links that show close up photos of some of the details in this bed.