Swing Bed

This was a fun, quick project for a local family. I had never heard of a “swing bed” before, but discovered their popularity while looking for examples prior to this build. I’ll return to the form again in the future to experiment with decorative engraving and curves instead of straight lines.

The family commissioned a simple swing bed designed by plank and pillow, which I discovered in short order were quite under-enginered for a piece of furniture designed to swing while holding potentially hundreds of pounds of weight. Where the plans called for 2” 16 gauge nails, I substituted 3” structural screws. 1 1/4” nails became 1 1/4” construction screws. All mating surfaces where glued. 2x3s were sized up to 2x4s for the internal frame (why they would call for a weaker and less common lumber size here is beyond me). The finished result was a very rigid bed frame that I feel confident will hold up to daily use for many years.

Suspension hardware was attached directly to the porch rafters, and is rated to hold a minimum of 1300lbs.