The phrase “you build a Murphy bed, you build a home” is very accurate. Years ago, my wife built our home with a wood frame and hand-built wood beds. Now, I’m not sure that was a bad thing. Wall bed She loved the craftsmanship; she did! Today am going to present to you several photos of our bed (some of it while it was new and some just after renovating the room.) It truly means so much to me, and thanks to my wife’s hard work, this bed is no different.
The bed consists of a mattress on top of two plywood frames. When you build a murphy bed, you can use plywood for both the frame and the mattress. Why? When you use plywood, it has more density and is, therefore, sturdier, and when it is used to build a mattress, it provides the perfect shape for a mattress with less pressure. However, even though plywood is sturdier and provides a better fit for a mattress, you must use some hinge to attach the two pieces of plywood.
One of my favorite parts of this bed is the wall bed. It consists of two long planks of wood that run along the bottom of the frame. What makes this a great wall bed is that there is a metal plate on one side to attach the bed to the wall. So not only do you have a beautiful piece of furniture that attaches to the wall, you have the added security of having wall-mounted door hinges. These are great for people who don’t want to disturb their kids by getting up to open the bed. However, a bonus to the excellent design of this type of bed is that the wall hinges match the style of the walnut bed and dresser.
Now for the best part of all: the price! A DIY murphy bed is not going to cost you as much as a natural wood bed. This is because plywood is cheaper than wood, plus the frame is not as expensive as a wooden frame. Once you’ve done so, you can quickly build a murphy or any other size bed in under an hour.
Before you put the frame together, you are going to need a plywood foundation. It would help if you used solid plywood, not particle board or cheap wood glue. It should be around one-fourth inch thick. Make sure you have a level so that your new mattress can be set appropriately on top. Once you have the base made, you are ready for the next step. This next step is to attach the mattress to the frame and set the cabinet on top.
Here’s where you can get creative and save even more money on this project. Instead of using plywood parts, you can use a corkboard and cut out the same sides that fit onto the plywood parts. These pieces will also serve as the “side panels” for the rest of the murphy bed. These side panels will serve as the bottom support for your new cabinet.
To finish off this project, you should add the cabinet hardware kit. Just make sure to use high-quality hardware to avoid having to replace your whole bed with a new one. If it looks like it fits just right, then you can move on to the next step – which is to attach the side panels and put your murphy onto the cabinet.
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