Whether you are a college student strapped for space or a senior citizen that has trouble getting out of bed each day, everyone can benefit from making their bed higher. Luckily, there are effective yet inexpensive methods to raise your bed that are quite easy to do.
How to Make Your Bed Higher
The most popular way to make your bed higher is with bed risers. These are specific types of furniture risers that are made to fit either bed posts or frames, helping to lift it the bed anywhere from 1 to 8 inches. It really is the best way to lift your bed 3 inches, 4 inches or 8 inches.
- Plastic is the most common material for these risers. They are molded to perfectly cradle the posts of the bed, which helps to ensure that your bed remains very stable. These are the easiest type of risers to install as well, as all you have to do is simply place one under each foot of your bed. Another feature many people like about plastic risers is the wide variety of colors that they come in, which allows you to find a set that matches your bedroom.
- Metal risers are another popular option that are known for their strength and stability. Many metal risers are also adjustable, which allows you to get your bed to the perfect height. Be cautious when purchasing risers made out of metal, however, as they are typically quite limited to what type of bed posts they can be used with.
- Build a strong wooden riser to raise your bed.
Measure the legs of your bed. To get a quick measurement, slide a piece of paper under one leg and draw a square around the leg. That is how big the surface of the wooden riser needs to be. Cut the square out from the paper. This will be your size reference. Get a 4×4 inch piece of wood or 6×6 inch lumber if you need it that big. Put the square paper cut out in the center of that 4×4. You can now cut the sides off to match the size of the square cut or just leave the 4×4 intact. I prefer to keep it intact. It’s less work. A 4 x 4 inch by 8 feet piece of Douglas Fir Lumber should cost $10 to $11 at Lowes or Home Depot. A 4×4 held vertically can hold A LOT of weight. Possibly in the thousands depending on the grain and as along as there are no cracks.
Now how tall do you want your bed? With a 4×4, you can go quite high. 12+ inches, 24+ inches. Just make sure it’s straight. Cut those lengths. Get 4 pieces of plywood. Measures the thickness of the plywood. 3/4 to 1 inch is a good size. Remember that not all wood measurements are exact. A 4×4 inch wood is likely 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches but it can still hold a lot of weight.
Cut the plywood so there is bit overlapping on one side and have the plywood 2-4 inches longer than the 4×4 post. Form a square around the 4×4 post with the four pieces of plywood. Drill pilot holes and fasten the plywood to the post. Add wood glue for more strength.
Build a base/platform with a flat piece of plywood. It should be 2-3 inches larger on all sides than the 4×4 post including the attached plywood. Drill this to your post. It will almost look like a cheap trophy. That wide base will help keep the riser in place in case of accidental bumps.
You will make 4 of these for each of the bed’s legs. Then center the legs on wooden riser. If your bed doesn’t have legs but is instead a box frame, you will have to make a large bed frame that is slightly larger than the original box frame.
Disclaimer: These rough instructions for making a wooden risers are just recommendations and opinions. You should leave it to professionals. Be safe.
Considerations
No matter what you use to raise your bed, it is very important to ensure that it is level. This will help prevent any accidents from happening. To do this, simply set a spirit or bubble level along the frame of your bed, checking each side. If you identify any legs that seem to be too low, you can either adjust the riser or add extra material such as wood or cardboard underneath the riser.
When buying bed risers, always check the label to see how much weight the risers can hold. Only purchase a model that has been proven to hold the weight of your bed. Exceeding these weight limits could be very dangerous.
Benefits
If you are limited by your mobility, you may be worried that you will need help getting off the high bed. However, it is actually much more difficult to get out of a bed that is lower to the floor, as you must strain your back and leg muscles to push your body upwards from a low bed. When your bed is around hip height, you can go from sitting on the edge to standing without staining yourself at all.
If you have concerns about the height of the bed, there are safety bed rails and nighttime bed guards that assure you do not roll out of bed at night.
The biggest benefit of raising your bed is the extra storage space. In fact, it lifting your bed is the most effective and inexpensive way to add storage to a bedroom. Once your bed has been raised, you will also find that there are lots of great containers specifically created to easily slide underneath a bed.