Ok, what I want to make is a very simple bed with storage underneath. And I really don't plan on the storage being used as a dresser, because I realize that would involve two separate objects as far as usage and animation. Right? Or at least it would be WAY too complex for my abilities. LOL

My question is, can I do it by simply cloning an existing Maxis bed? I am an extreme novice to meshing. The only thing I've been able to do so far is the table from the "start to finish" blender tutorial. So, that gives you an idea of my abilities. LOL Is this something that I need to put aside for awhile and try something much simpler first? I don't need it to be fancy, just basically cubish-no headboard or footboard, and textured to LOOK as thought it has drawers.

yes you can but you just have to replace the FRAME. don't edit the bedding or the matress if you do you'll have to re-do the joints. don't even move them what you do is import everything in your 3d prog, edit your mesh than allign it up with the mattress and bedding. than only export the frame. the bed will retain it's animations than.

Thanks! Another question I thought of is whether or not I need to adjust the height. Is that easily done, or should I just leave it alone for now and just worry about making the mesh? I'd really like it to be higher than the Maxis beds, but am afraid that will lead to problems I'm not ready for.

You can edit the height of the bed by editing certain values in the Resource Node, but not all animations will look right after doing that. See this thread for more details.

if you edit the height though when sims get into the bed it will look weird it's best to leave the heights alone.

Oh yeah, I didn't even think about the fact that it would mess up how the animations and stuff looked. Duh. LOL Thanks guys!

Yes, that's what I just said in the post before yours.