Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Grand daughter bed underway
Bill Tindall, E.Tn.
She found something she liked in my collection of furniture pictures and then we diddled with the design to suit her. It will have a lattice head board that she can put stuff on, like her extensive collection of stuffed animals. I took mattress measurements off successful bunk beds I built for her mother and aunt.
I put her to work laying out mortises on the legs.
If we had a "like" feature, this would get one.
Re: Grand daughter bed underway
William Duffield
Are you going to put a back on the lattice of shelves? If not, she will most likely end up with a lot of her collection down on the floor behind the bed with the dust bunnies.
This is a golden opportunity to teach her about the golden ratio for sizing and proportioning the cubbyholes. 
I know it's a small detail at this point (and even smaller in the posted copy of your drawing), but I don't see any space (5/8") for the slats between the bottom of the mattress and the top of the ledger board. It's always a good idea to have physical access to the mattress before you determine the dimensions of the frame and especially the height of the "headboard".
Re: Grand daughter bed underway
Bill Tindall, E.Tn.
It's always a good idea to have physical access to the mattress before you determine the dimensions of the frame
Not being able to see into the future to know the various mattresses this bed will need to accommodate I will just have to make a guess.
I do not understand this statement:
I don't see any space (5/8") for the slats between the bottom of the mattress and the top of the ledger board. What's a ledger board? Space?
Re: Grand daughter bed underway
William Duffield
The ledger board is attached to the inside bottom edge of the side rails. It is what supports the slats (or alternately plywood sheets) that support the mattress, that were discussed in the previous bed thread. It is usually about 1" square, and attached with screws, and maybe also glue.
If you guess wrong on the thickness of the mattress, about the worst that will happen is it will either be difficult to access the bottom row of cubbies, or your pillows with slip onto the floor between the mattress and the headboard. Of course , if ithe mattress ends up too wide, you have to start over. If it ends up too long, you will need to replace the side rails. If shorter or narrower than optimal, it will still be supported adequately by the slats.
Re: Grand daughter bed underway *LINK*
Jim Dillon
William explained it well. I consulted the 1999 Taunton Press book by Jeff Miller on bed construction.
If you go to Amazon and "peek" inside the book, there are some nice pictures of ledger boards and their use in bed construction. Also allow for space to tuck in blankets, comforters etc., if contemplated. Great picture!
Beds
Re: Grand daughter bed underway
Bill Tindall, E.Tn.
I have made numerous beds. As noted I am simply copping the mattress dimensions from bunk beds that have been successful.
Re: Nomenclatural Confusion, Yet Again
William Duffield
I called them ledger boards; Jeff Miller just calls them cleats.
That's a very useful reference. Even the Amazon "Peek Inside" provides plenty of information for someone with as much experience as most of us here, to choose a construction method and build a soundly joined bed. I think I may even have a copy of the book somewhere.
Instead of ordering it directly from Amazon, a book seller listing on abebooks.com currently offers two used copies for $4 each with free shipping.