How to Paint a Wooden Bed Frame | Girls Bedroom

Learn how to paint a wooden bed frame to easily transform your bedroom on a budget in just a few hours!

When it was time for my oldest daughter to transition to a big girl bed from her toddler bed, my dad offered to build her a wooden bed frame. I had been eyeing wooden beds for a while, so I took him up on it. I was excited for her to have a special bed made by her grandpa and one that would last for many years to come. He used this Ana White plan for a simple twin bed frame and the result was beautiful. It’s sturdy, well-made and fits a twin mattress perfectly. What’s great about this design is that it can be easily taken apart in the event we need to move and requires no box spring. I will say that the bed was much bigger than I was expecting, but it fills out the space out beautifully.

PIN FOR LATER!

I asked him to leave the bed unfinished because I wasn’t sure how I wanted it to look. I debated on weather I should stain it, paint it entirely, just seal it or do a combination of some of those options. And so it sat for over a year while I thought about it. I finally decided to do a combination of sealing it with polyurethane and painting it.

Now you may wonder why somebody would want to paint fresh wood as opposed to staining it. Typically I’m a fan of leaving wood in its natural state or close to it, but for this project, that wasn’t an option. The wood my dad used for this wooden bed frame was pretty knotty pine. He also had to fill in some screw holes as well. That combination made parts of this bed not ideal for staining. No matter how much sanding I were to do, I don’t think it would’ve have looked the way I wanted it to with just stain or poly. So I decided to highlight the really beautiful parts of the bed by just applying poly, and covering the not so beautiful parts with a really pretty off-white color called thickened cream by Behr.

VIDEO

HOW TO PAINT A WOODEN BED FRAME

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MATERIALS

• Sand paper
• Polyurethane
• Behr Satin Paint (Thickened Cream)
• Wood filler

TOOLS YOU MAY NEED

• Foam brush
• Paint brush
• Sanding block
• Rags

STEPS FOR HOW TO PAINT A WOODEN BED FRAME

Fill in any holes with wood filler and allow it to try completely.

Sand the wooden bed frame starting at a lower grit and working up to a 220 grit or higher, then wipe the wood down to ensure no dust is present.

If you’re doing a two tone look like this bed, stain and/or poly those sections first. I applied two coats of polyurethane.

Once the poly is dried, paint the remainder of the wooden bed frame. I applied three coats of paint to reach the desired coverage. Be sure to wait the appropriate time in between coats of paint to get the best finish.

Allow the bed to dry, then it’s ready for use!

NOTES

• If your wooden bed frame was previously painted or stained, you may want to consider stripping that off prior to starting this project, but just assess your piece.
• I like using a paint that is a two-in-one, paint and primer, to save a step.
• I suggest leaving the bed frame put together while completing this project to make it easier to see what the final result will look like.

Continue to Content

How to Paint a Wooden Bed Frame

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Active Time: 6 hours

Total Time: 6 hours 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Estimated Cost: $20

Learn how to paint a wooden bed frame to easily transform your bedroom on a budget in just a few hours!

Print

Materials

• * Sand paper
• * Polyurethane
• * Behr Satin Paint (Thickened Cream)
• * Wood filler

Tools

• Sand paper
• Polyurethane
• Behr Satin Paint (Thickened Cream)
• Wood filler

Instructions

1. Fill in any holes with wood filler and allow it to try completely.
2. Sand the wooden bed frame starting at a lower grit and working up to a 220 grit or higher, then wipe the wood down to ensure no dust is present.
3. If you're doing a two tone look like this bed, stain and/or poly those sections first. I applied two coats of polyurethane.
4. Once the poly is dried, paint the remainder of the wooden bed frame. I applied three coats of paint to reach the desired coverage. Be sure to wait the appropriate time in between coats of paint to get the best finish.
5. Allow the bed to dry, then it's ready for use!

Notes

• If your wooden bed frame was previously painted or stained, you may want to consider stripping that off prior to starting this project, but just assess your piece.
• I like using a paint that is a two-in-one, paint and primer, to save a step.
• I suggest leaving the bed frame put together while completing this project to make it easier to see what the final result will look like.

Did you make this project?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

LOOKING FOR MORE DIY TUTORIALS?

Looking for more easy DIY tutorials like this? Check these out:

• How to Refinish an Antique Desk
• How to Make a Reusable DIY Bread Bag
• How to Make a Flannel Throw Blanket
• How to Refinish a Wooden Chair

Have you painted a piece of furniture like this bed frame recently? Tag me on Instagram (@thesimplehomeplace) to show me your creations!