How to Build a Picket Fence Bed

A garden-themed bedroom may include walls painted with flowers, butterflies, trees and hummingbirds. One focal point for a garden bedroom is a picket fence bed. You can easily make your own picket fence bed by refurbishing pieces of old fencing sold at your local architectural salvage yard or by building a new picket fence from supplies you can find at your local home improvement store. The materials included here will make a picket fence for a twin bed.

Things You'll Need

• Twin bed mattress and metal frame
• Picket fence panel, 48 inches high by 8 feet long
• Two end posts
• Stud finder
• Level
• Screwdriver and four 6-inch screws
• Small amount of white acrylic paint

Instructions

1. Find the picket fence materials at your local home improvement store. Vinyl picket fences have the charm of old wooden picket fences without the paint that peels and flakes. One fence panel is sufficient for a 75-inch-long twin-size bed and you'll have a little more than a foot of fencing left over on either side of the bed. The end posts fit the vinyl fence panel and give your picket fence bed a finished look, but you can choose not to include these as they are not necessary to install the fencing on the wall. With the two posts included, you can build a picket fence bed for under $150.

2. Clear the floor and wall area where you will place your bed. Assemble the picket panel into the end posts as directed by the manufacturer.

3. Find the studs on the wall where you will place your fence panel. The panel is 48 inches high; if you stand it on the floor, most of it will be hidden by the bed. Determine how much of the picket fence you would like to be seen and measure the height of your assembled bed from the floor to the top of the mattress. Measure this distance on the wall in line with the studs, and then lower it 4 inches and place a mark. This will show most of the fence, but will conceal the bottom of the panel. Measure the width of the assembled picket fencing, then measure this distance from the mark on your wall. Make another mark. Don't worry if there is no stud behind the second mark. One stud is sufficient to hold the panel on the wall. Make sure your wall marks are level.

4. Drill pilot holes for the screws four inches from the top and four inches from the bottom of each end post. Remove one end post from the assembled fencing and attach it to the stud section of the wall, making sure the bottom of the post rests on your mark. Slide the fencing back into place and attach the other post to the wall.

5. Paint the visible screw heads with white paint and center the bed on the picket fence.

Tips & Warnings

• Place end tables to conceal the exposed wall where your fencing is elevated. You could also paint grass and flowers underneath this section to fit with a garden theme bedroom.

• Make sure to paint the wall that will be behind the picket fence completely before you install the fencing.

Resources

• New Picket Fencing