Home » Home & Garden » Furniture » Beds and Bedroom Sets

How To Build A Murphy Bed

Ranked #5,444 in Home & Garden, #65,943 overall

Build a Murphy Bed

A murphy bed, or a wall bed as people sometimes call it, is a great space saver and a very useful type of bed for anyone with a limited bedroom or guest room space. The great thing about murphy beds is the fact that they are hinged at one end so they can be stored vertically against a wall, or inside a closet. So how to build a murphy bed? Well, read on and find out. We will focus on building a murphy bed that folds into a closet or a storage cabinet, and in future I will add a plan that will tell you just how to build a wall bed that does not fold into a cabinet. Stay tuned.

Amazing Furniture Plans

What you will need

Murphy bed making tools
  • A wooden cabinet

  • 1x12" wooden board

  • 2x8" wooden board

  • Extra strong hinges

  • Screws

  • Wood glue

  • Casters

  • Saw

  • Measure tape

  • Level

  • Hammer

  • Utility knife

    • How To Build a Murphy Bed - Phase One

    Buy a storage cabinet

    How to build a murphy bedThe first thing you need to do is buy a storage cabinet and it should be a few inches bigger than the mattress you are planning to use. I presume you have already chosen the part of the wall where you would like the murphy bed to stand.

    The next thing you should do is place the cabinet against the wall and attach it to the wall. You can do that by using 3- or 4-inch wood screws and drive them into the rear end of the cabinet and into the wall studs. Make sure not to leave too much space between the screws. 6 inches should be just right.

    Build a mattress frame. First you must measure the mattress, and cut a couple of 1x12" poplar side-boards just as long as the mattress. After that, cut two 1x12" poplar side-boards the width of the mattress. Use the wood screws to attach the corners of the mattress box together.

    Once you have the mattress box ready, you should cut a 2x8 to create the ledger board. Use this board to attach the box to the wall. The board should be a few inches longer than the mattress box.

    Next thing you need is a large piece of Medium-density fibreboard (MDF). Measure and cut it to the size of the mattress box. Use screws to attach it to the bottom of the box and make sure you place the screws no more than seven inches apart. Place a caster to each corner of the box.

    See, this is pretty easy. Bear with me and you will learn how to build a murphy bed in no time.

    Murphy Beds

    Loading

    How To Build a Murphy Bed - Phase Two

    So in phase one you learned how to build a murphy bed up to a point, where you have your cabinet and a mattress box that is already attached to the wall. Let us continue.

    Place the mattress box next to the cabinet and make sure the ledger board is inside. Use hinges to attach the board to the cabinet and make sure they hinges are strong enough, because they will have to carry the weight of the entire bed.

    This is it. All you need to do now is just place a mattress into box and enjoy your brand new bed.

    See, I told you that you will learn how to build a murphy bed in no time.

    So, have you learned how to build a murphy bed?

    • daria369 Feb 14, 2012 @ 7:28 pm | delete
      I'm not excited about building things myself but very much appreciate those who have that passion and use it in creative ways. Nice lens! :)
    Show All

    Amazon

    Loading

    by

    Petstrel

    Hello, everybody ;) My name is Petunia and apparently, I'm a squid. An open minded squid with a lot to learn and even more stuff to share. I hope you'... more »

    Feeling creative? Create a Lens!

    Explore related pages

    Related Tags