Pottery Barn Knock-Off: King-Size Stratton Bed
February 22, 2012 in Making our House a Home
When I first posted our plans and inspiration for our Master Bedroom renovation, I showed you this bed, The Pottery Barn Stratton Bed, and shared that we intended to make our own.
Usually, it is pictured with an uholstered headboard like this one (we decided to make something like that, too):
So we measured and sketched and shopped around for baskets and wood and stain. And then got busy…
I am so grateful to have a handy hubby…
…and couldn’t ask for a sweeter helper:
I WAS going to show you our scrap paper sketches that we used as plans….but then I discovered THESE FABULOUS PLANS, from Ana White, Homemaker. Oh how I wish we had found these before we made our own…they are so professionally done, detailed, and helpful.We discovered and printed them off a few hours into our project and were glad to have them 
(Click here to see OUR bed on Ana White, Homemaker)
Basically, the bed is 3 separate shelving units with a center plank to span the gap. Here they are all separated and ready to stain. (No need for sawhorses when your husband is a homebrewer…just grab a few kegs that are lying around!)
Staining the was at least as big of a job as building them. First Rodney went around with a clear wiping stain from Old Master’s. We decided to do this because we used the cheapest kind of plywood you can get…a soft wood with lots of knots and rough grain. The wiping stain helped to moisturize the wood, and since it is clear, it doesn’t matter if more soaks in on some places than others. It “evened” out the wood surface to prepare it to accept the colored stain more evenly.
I followed behind Rod with Dark Mahogany Gel Stain, also from Old Master’s. I DEFINITELY prefer working with gel stain on anything other than a flat surface…no drips!! Here it is after the first coat (it required two coats). 
Here is the same piece with a second coat of stain and a nice treatment of paste wax coating (Paste Wax comes in a smallish can and offers a matte finish rather than the glossy look of varnish…you rub it on with steel wool or a cloth and then buff it with a soft cloth):
You gotta LOVE all that under the bed storage that is also decorative!!
While we gave the stain and wax time to cure, we cleared out the bedroom (a big job!) to make room for our king-size creation.
…and got to work constructing the headboard:
Here is how we did it. We started with a big sheet of wood the same width as the shelf that would be at the foot of the bed. Since we used plywood, we put a one inch facing piece of wood around the outside edges. We stained this part as we stained the rest of the bed pieces, as well as the facing pieces you see above (2 inch wide strips of pine).
Then we added cotton batting above the level of the bed itself (but below the level of the mattress). The amount of you use is pure preference, but you’ll probably want to err on the side of too much since it gets compacted quite a bit when you stretch the fabric over it. We used 3 layers of a very high loft batting.
Then stretch fabric over it. Use a staple gun or a bunch of small nails to stretch and secure the fabric. The pottery barn original is just one big piece…but we sectioned it for a couple of reasons. 1. As long as a king-size headboard is, it would be hard to stretch the fabric nice and tight across the whole section and the middle would always seem a bit loose. 2. I bought this fabric before I knew what I would do with it, and only had 2 yards…about 2 inches short of spanning the whole length of the headboard with one solid piece. 
We then used a finishing gun to attach the wood facing pieces. I think if we were to do this again, though we would have screwed pilot holes and then attached them from the back. There is so much bulk in between the facing pieces and the headboard itself that you need a good tight hold.
There it is…
Ready for the bed 
Here is a Pinterest-friendly summary of the process of putting the headboard together:
Whew! It was a pretty big project, so when we got this baby moved in you can bet we celebrated!!
So there you have it, our King-size Pottery Barn Stratton Bed Knock-Off:
I know our bedding is not as fancy as the stuff you see in the Pottery Barn catalog…but these cotton duvet covers are extremely comfortable and practical for our family bed. I’ll tell you more about how I made them tomorrow 
If you are new to my Big Bedroom Swap Around Project, click on the following links to get caught up:
Click here for an overview of and introduction to our project.
Check out this post about our new plan to make bedroom #1 our master bedroom.
Check out this post about our new plan to make bedroom #2 my sewing room.
Click here to see what our needs were for the bedroom #3 and click here to find out our plans to make it a kids’ room SLASH guestroom.
Click here to see the kid’s room all painted and ready to move into.
Click here to see construction updates on the new master bedroom (bedroom #1).
Click here to see construction updates on the new walk-in closet (bedroom #1).
and Click here to see the new kids’ room (bedroom #3).
-:-
I’m linking up:
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Look What I Made! Linky Party 3-14-2012 | Creations by Kara
on April 17, 2012
Douglas on 
Fred Chapman on 
julia on 
Mandy
edna on 
wow! this is beautiful. i am inspired. can i ask about how much you spent on materials?
Roxana -
Thanks
I didn’t keep track of the exact cost, and am having a hard time even recalling estimates. We got the cheapest plywood available and used pine (a cheaper wood) for the facing pieces as well. I think stain, screws, batting, and fabric included we spent just under $200. The baskets were an expensive accessory, though…I spent about $15 a piece on those (this added another $100 to the price of the bed).
-Alisha
This looks great. What a lot of work! Give your husband kuddos!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this…I’m pinning it so I can find this later! Thanks so much for sharing your amazing project!
holy moly that is amazing! and look at all that storage!
AMAZING!! I love that you just made your own bed – LITERALLY! Brilliant job! Have to share this on facebook!
Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
Hope you have a fabulous week!
Jill @ Creating my way to Success
http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/
your bed and headboard are amazing. A really impressive knock off. Kudos to your husband for creating this … really, let him know he making all the other hubbies look bad.
and kudos to you for talking him into taking this on. It all looks great. Thanks for sharing on BeColorful
pam
Wow, what an huge undertaking! The bed came out great itlooks just like the pottery barn inspiration.
This is exactly what I want my husband to make! Our mattress is currently sitting on the floor. I love Ana White’s blog, she’s amazing. You did a great job! Thanks for sharing. Perhaps this will help my husband be more inspired to get our mattress off the floor.
I’m your newest follower via 504 Main Link Party. What a great job you did on this bed! I love all the storage!!
Megan
Your bed looks great. I’m making a PB knockoff bed for my daughter right now. Hope to have it moved in tomorrow. Anna White plans made it all happen, well that and a wonderfully handy brother-in-law who helped us make it.
seriously, that’s awesome! looks like a lot of work, with a fabulous outcome.
That is SERIOUSLY impressive! I’m so jealous!! I’m your newest follower and I’d love if you followed and linked up to my little party: http://www.nutmegplace.com/2012/03/showoff-saturday-5.html
I hope to see you there!!
I love your magnificent bed. You did an awesome job. I would love to tackle a project like this.
Ruth
I just love how your husband made you this bed. My husband has been working on things this week too. come check things out at Feedingnineonadime.com
wow, you two did a fabulous job. Wonderfully done.
Love the bed – been thinking of doing something similar for a long time (didn’t even know PB had one!) Seeing that you’ve already done it, perhaps you can answer a question that has been keeping me from tackling this project! It appears that you are not using a box spring. When you purchased your mattress, did they mention that no box spring could decrease the lifetime of your mattress? I ask because we made a very similar bed, sans storage, no box spring and our mattress began sagging after only two years. Aside from the boxes themselves, are you using any other structure, such as a layer of plywood or perhaps slats?
Did you put two twin mattresses on your bed? Do you like it?
Megan –
We are using a king-size mattress. It is standard to use two twin-size box springs under a king size mattress…but with the storage bed we are not using box springs at all.
-Alisha
Good2BQueen-
Thanks. You are correct, we are NOT using a boxspring. We actually got the mattress off Craiglist…so we did not talk to a rep at all. Without the boxsprings, the bed is more firm. This is what we want for now since we have little ones co-sleeping with us. However, we intend to get a memory foam topper when they are bigger and the danger of SIDS has passed to make it a bit more comfortable. I am surprised to hear that your mattress is sagging because of the lack of a boxspring. The bed my parent’s bought for me when I was 14-15 was a storage bed and mattress with no boxspring…my little sister still uses that bed and mattress 14 years later with no problems. We do have a full sheet of plywood supporting the mattress between the shelf pieces, rather than just slats…something I think is very important without the boxprings to provide that stability.
-Alisha
Wow! Great job! It looks fantastic! I like the bedding too.
I’m featuring your bed on this weeks Show Off Saturday!
http://www.nutmegplace.com/2012/03/show-off-saturday-6.html
Thanks for sharing!
i am just in total awe of you right now. i’d love for you to share this on my center of attention sunday link up! http://cadeedee.blogspot.com/2012/03/blog-post.html
AWESOME!!!
I just have to tell you… I pinned this immediately upon the page opening. But when I finally got to the bottom of the post (after anxiously and eagerly reading every. single. instruction. on the way and saw the photograph of your bed, I repinned. I REPINNED! I think your bedding is absolutely precious and is SO much more “Us” than the top ones from PB. Thank you so much for posting them and quit with the “not as fancy” Negative Nancy talk. I love it!
Thanks to All for the fabulously uplifting and kind comments!
Alisha
[...] Pottery Barn Bed Knock-Off at Snug as a Bug Baby [...]
This is absolutely amazing!!! Y’all did a fabulous job on this! I hope you don’t mind if I pin this… I’m showing this to my husband with the hopes he’ll get the hint. LOL!
We had my dad make this bed for us based on the queen size measurements from Pottery Barn but I cannot find baskets to fit! PB will not sell the ones they have without the bed. I have looked all over!!! Ideas? This has been going on 4 years now!
Sheila –
I actually shopped for my baskets before we made the bed so that I could make the spaces the right size…and one of the spots still proved to be a squeeze, so I can imagine how frustrating it would be to have to find the prefect baskets for pre-made slots. The baskets I got are from “Cost Plus World Market”…they have a good selection of large baskets. Have you checked at “The Container Store”? Honestly, I was disappointed with the selections of large baskets I found at most other places…but you might be able to find 2 smaller baskets to fit in each spot…for smaller baskets or decorative boxes stores like JoAnn’s, Hobby Lobby, and Michael’s have some pretty good options.
Good luck!
Alisha @ SnugasaBugBaby.com
This might be a dumb question…. But are you still using your box springs with this bed? I love love love the bed
My bad, I see the answer to that question now! Thanks again and congrats on your new bed, it is awesome!
I was in the process of designing a knock of like this when I came across this post. My previous bed had a lot of movement in it and I want to build one that is rock solid. I’m trying to decide on the materials to use to find a balance between cost and stability. Do you find the bed very stable using the 3/4 inch plywood?
Josh –
Our bed is very solid. No movement whatsoever. Good luck with yours!
Alisha
Okay, so I got a price down, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the bed, and now I’m wondering…how sturdy is it? I noticed a little one, so how has it held up against little ones…
Shannon,
I don’t believe there could be a sturdier bed! If sturdy and storage are your priorities, this is the bed for you! (If your top priority is comfort, be aware that the lack of a box spring makes for a firmer bed.)
Alisha
Could you find shelves like those instead of building them??
Hi! Where did you get the bins? I can’t find any like this except in sets and much higher than $15 a piece
Thanks so much!!
Terah –
I got the baskets at World Market Cost Plus. I bought them a couple at a time using $10 off a $30 purchase coupons, but they still wound up being about $18 a piece. DEFINITELY the most expensive part of the bed. Sorry i don’t have better news.
where did you get the baskets to go with this bed? thanks.
I have made the bed using similar materials. My only need is the baskets. I have looked everywhere I can think of to find them. Where did you get the baskets?
Thanks