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This queen size solid walnut bed is slightly taller than normal, and has four large built-in storage drawers under the bed. It is available as a headboard only, a complete bed with rails and footboard, with or without the storage. Headboard $900 |
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Cherry headboard with solid (furniture grade plywood) back, and solid hardwood legs and top trim. The trim is three layers of wood that is flush across the top, with a cove cut into the lower edge of the front piece. Headboard $600 |
The height of the headboard at the ends - at the legs - is about 40 inches. The center of the headboard is about 6 inches higher. A headboard is normally attached to the metal bed frame, which is about the same width as the mattress and box springs (60 inches for a queen size bed) so the overall width of the headboard is about 60 inches.
The bottom of the headboard needs to be low enough so that pillows cannot escape from the bed - someplace about 22 to 28 inches above the floor. This headboard goes down to about 17 inches above the floor (see below).
What are the silly ears at the bottom? A full size double bed is only about 5 inches narrower than a queen size bed, so you may want to use a queen size headboard on the smaller bed (to provide future flexibility). Those small boards allow a narrower frame to be attached to the headboard. The frame typically holds the mattress about 8 inches above the floor, and the headboard attaches to the frame at about that height. Those ears extend from about 3 inches to 9 inches above the floor (see below).
Normally the headboard legs rest on the floor, to provide additional stability. However, you might want to raise the headboard an inch or so off the floor to allow the existing casters to roll the bed, or you might want to raise the headboard several inches to allow thicker mattresses or large pillow collections. If the headboard is raised, then the connection point for a narrow bed needs to be lower, and the bottom of the headboard needs to be lower, as noted above.
A queen size mattress is 60 inches wide and 80 inches long. This bed is designed for the queen size mattress, and is a total of about 66 inches wide, with 60 1/2 inches between the rails, and 82 inches between the head and foot boards. At the user's request the mattress is about 4 inches higher than usual, which with a "pillow top" mattress makes the top of the mattress over 32 inches high. The top of the headboard is 54 inches above the floor, the footboard is 35 inches.
The head and foot boards are almost 3 inches thick, glued up from 3 boards after machining. The center board is 4 1/4 inch high, with each board glued to the front and back at 2 1/4 inches high at the head, and 1 1/2 inches high at the foot, before cutting a 1/2 inch cove along the length. The spindles are roughly oval, 3/4 inch wide on 4 inch centers (meeting the safety standard of gaps no larger than 3 1/2 inches). A router was used to round over all four corners of 1/2 by 3/4 inches boards, fitting them into mortise holes made by drilling overlapping 1/2 inch holes.
The extra height of the bed gave room underneath for four storage drawers, each about 2 feet by 2 feet. The drawers are set back from the edge of the bed, to avoid stubbing toes, thus are suitable for seasonal storage, but are not convenient for daily use. The drawers are slightly above the floor when closed, to provide ventilation under the bed.
A bed can be made for any standard mattress size, and in a wide variety of designs. A queen size headboard will normally be provided with a small extra board that allows it to be used with either a queen or a regular size bed frame, as seen above.
| Mattress Sizes | |
|---|---|
| King | 76 x 80 |
| California King | 72 x 84 |
| Queen | 60 x 80 |
| Double/Full | 54-55 x 75 |
| Single/Twin | 39 x 75 |
The mattress bottom is normally about 8 inches above the floor. The bed above was 12 inches above the floor, giving room for under-bed storage.
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