Design Your Own Upholstered Daybed With These Tips

Design Your Own Upholstered Daybed With These Tips

Over two years ago, when I designed my last showhouse space, I designed a daybed for a "teenage girl". I decided her name would be “Phoebe” (cute, huh? ;-)

To this very day I still get emails about it, most of them containing the question:

Carla... How can I build this daybed myself? -Or-Where can I buy this daybed?

I usually answer each email I receive individually. But I thought having the instructions available here on DESIGNED will save me a lot of time. Now I'll just reply back with this link.

For a while, after getting so much positive feedback, I considered having the daybed manufactured - that is until I realized I wasn't quite "well known" enough to design furniture for a manufacturer.

Apparently you have to be a “celebrity designer" these days for a furniture company to consider you. I put the thought on the shelf, hopefully to have it developed later.

Need design advice? Click here!

So, instead of waiting for the moment when I finally see it manufactured, I think I’d rather see lots of creative renditions of my daybed being built by all you, instead of keeping my tips to myself. After all, I may never see the day when my daybed gets manufactured ;-(

So, please, use these drawings and information as inspiration to design and build it yourself ;-)

Oh, and send me a pic when it's finished! I’d love to see your take on my upholstered daybed! And, of course, I'll post it here for the rest of the world to love.

Next, you design the frame around it.

We had some beds for the showhouse available that were borrowed and, well, they were super thin. No one would be sleeping on them. So, these dimensions, while appropriate for this particular bed, wouldn’t be ideal for a taller, fluffier mattress.

I had this bed built by a local upholsterer who regularly makes custom headboards and ottomans. They built a frame and then wrapped it in foam and dacron wrap.

I wanted a bit of a retro vibe, so I went with a smooth, rich-looking vinyl, which turned out to be the perfect material for this bed.

Crate and Barrel has a low-profile support piece called a “bunky board”. It’s great for platform style beds with a 2” thickness. I used the bunky board on top of the slats for good support.

READ MORE: So Dreamy! So Stylish! These Daybeds Will Make Your Guests Swoon!

BTW: After the showhouse, I designed an adaptation of this daybed, this time for a younger girl. We used a full-size mattress, added a few curves, and some painted white legs. Cute, huh ;-)

Original article and pictures take carlaaston.com site