Timber Frame Bedframe - AIA HSW Registered
Ready to incorporate timber framing into your projects? This course teaches students to build a stunning, heirloom-quality bedframe using traditional joinery techniques. Students will master the same mortise and tenon joints found in timber frame structures—scaled to create furniture that's both functional and beautiful. In 3+ hours of detailed instruction, individuals will gain hands-on experience with layout, cutting, and assembly while creating a piece to be enjoyed for generations.
Course Information
Delivery Method: On-demand e-learning
AIA Credit: 4 LU|HSW
AIA CES Approval Expiration: 06/23/2029. To receive AIA continuing education credit, the course and summative assessment must be completed before this date. Course content remains accessible after this date, but Learning Units cannot be awarded for completions after the approval expires.
Program Level: Introductory
Prerequisites: None
Advance Preparation: None
REGISTER NOW - $129
Welcome to this AIA-Registered Timber Frame Bedframe Course!
Course Credits: 4 LU|HSW
We've taken 50 years of in-person teaching and translated it into step-by-step video instruction. Every joint type, every layout technique, every common mistake, and how to avoid it.
You're about to build more than furniture, you're creating an heirloom. This course walks you through constructing a timber frame bedframe using traditional joinery, the same techniques that have held structures together for centuries. The result? A bed that's rock-solid, genuinely beautiful, and entirely built by your own hands.
Whether you're new to timber framing or looking to apply your skills to a meaningful home project, this course delivers the perfect blend of craftsmanship and practicality. You'll finish with a piece of furniture that showcases real joinery—not pocket screws and hardware store brackets.
LU | HSW Learning Objectives:
- Participants will learn timeless timber frame fundamentals from the use of world class tools and safety best practices through design and safe manual group assembly.
- Participants will learn a highly transferrable and intimate approach to biophilic design through the rewarding hand production of a beautiful, sustainable piece.
- Participants will be exposed to multiple wood species and inherent characteristics that impact broad timber framing selections and production across diverse timber frame project types.
- Participants will learn how to ethically source building materials through outreach to targeted local sources.
Can you REALLY learn a hands-on skill from an online course?
We'll be honest: if you can learn a hands-on skill in person, that will always be the best way to do it. But we understand that not everyone has the ability to drop everything for a week and travel to a workshop or classroom to learn from an instructor face-to-face. We fully believe our online courses are the next-best thing and that YES, you can truly learn a hands-on skill with the right online course!
We have worked hard to compile every last bit of content from our in-person classes and put it in an easily digestible, video-by-video, online format. And not only that, but we've also tried to anticipate every question that you might ask as a student of our online courses, since you don't have the luxury of raising your hand during class.
Our recommendation is that you first go through the course content from beginning to end before picking up your tools (rather than watching a singular video and then immediately trying to copy what you just watched). Then, once you've gathered your tools and materials, continue to use the course as a reference guide, coming back to specific sections to review as you practice your skills and eventually complete your own project from start to finish!
Course Curriculum
Introduction to Timber Frame Bedframe Course
Cut Sheets
Bed Posts
Bed Rail
Headboard & Footboard
Support Slats & Wedges
Finishes & Assembly
Online Course FAQ
Have questions about our online courses? Check out our comprehensive FAQ section, where we address common queries and concerns about course content, access, materials, and more.
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Shelter Institute is a registered provider of AIA-approved continuing education under Provider Number 10125601. All registered AIA CES Providers must comply with the AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs. Any questions or concerns about this provider or this learning program may be sent to AIA CES ( [email protected] or (800) AIA 3837, Option 3).
This learning program is registered with AIA CES for continuing professional education. As such, it does not include content that may be deemed or construed to be an approval or endorsement by the AIA of any material of construction or any method or manner of handling, using, distributing, or dealing in any material or product.
AIA continuing education credit has been reviewed and approved by AIA CES. Learners must complete the entire learning program to receive continuing education credit. AIA continuing education Learning Units earned upon completion of this course will be reported to AIA CES for AIA members. Certificates of Completion for both AIA members and non-AIA members are available upon request.