Here is my second bed frame from the same plans. Since I have already documented the process once, this will focus on the changes that I made.

Please check out  the design from Knock-off Wood… Ana White’s website is amazing.

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This time around, I used A/A grade, oak-veneered PureBond plywood (contains no formaldehyde in the adhesive) and oak trim. This enabled me to stain the final product to match the rest of my furniture.
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Starting off with the raw materials… Here you can see the plywood cut and stacked:

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Here are the bench sections being glued and brad-nailed. I constructed a template for the tricky sections so that everything would be aligned (the bench is upside-down in this photo):

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A small modification was made to reinforce the bottom corners with a short 2×2. Later you can see the rubber feet attached to this portion of the frame (note the excessive glue):

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Two of the three benches upside-down and ready for trim:

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Once all three benches were trimmed-out, and the center-support was assembled, the parts were aligned so that slots could be cut into the top for the mattress to “breathe”:
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Holes were cut in a grid pattern to created corners for the slots:

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Slots were then finished with a circular saw, and rounded off with a trim-router. This was a very tedious process. Unfortunately, it was also deemed unnecessary once we decided on a foam-based mattress. FWIW, the slots make it much easier for a person to carry and assemble the pieces without assistance (this picture shows the center section over a 2×2 frame):

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Staining:

A simple, one-step Minwax (stain/polyurethane) product was used on the parts that will not be seen once assembled. Many woodworkers are dismissive of the stuff, but I was happy as long as I didn’t get my hopes too high, and treated it more like paint. Yes, I just slathered it on with a brush and did my best to avoid the trim.

For the parts that would be seen (oak trim and sides of the foot bench), a three-part system was used: Analine dye, wiping stain, and then a polyurethane finish. This produced a nice result, although application errors with the poly led to a loss in the depth of the ebony color… oh well.
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After a ton of sanding and staining, small rubber feet were attached to the bottom corners to protect both the benches and the floor:
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Now inside: Here is a close-up of the pine 2×2 frame holding up the center section:

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Screws were then used to hold all of the pieces together. In this shot you can see the that the finish from the one-step stain is OK, but not great:

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Here you can see all of the benches and the center-support aligned with the headboard:

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And here is a close-up of the oak trim. It is difficult to tell in the pictures, but the depth of the grain in the trim is much better where the three-part staining process was used:

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Unfortunately, the new mattress required a continuous support surface, so I had to cover the slots with 1/4″ lauan plywood! Approx. 1/2″ of the oak trim remains above the surface to prevent “mattress drift”:

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Finally, here is the finished product: