DIY Bed in Wall....Final Results!

We put wood floors upstairs in the man-cave, 
click here to see , so we didn't want to use the weights for exercising in there anymore. I decided we should make one of the bedrooms our exercise room. Since Don did not want to get rid of the 


king size bed, (his thought was to just lean it up against the wall), I suggested we frame it in where we could put it up but still have it when needed. 


I had no idea how much work this would end up being. When I suggested it to Don, he said, sure we can just make it real simple. (Guess he forgot who he was talking too :) ) I suggested putting shelves on both sides so we wouldn't need side tables and to add a charging station for our phones and computers on each side. Done!!! So a lot more work but well worth it in the end. 

***Now that the bed is finished, I suggested we build out on both sides, add doors and deep shelves to put all my extra blankets, comforters, sheets and pillows. It would then look like a wall all the way across. He likes the idea so we will be doing that sometime in the future. 

After Don figured all the measurements and what we would need we headed to Home Depot to get the materials. We got most everything so we could get started.

First thing Don did when we got back was figure out all the measurements that needed to be cut. He is awesome when it comes time to figure measurements.




I got busy and sanded all 6 pieces of plywood down on both sides, blew the dust off and wiped it down with Tack Cloth. I then painted all pieces with a white primer





Don then started measuring and cutting the boards. It takes a lot of board cuts







Our main screws and glue. We used well over 200 of these nails and an entire bottle of this glue. 






Wed started with building the towers for the shelves.We glued and nailed them, then clamped them overnight. I ironed on the strips for the edges. 



Next Don cut the boards for the bottom that the mattress sits on. He had a little helper. We held it together with dowels and glue.



Clamped it overnight. Next came the sides.



We added a strip all the way down the middle. We glued it and screwed it down. 



I painted all the shelf inserts and we finished the shelves



Don added two of these straps. They go under the top and bottom of the mattress when not in use. They hold our mattress and blankets or pillows on the bed. 



After finishing the sides, Don drilled holes to lock the bed in place



Added a brace across the top for stabilty


Put the hardware on to make the bed go up and down, then Don braced the towers to the wall so it could never be pulled over. We added the straps to hold the mattress in place when it was up. This is a 9 inch high density foam mattress and very heavy, but very comforable.



Don used piano hinges for the legs. He has two on there but he thinks he may add one more. We cut the trim and put it up. 

When it opens, the legs fall down, and when closed they close up. 



We added this headboard that is removable but allows for the pillows to stay on the bed when you are trying to sleep. When ready to put bed up, slide headboard out and set against back wall. Add pillows in the space below and up it goes. 



I decided since this was going to be our workout room, I would use the outside of the bed with a calendar, chalkboard and cork board. I was going to paint the chalkboard at the top but decided it needed to be on the bottom so Jaxson would be able to draw and play on it. 



Here are the shelves, we added a picture. 
We thought about putting a tv there and just 
turn around on the bed to watch it but decided 
we would need the tv to play our cds for exercising. So the tv goes on the opposite wall of the bed. 

TA DA!!!!!!

HERE IT IS FINALLY FINISHED!!

OPEN AND CLOSED

Sammy and Cody love it as it is low enough they can jump up and down really easy. 



Its not as heavy as I thought it would be and the legs work great to hold this bed in place. 

We love it!!!! 

Only other thing I may do is paint that bottom board black to blend it in with the chalkboard. Let me know what you think!


***There were so many other things we did that I didn't add every single step. (Such as we put nails in all trim, sunk them, calked them, and repainted them. We also used metal rods to slide in to hold the bed up. ) Just so many many steps. This was a bear to make but the final results were worth it. 


If you have any questions, we will try to answer them. Leave a comment and let us know what you think. 


xoxo
Lenetta