Wednesday, June 13, 2012

"upholstered" box spring

i got tired of the sad looking dust ruffle on my bed so decided to dress it up a bit by "upholstering" my box spring. why the quotes around "upholster"? well,  it has the look of being upholstered but really isn't. the project was pretty easy and only took about two hours or so. and, the end result looks pretty darn good--a much more finished look. see how i did it after the jump.



1. i dismantled my bed and got rid of the metal bed frame that had been hidden by the dust ruffle.
2. i picked out a fitted sheet that i liked and that matched my DIY headboard fabric.
3. i went to lowe's and bought 7 unfinished wood furniture legs (they have lots of style and height options), some "sliders" for the bottom of the legs and some stain.
then, i got down to real business.
4. i mounted all of the feet onto a piece of cardboard to make it easier to stain them.
5. once they were dry (and after two coats of stain), i nailed the "sliders" in to the bottom of each foot.
6. then, with an electric staple gun, i stapled one side of the fitted sheet to the underneath side of the box spring. and, then did the same to the other side.  I did the two long sides first then the two short ends. i made sure to pull the fitted sheet taut all the way around and stapled the heck out of it on the underneath side. it wasn't pretty but no one will see under there anyway!
7. on two corners, i had some excess fitted sheet so I folded it over nicely so that it would look like a finished seam even though it was just folded fabric.

8. then the final step was to drill holes into the wood box spring frame so i could screw the legs in.  make sure to drill a hole slightly smaller than the diameter of the screw in the furniture leg so that you have something for the screw to grip into.  if your hole is too large your leg will just fall out. i put a leg on each corner, 1 in the middle on each side and then one smack in the middle underneath the center of the box spring to give a bit of center support.  sorry no pics for the drilled holes.

and that's it! i was careful not to put any side pressure on the legs when i flipped it over because i didn't want to risk the legs snapping off. that process was a bit hard to do by myself but I managed.

you can also cover a box spring with fabric and a similar process but i opted for the easy way out with an existing fitted sheet that i had that matched my headboard.

have fun making your own "upholstered" box spring!

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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 20, 2012 at 6:56 PM

    Hi! I love this idea and the look! I am in serious need of an affordable guest bed and the legs I found would add up to around $50. I was wondering what you thought about using those cheep plastic bed risers? I know of their sturdiness because a while ago our couch leg broke off so we replaced the legs with the bed risers by drilling them into the couch frame and the couch has held up wonderfully and you can't even tell they are there. I'm wondering if you think this would work on a box spring and if you have any ideas to how I could cover the legs. I really love the look of the upholstered box spring but will I have to just use a bed skirt? What do you think about me covering the plastic legs with rope? Or just extending the fabric on the box spring to the floor? Your thoughts would be so appreciated! Thank you!!

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    Replies
    1. wendy trotterJanuary 20, 2013 at 3:59 PM

      so sorry i am just responding to this. i know exactly what you are talking about--plastic bed risers. you are right in wanting to cover them--they are not good lookin'! i like your rope idea a lot. if that is too rugged for the style of your bedroom, you could try covering them in fabric. and, not sure if this would work, but you might consider inverting the risers so that the smaller part is at the bottom and sits on the floor with the wider part attached to your bed. if you are using them down the center spine of the box spring as well as the four corners, it seems like it should be sturdy enough--but, don't hold me to it!

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  2. AnonymousJune 21, 2013 at 10:43 AM

    Hello Wendy ,

    I have been looking for these legs everywhere .
    I called Lowe's and they do not carry those , do you know where else I can go ?
    Thank you very much .
    Best ,

    Ladyrose

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  3. wendy trotterJune 22, 2013 at 3:00 PM

    Hi Ladyrose,
    I am in San Francisco and bought mine at a place called Discount Builders. It is actually a huge Ace Hardware so maybe see if there is an Ace Hardware near you. Discount Builders actually had quite a few style options to choose from--some of the other options they had were more traditional styling and some were more like bun feet. You can also order them online and have them delivered to your local Lowes and pick them up or have them shipped to you. Below is the link to one similar to what I bought (you can cut and paste the link). Good luck!

    http://www.lowes.com/pd_110899-1380-2746_0__?productId=3038076&Ntt=funiture+legs&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dfuniture%2Blegs&facetInfo=

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