I found this full size bed frame in an apartment a few weeks ago...pretty sturdy and no major flaws except the broken knobby thingies on the footboard. No biggy...I didn't like them anyway!

My original plan was to turn it into on of those nifty bed benches. After all, who really needs a full size frame these days and the bed-benches seem to be all the rage right now.

But I decided to turn it into a queen size frame and use it in my son's room...or rather my guest room!

The first thing I had to do was cut the headboard, footboard and side boards in half.

Queen size beds are 6" wider and 4" longer than a full...so "retro fitting" this little puppy wasn't necessarily a breeze. I would not recommend this project for a novice DIYer. But if you have a little skill and a little imagination, it is doable!

After cutting it all in half, I cut off the little decorative pineapple doodads with the chopsaw. Not really my thing. I contemplated taking a jig saw to the scrolly thingies on the head board and foot board and just making it square...but naaaa...too much trouble.

I added "insets" to join the pieces I cut in half using 1x poplar boards to make them longer...4" inserts on the side boards and 6" inserts on the head and foot. I wish I had taken pictures to show how I constructed it, but again, um, no....just "imagine."

Seriously, it does take a little "engineering" to make the inserts structurally sound...these are heavy pieces and will be holding a lot of weight when you throw a box springs and mattress on there!

After nailing and glueing (remember, glue is what really holds wood together...nails just keep it together until the glue dries) I cleaned it well. You may notice in the pictures it was pretty dirty! But there was no sense in cleaning it until I had deconstructed and reconstructed!

After it was all constructed I caulked the joints and puttied the nail holes.

TIP ALERT! When you paint something that is originally stained, you have to caulk all the joints...they will show after you paint. I try to caulk as much as I can before I put on my primer, but gaps always show up after I prime. That's okay...just go back and caulk those, hit them with a little primer after the caulk dries well, and you are good to go!

A little sanding, a lot of Kilz, a lot more sanding, tack cloth, paint and clear coat!

And WHALLA!!!!

Truth be told, I'm not really feeling the color. I like the color of the bed, but now the walls look too "peachy." Dang it, now I have to paint the whole stinking room! And of course the sheets aren't right...so I guess I will have to get new bedding and pillow shams too! Darn!

These frames aren't really designed for bedskirts...so I took the old white bedskirt and used it to "upholstery" the box springs. Looks good...but a big downside is I can't hide a lot of stuff under the bed!

The dresser I have in this room is one I took out of my room because it was just too big and I seriously dislike the style. I can honestly say, I like it even less in this room. Waaaay to big!

I'm on the lookout for a little mid-century style dresser...just something big enough to hold a few spare guest blankets and pillows.

And of course room for my son's clothes when he comes home to "visit." (Notice Minkey, his stuffed monkey, is waiting for him...lol!)