Hanging Outdoor Bed

Build the support frame from the frame sides and ends with 2-1/2" screws and glue — three screws per corner. Check for square.

Attach the cleat supports 3/4" from the top edge of the frame sides with 2-1/2" screws and glue — doubling up the 2x6 and 2x4 this way creates a genuinely strong support system for the slats. Also screw from the outside of the frame ends into the edges of the cleats.

Attach the end trim with nails and glue, flush at the bottom and ends, letting the top edge form a small lip that keeps the mattress from sliding off the platform. This trim is purely cosmetic — the frame is plenty strong without it.

Add the side trim the same way as the end trim.

Screw the slats down across the cleats. Sand every surface and apply an exterior finish.

Predrill and install the eye bolts in the four corners of the bed frame. It's important these attach into the longer 2x6 sides only, since the load path runs from the slats to the cleats to the sides to the eye bolts.

Rest the bed on sawhorses or a table under where you want to hang it. Install matching eye bolts into ceiling rafters — choose bolt hardware based on your actual rafter construction — and hang the bed with chain from all four corners.