Sunday, June 30, 2013

The Murphy Bed is (almost) Done!

Among other things, the daylight basement space downstairs includes a guest bedroom that will double as a place for Josh to see chiropractic patients at the house. We are talking about eventually building a second structure at the bottom of the hill as a chiropractic office space, but for now we are starting very low key, working on the space downstairs to make it useable for multiple functions.

A murphy bed was our answer to having a space for guests to stay in that can be tucked away when Josh sees patients, and last week we finished building our murphy bed using this kit with plans we ordered online.

If you have ever looked into pre-made murphy beds, you'll know the nice ones aint cheap. I learned this during my first murphy bed go-around when I eventually opted to hire a carpenter to build a bed for my small condo in Boston. The most stylish murphy beds around come from  Resource Furniture in NYC, but the base models start around $10K, so they were out of the question for us. The more reasonable priced pre-made beds sold elsewhere are generally ugly particle board and laminate contraptions, also not what we were after.

And so, as we usually do, we decided to build the bed ourselves. We found a kit online that included the spring mechanisms and detailed plans for how to build the wood frame. The design for the underside of the bed, which is the "front" when it is folded into the wall, is up to you. We wanted something that looked like a simple cabinet, and when I came across this picture on Pinterest we decided to use it as our inspiration (sans the stuffed dogs on top):


So we set to work picking up wood, cutting large sheets of plywood in the workshop, reading and rereading the plans, and finally putting the thing together.



And with a coat of paint, here's where we're at right now:

Voila! Not too shabby for our maiden DIY murphy bed voyage. Now it's time to bring in some night stands, lamps, a proper fitting bed cover, pillows, a large area rug, two pull handles on the front of the cabinet to make it look more like, well, a cabinet, and finally I'd like to put something above the headboard. I am considering wrapping a large board with batting, upholstering it in a nice fabric that is soft to rest your head on, and mounting that to the wall. But all of that will come. The important thing is that we finally have a space for guests to stay. Last night one of Josh's relatives came through town, and it felt really good to be able to have an actual bed for him to sleep in. Blow up mattresses are, in my opinion, torture devices. Hooray for the guest bedroom!

33 comments :

  1. Good job on the bed! I didn't know Murphy Beds were so pricey. What a quaint room you've created.

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  2. Great bed, lovely brown dog, is it a border collie?

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  3. Love it. Exactly what we are looking for. Can I ask how much you ended up spending and where you got your kit from? Thanks!

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  4. Anonymous - This is the exact kit we bought:

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Economy-Do-It-Yourself-Murphy-Bed-Hardware-Kit-/181166567246?

    It comes with full instructions and a cut list. The back side of the bed (the front when it is folded) we designed ourselves. The kit won't give you any cuts for that part.

    The kit was $259 and the wood was probably about $300, so we were in the $500-$600 range.

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  5. what a perfect blog. i really want to appreciate your work. this is some thing un matchable.
    Best place in UK for Beds and mattresses

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  6. Within most basic words, a Murphy sleep is really a sleep that's included in a wall, able to always be ripped out there as long as desired in addition to or else saved perfectly in addition to firmly within the wall, leaving everything that extra bedroom open for living space murphy bed

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  7. The design is looking very nice. I have also installed the same at my place and I am totally satisfied with it. I must say that these days so many designs are available that you can get the best for yourself in very cheap cost.

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  8. Very impressive stuff!! Another option other than Resource Furniture is www.murphysofa.com
    Still quite pricey, but very cool wall beds with Sofas or Desks, also some very nice transforming tables.

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  9. How long did it take?

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  10. It looks great. and I'm assuming it works well too? How does the bed attach to the wall?

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    1. The wood frame is attached to the wall with simple metal brackets. Surprisingly, the bed doesn't have to have a super heavy duty system to attach to the wall because it's really the spring mechanism that is absorbing all of the weight.

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  15. Wonderful article! We are linking to this great post on our site. Keep up the good writing.
    dog bed

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  16. I'm hoping you can help me! Since Murphy Beds aren't really a thing in Germany, I'm having trouble finding a kit, but I can buy the gas piston separately. Could you be so kind as to check how many Newtons yours is for? That'll be a great help to make sure I buy the right ones.
    Thank you!

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  17. You bed is perfect! it is seriously one of the best looking DIY wall beds online!

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  18. A bed frame is a key thing without what you can’t even think to place your mattress well. This single line is probably good enough to make you understand the importance of a mattress foundation or bed frame. Never use the cheap (quality) mattress foundation that will make your body full of ache every time you lie down. So, we think that choosing a good bed frame like the Zinus Platform Mattress Foundation is extremely necessary and effective.

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  19. What size bed is this? Full? Queen?

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  21. This is fabulousl post. thank you for sharing with us.

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  22. Hi ! I really liked your blog. When I went to find the plans on the link they weren't available. Do you have suggestions where I could find the plans now? Thank you!

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  23. This is an amazing post. Do you have more details now as it wears, meaning how is the murphy bed holding up? We purchased ours instead, from https://murphybedsupply.com/.

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  24. Very useful post about Fold Down Bed
    The design is looking very nice.

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  25. First and foremost, I must say that this blog post on the Murphy bed project is truly impressive! The craftsmanship and dedication put into creating such a functional and space-saving piece of furniture are commendable.
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  28. "Excellent insights, learned something new!"

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  29. This deserves all the praise, well done!"

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