We’re giving you the full scoop on our DIY Daybed and tour of our guest bedroom! This beautiful Mid Century DIY Daybed is super easy to build. Find out how you can make one yourself with minimal tools and materials!
I’ve been wanting to fix up the guest room for forever. I actually used to use it as my craft room once upon a time before moving to the first Sugar & Cloth studio.
I cringe at what this room used to look like! And it’s basically just been the place where random things go to live until they find a real home.
I also felt really bad when my Dad was here for almost an entire month trying to help us renovate the new studio space and was sleeping in this room with just a blow up mattress. (Yikes!)
So clearly this Mid Century DIY Daybed and guest room tour was long past due! I really love the way it has turned out.
Finding a few key pieces (thanks to my All Modern addiction!) helped make the space much more interesting.
This room also leads to the back patio so a daybed DIY was perfect for making it feel like a universal space as opposed to walking straight through a bedroom.
And it’s still small enough to not overwhelm the room since it’s barely a 10ft wide space!
Materials and Tools Needed to Make a Mid Century DIY Daybed
Set of four 5 1/2″ Waddell table legs
Set of four sofa or table leg mounting plates
Ikea Sultan twin size grey foundation and mattress — We used the Ikea Sultan Foundation in Grey Twin. The Ikea Espevar Slatted Mattress Base in Twin is also similar. Whichever foundation you use, just be sure that the bottom allows you to attach legs.
Drill and screws for mounting plates
Wood stain in Walnut — Or any color of your choice
Foam brush — For applying the wood stain
Ikea Hack | How to Make a Mid Century DIY Daybed
1 – First things first, you’ll want to stain the unfinished wooden legs in the walnut color first, and let them dry completely.
2 – While those are drying, screw the metal mounting plates to each of the four corner of the twin bed foundation. The foundation actually is made of a wooden bottom and grey fabric cover, so it makes it really simple to attach legs to.
3 — When the stain is dry, twist each leg into the mounting plate on all four corners, and flip it right side up, stacking the mattress on top.
Easy as that!
FAQ
How can I make my day bed more comfortable?
Make your daybed more comfortable by adding cushions and prints.
A twin mattress fits a typical sized platform, which means it’s very deep so you’ll need lots of pillows to elevate the headboard or use an ottoman as discussed above if necessary!
Can you sit on a daybed like a couch?
Daybeds are as wide and deep, so when used as a sofa they can accommodate an extra person or two.
If you don’t want the hassle of building up stairs for your child’s room then this is definitely one way to go!
How can I make my bed feel like a couch?
If you need a sofa, but don’t have the room for one of those bulky contraptions that take up half your living space and still leave little floor left over then this solution may be perfect.
Arrange large pillows atop your mattress and lean them against any nearby wall to create an inviting backrest without disrupting easy accessibility in front or behind!
Guest Room Decor Sources
For the top sheet, I used a dark grey pinstripe jersey sheet set from Target, and a Ferm living geometric throw, dotted grey Euro shams and pillows, geometric Ferm living lumbar pillow, and Ferm living star round cushion from AllModern for the rest of the bed setting.
I also wanted to make sure getting ready was an easy task for guests.
So I picked out a simple mirror for the top of the dresser (which I have extra blankets, towels, shampoo, and a trinket tray to keep on hand).
I’m terrible at remembering to water house plants, especially ones tucked away in a spare room so I opted for air plants in these hanging vessels instead.
I know I mentioned it on Instagram already, but I’m still super obsessed with this crazy Flos lamp from AllModern! How freaking cool is this thing?
It’s also super bright which is perfect for letting guests avoid the funky overhead fan light.
Guest Room Sources
Johnson Mirror from All Modern
Ferm Living Blanket in Grey from All Modern
Jared’s photographs framed in custom Framebridge frames
White Euro shams from Ikea
More Easy DIY’s to Try
Love our Mid Century DIY Daybed? Check out a few of our home decor projects from our archives below —
- Tiled Backyard Patio Before & After
- Ikea Bar Cart DIY Stylish Ideas
- DIY Shibori Throw Pillow
- Office Design Makeover
- Master Bathroom Remodel Before + After
Mid Century DIY Daybed
Equipment
- Drill and screws for mounting plates
- Foam brush for applying the wood stain
Materials
- 4 5 1/2″ Waddell table legs
- 4 sofa or table leg mounting plates
- 1 Ikea Sultan twin size grey foundation and mattress We used the Ikea Sultan Foundation in Grey Twin. The Ikea Espevar Slatted Mattress Base in Twin is also similar. Whichever foundation you use, just be sure that the bottom allows you to attach legs.
- Wood stain in Walnut or any color of your choice
Instructions
- Stain the unfinished wooden legs, and let them dry completely.
- While the legs are drying, screw the metal mounting plates to each of the 4 corners of the twin bed foundation. Our bed's foundation consists of a wooden bottom and grey fabric cover, which made it easy to attach legs to.
- When the stain is dry, twist each leg into the mounting plate on all 4 corners. Flip it right side up, stacking the mattress on top.
This is the most beautiful modern “day bed” look I have come across! What are your thoughts on doing it with a larger size bed (like double or queen)?
Hi Trish! We have not tried this with a double of queen yet. But typically when you go wider than a twin bed, you would need a center leg. Most box springs should have a middle platform support for larger sizes. Ikea has slated ones. We recommend adding even a middle row for a queen (so an additional 3 legs).
Has anyone used the Ikea Espevär option? if so did you need to add the metal leg base pieces or did you just use the provided holes to add legs. Judging by the reviews I think I may add a
plywood layer at the bottom to add a center leg for support. Or I may be ale to put a cross beam inside it at the bottom to add the center leg. Please replay if you used this frame. Thanks
Hi April! Hopefully, someone who has used the Espevar option can chime in. We don’t think it ever hurts to add additional support to any frame though so we think a center leg would be helpful!
Hi – i replicated the twin bed with the exact same furniture elgs and brackets. But when you try to sit on the box spring it newrly cracks in half. Im looking at the possibilty of having to add more supprort legs in the center. Did anyone else have this issue?
Hi Kristen! We didn’t have this issue. Are you screwing in the large metal plates for the legs to twist into? They should support it plenty!
Yeah i Used the plates. Maybe the boxspringg is just cheapy! Thanks for the feedback.
Sorry about the all caps in the last comment. The way the comments section shows everything in all caps meant my spell check corrected to all caps, haha.
You might want to put some POLYURETHANE or some other sealer on those legs to keep them nice looking and easy to clean :-)
I love, love, love the bed, sheets, lamp, small dresser….the room..It seems very relaxing
Question: Is the box spring covered with a fitted sheet also?
And what color are the walls painted?
Hi!
Has anyone tried this with as larger size bed? I have a queen and wonder if it be too much weight on the legs
I’m wondering the same thing!
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Beautiful!! Seems like a very peaceful area of the house! :)
I love this! I’ve used these legs on a coffee table, do you think they’re sturdy enough to hold up a king sized bed? Have you found they need any extra support to hold the bed up with people using it?
I love the clean lines of this space but the cozy pillows really complete the look for me!
Everything looks so perfect! How can you be so awesome in homedecor?! I love the pillows!
When I have a place with a guest room I want it to look exactly like this. Love it!
http://notsohammy.wordpress.com
love the space! that lamp is the cutest :)
Love that daybed!
Carrie
http://www.wearwherewell.com
I love the guest room! That day bed is awesome – I need one of them myself!!!
Love this whole room! How did I not know about “All Modern” before? Yikes, I’ve been missing out. I’d love to see a shot of the patio from this room because of what you said about using a day bed so that it doesn’t feel like you’re walking through a bedroom to get there. Sounds perfectly thought out!
Beautiful design and color scheme!
Looks awesome Ash! Love it.
I love this project! So simple, but it really changes the feel of the room. Also, where did you get your gold frames? Or did you paint them?
Hi Julia, Thank you! The frames are from Framebridge.