DIY Murphy Bed

[DIYguy]

I am using this quarantine time to find new projects and stay busy. One thing on my list has been to convert a guest bedroom to a office combo. There is currently a double bed in there that is quite useful when I have guests, but in the way a majority of the time. Before this I had taken the air mattress route, but as my guests "demand" better accommodations I upgraded, when I replaced my own bed. I am looking to get feedback on design. I know there are DIY Murphy Bed kits that contain all of the hardware, but they run ~$300. There are a few interesting DIY makers that have substituted cheap hinge hardware by using hefty door hinges or boat seat swivel hinges instead. Those are great solutions for the frame pivot, but they don't offset the weight of the bed.

There are a few options I was thinking of to deal with the weight:

1. Install mechanical springs to counter the weight
2. Use some type of gas spring
3. Use an electric motor/ hoist to automatically raise and lower

There are positives and negatives of all three options. I think the third option would be quite fancy to be able to drop the bed with the touch of a button. Electric hoists are a bit overkill, the cheapest one I found is $50 and has a 2500lb capacity, while a servo motor is going to be too weak.

Looking for any great ideas to make sure this is usable even when I am not there to open or close the bed.

[lthenderson]

I actually built a DIY Murphy Bed Kit and am sleeping on it since my front line medical spouse is commandeering our master bedroom for the time being.  The kit has a gas spring to counterbalance things. Personally, I wouldn't fool with trying to do the hardware myself. Just trying to calculate exactly where the gas spring ends need to be attached to do the most amount of work at the correct times would be an endeavor I wouldn't want to figure out. Plus getting all the pivot points and such exactly correct so that when in the folded position it looks like an actual piece of furniture versus something slapped together.

I will attach some pictures below of the one I built along with a bookshelf and a mini dresser, closet without the door and drawers installed. Also not shown is the hardware which I installed to make the Murphy bed look like cabinets.

[DIYguy]

Personally, I wouldn't fool with trying to do the hardware myself.

Which hardware kit did you use?

[lthenderson]

It's been so long that it took me awhile to find the plans in my filing cabinet to see where I got it. Basically I ordered a kit from this website. The two side pieces I designed on my own to fill out the wall.

https://www.createabed.com/

Here is a picture of the cover of their plans they mailed with the kit. They were quite substantial and easy to follow along.

[lthenderson]

I got their Deluxe Queen Bed plans which they show pictures of on their website. I see that it is currently $299 but I don't think I paid that much when I built mine some five or six years ago. I probably had to spend another $150 in wood, finish, etc on top of their kit.

[DIYguy]

Awesome, thanks!!

[BudgetSlasher]

Rockler sells hardware kits for murphy beds: https://www.rockler.com/hardware/furniture-hardware/bed-hardware/murphy-beds

[DIYguy]

Rockler sells hardware kits for murphy beds: https://www.rockler.com/hardware/furniture-hardware/bed-hardware/murphy-beds

Thanks! I had originally seen that, but was trying to do it on a budget. Seems like the simple answer is invest in the ~$300 hardware kit or deal with not having the upgrades like spring assist, etc.