A couple of weeks ago, I shared an Inexpensive Storage Cabinet Refresh in my spare bedroom, and I mentioned that I was giving the whole room a makeover which I'll be sharing soon.
Aside from storage for my Etsy shop inventory and shipping supplies this room will serve two additional purposes. Today, I am sharing one of those two extra purposes. It is now ready to act as a guest bedroom when needed!
This room is very small at only 10' x 10', so how is it possible that it stores all my Etsy shop inventory, holds my shipping supplies, serves as a guest bedroom, and one additional purpose?
In order to cram all that into a small space like this, I thought a Murphy bed would be the perfect solution. But when I shopped for a Murphy bed that I could just install on the wall I discovered that those are super expensive. Then I looked for a tutorial that could handle as a beginner furniture builder, but most were too complicated for me and the hardware needed to complete them was still too expensive. So, I came up with my own; I am calling it the poor man's Murphy bed!
Continue reading to learn how to make your own.
DIY Poor Man's Murphy Bed
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This was actually very simple; I built it by myself, the only part I had help with was measuring to make sure I got it correct and shopping for the supplies!
The mattress I had is a full-size, so the measurements I am sharing are for a full-sized Murphy bed. If you are making yours larger or smaller, measure the size of your bed for the proper wood measurements.
I chose to build mine from pine boards that I purchased from Home Depot and I had them cut them at the store. These are the cuts of wood needed for my full-sized Murphy bed (please measure your bed to be sure you have the correct measurements):
1" x 10" pine boards*:
- 2 at 55" for the top and bottom of the box frame
- 2 at 77" for the sides of the box frame
*Measure the thickness of your mattress, you may need 12" wide boards.
1" x 4" boards:
- 2 at 55" for attaching the bed to the wall
- 2 at 57" for the top and bottom trim on the front of the cabinet
- 2 at 75" for the side trim pieces on the front of the cabinet
- 2 at approximately 44" to 54" to attach the plywood sheets together to create the bed platform
3/4" plywood (Note: any size of bed except a twin will need two sheets of plywood):
- 2 at 28 1/2" x 77" to create the mattress platform (also the front of the cabinet when closed)
Bed hardware:
- 3 - 3" door hinges (more for larger beds, 2 for a twin bed) for attaching the bed platform to the frame
- 8 - 2" corner braces to make the box
- wood screws (3/4" and 5/8" screws)
- 1 hook and eye (not pictured) for closing the bed up (2 for larger beds)
Basic building supplies:
- a square
- a drill with drill bits and screwdriver bits
- a tape measure
- a stud finder
- a pencil
- construction screws for attaching it to the studs (I used 1 5/8")
- caulking (make sure it's paintable)
- paint or stain in the color of your choice
Start by creating a basic box that will hold your mattress. Use the square to ensure your box will be square once it is built. Use two corner braces per corner to attach the sides and bottoms of the box together.
Test fit your mattress to make sure it fits. It doesn't need to be super tight so if yours looks larger than mine, that will be fine.
Add 1x4 boards cross-support boards, screwing them in from the sides. These are what will be screwed into the wall studs to hold the bed on the wall.
Step Two - attach the bed frame to the wall
Use a stud finder to locate and mark the studs on the wall.
Place the box you built in step one against the wall and screw through the cross-support boards into the studs with the construction screws to secure it to the wall. (I recommend elevating the box just lightly off the floor to avoid stress on the hinges when the bed is open. Place the trim board pieces under the box to act as spacers before attaching it to the wall, see lessons learned at the bottom of this article).
Step Three - Build the bed platform
Place the two pieces of plywood next to each other on the floor (with the nicest side down) and attach them together with 1x4's that are approximately 44" to 54" using 5/8" screws.
Attach it to the bed frame using door hinges (three for a full-size bed, four for a queen, two for a twin).
Step Four - add trim to the front
Add the 1x4 trim boards to the front to make it look like a cabinet. Use wood glue and screw them on from the inside (the side that the mattress will lay on). The one down the center hides the seam where the two sheets of plywood were joined together, you won't need this on a twin size.
Pay no attention to the white pieces on the corners of mine, I messed up on my measurements because I did not have help measuring for trim! 😂, it will be corrected with caulking and paint.
Step Five - Add a closing mechanism
You will need a way to keep the bed closed when it isn't in use. I used a basic hook-and-eye, but you may think of another way for yours.
I attached the hook to the frame that is attached to the wall and the eye to the platform that the bed sits on.
Step Six - Caulk and Paint
Caulk the seams on the trim and paint it whatever color you like. Don't forget the inside that will be visible when the bed is open and in use!
By making this Murphy bed as simple as I could, I kept the costs down too!
It was just $303.45! This does not include the mattress because I already had that.
Here's an embarrassing picture of what this corner of the room looked like before!
Ideas, Lessons Learned, and Considerations:
Lesson One - After I built mine, I realized that I should have raised the box that is attached to the wall up just a little bit because when I opened the bed, the bottom edge was lifted up a little bit by the carpet putting stress on the hinges which then pulled the bottom of the box away from the wall.
Lesson Two - I should have taken into account the curtains because the bed platform barely cleared the window ledge, so I have to move the curtains out of the way as I'm opening the bed to avoid pulling the whole rod down.
Idea One - You could move the box even further up on the wall and add legs to the bed platform to make it closer to the height of a real bed. However, you'll either have legs sticking out when it's closed, or you can make them detachable or folding.
Idea Two - You can build this in a sideways configuration as some readers who used this tutorial have done.
Consideration - Be mindful of weight. Mine is a full-size Murphy bed and by the time you have the wood platform built and the mattress on top of it, it is a little heavy when you are raising and lowering the bed. The larger the bed, the heavier it will be. Depending on your physical abilities, you may need two people with a large bed.
PIN ME!
I was thinking to add feet also. It's hard for us old folks to get down to that level
ReplyDeleteYes, feet would be good. I was trying to keep costs down as much as possible but I think feet would be good.
DeleteWhat about the cost of the mattress? Size?
ReplyDeleteThis one is for a full-size mattress. I did not factor in the cost of a mattress because I already had the mattress and built the murphy bed to fit that. Also, mattress prices vary so much, it depends on what kind you get.
DeleteI’m curious as well as to the thickness of the plywood
ReplyDeleteHi there, the plywood is 3/4" thick :)
DeleteThank you so much!! I have been looking for a simple Murphy bed design and this is it. I am renovating my spare room for the grands (4) and need at least 2 beds. This will work great . I will forward some pics when I complete it.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that you like it. I would definitely love to see pictures when you're done :)
DeleteThis is a great post ! If I have a queen mattress how big would I need to increase the measurements? And would adding feet put any strain on the hinges when you open it to lay on the bed ?
ReplyDeleteHi! You would just need to measure your bed. I think adding feet would actually be a little better but you'll need to raise it up on the wall too so it's level when it's open
DeleteDid cost of supplies only take into account lumber and hardware, or mattress too? I think its pretty cool regardless. Usually just the kits on amazon alone for diy Murphy bed hardware is like 300. Yours, simple but gets the job done.
ReplyDeleteI did not factor in the cost of the mattress because I already had it. I just built the bed to fit the mattress I had.
DeleteI do like the simpicity of this build. Excellant job. I am going to build something a lot similar, but I'm going to make it horizontal.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Someone else built it horizontal too and it looked great!
DeleteI love this. It’s simple enough to follow and looks great!
ReplyDeleteThank you Aretha!
DeleteHi! I was just wondering the measurement of the mattress was depth wise?
ReplyDeleteHello, unfortunately I no longer have the mattress but it was a standard full-size mattress, so it would have been about 9" thick. Thank you for checking out the post!
DeleteHello Tania, thank you for your inspiring presentation.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure :)
DeleteThanks for posting this, you have saved me days of figuring stuff out. I am going to elevate for sure and have a bench that drops down when the bed flips up.
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome, I'm glad you found it helpful. That'll be so nice to have a bench when the bed isn't in use, great idea!
Deletewhat's the size of the pieces of the box? 2x6?
ReplyDeleteAll the measurements and supplies are listed at the beginning of the post. The box pieces are 10" boards.
Deleteare the big pieces two by sixes?
ReplyDeleteAll the board sizes are listed in the supply list at the beginning of the post. They are 1 x 10 boards.
DeleteTania, thank you so much for this Post! All I wanted was something simple to wrap my brain around, and this is it!! Just wanted to ask, if you were doing this for a king size bed, would you recommend adding or changing anything? Since this will be rarely used (only for the occasional guest), I still love the idea of keeping it on the floor and keeping as simple and minimal time as possible. I say that only because I read a prior comment RE a queen size bed. Anyway, thanks again for the post and I look forward to hearing from you!
ReplyDeleteThank you Christina 😊 I'm glad you found the tutorial helpful. For a king size bed I would add two more hinges and another hook at the top. Remember though that a king size bed is going to be much heavier to raise and lower.
DeleteHi, how did you get the hinges on the bottom to work with the trim? When the door opens down, the trim hits the floor and prevents the door from opening flat. Did you raise the bottom panel 1.5" off the floor?
ReplyDeleteNo, I didn't raise the bottom panel but I should have, that was a lesson learned and I talked about that in the article. It still worked but I felt like it had unneeded pressure on those hinges. I have moved and took the bed down but if I were to do it again I would definitely raise it up when attaching it to the wall.
DeleteThank you for sharing this! This is exactly what I need, on a budget, and your instructions are so clear! Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteThank you, I'm so glad you liked the tutorial 😃
DeleteThanks so much! This is great. I've been daydreaming about this for about two years. I plan to do a twin xl horizontal. I'm wanting some legs.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think of the box. i was considering like a shelf and a bungy cord and hook to hold the mattress and plop it on the floor :) i think I'll put four legs under, that need to fold or detach, or maybe just wood. I'm worried about the pressure on the hinges, but I think a few re-reads on this and I'll be fine. I already have the mattress too. I think I want to make room for bedding inside the box as well.
You're welcome, I'm glad you enjoyed the article. Good luck with yours!
Delete