Office Refresh and a DIY Murphy Bed!

Hello Friends!

We’re so thrilled to be sharing our finished office/guest room space! We tackled two projects during this latest lockdown, and it was definitely an adventure! If you missed our design plans, you can check them out here! This room and Murphy Bed project came together thanks to Easy DIY Murphy bed and the hardware kit they generously gifted us!

Before

The whole reason for this project was to add guest sleeping space to our office, because our nursery is taking over our guest room. Because we don’t have guests over all the time (or at all right now during a pandemic!) we wanted a space that could be multi-functional. Brian is currently working from home from our den/office, so we wanted to continue to have a usable office space that could easily turn into a guest room.

Easy DIY Murphy Bed

We ended up going with the vertical double murphy bed kit from Easy DIY Murphy Beds, because the smaller bed fits our space a bit better. Each kit comes with plans to use plywood or MDF, but we decided to use the MDF plans due to lumber prices, and the overall limited access to lumber in Ontario during the COVID lockdown. The great thing about this kit is not only does it come with the key hardware you need to make a murphy bed function safely, but it also has a cut list and supplies list, and detailed instructions for building the bed! I recorded quite a bit of our process in my Instagram stories, but I should note that Brian did the majority of the cutting and construction of this project – so he’s the real MVP here! Being almost 8 months pregnant at the time of construction didn’t make me the most useful helper!

We really liked how we didn’t have to think about any logistics or do any math for this part of the project, because everything was already planned out. All we needed to do was cut all of the pieces to the appropriate size, and assemble each section based on the instructions. It took a lot of the guess work out of the project – which is typically my least favourite part!

The Murphy Bed Hardware that it comes with is also really cool! It’s super high tech and feels extremely safe. It also makes it so it’s not heavy to pull down and put back up, because the piston system it uses takes a lot of the weight. So this pregnant mama-to-be can easily open and close the unit on her own! Win!

Overall, we would definitely recommend getting a kit! The only thing that made this project take way longer than anticipated was just sourcing the supplies we needed. Not only was the wood/MDF hard to find, but there were times where we would run out of small things like glue or nails, and then would have to wait 2-3 days for our curbside pickup order to be ready. I also recommend reading ahead in the instructions, because there are some substitution suggestions that pop up in the instructions that aren’t in the initial supplies list. You don’t need to go with the substitutions, but some of them worked better for our space/tools we had, so this also caused us some delays when we had to source more supplies.

Our Customizations

We decided to get a few extra pieces of MDF so that we could build bookshelves surrounding the murphy bed frame. I’m SO happy we did this, because it looks so good, but it was our first time building built-ins like this, so it definitely took some extra time, tools and supplies! We measured the space to see how much room we had on each side in order to figure out how wide to make the shelves. By looking at the Murphy Bed Plans, we already knew the depth the unit would be, so it was easy to match up the dimensions.

We first primed the MDF with oil-based primer, and then used Valspar Ultra White semi-gloss paint to paint the cabinets and murphy bed. We used a foam roller to apply everything for an even finish, but next time (if we had the space for it) we would totally have used a paint sprayer to speed up the process!

In addition to the bookshelves, we also decided to add trim to the front of the Murphy Bed. We bought a pack of pre-primed MDF from Rona, and used a nail gun compressor to attach it to the frame once everything was assembled. To fill the holes we used DAP wood filler, and then we painted over everything with the Valspar Ultra White.

The Finished Space!

Overall we’re so happy with how this space turned out! It’s SO functional now, and I love that it can easily be transformed from office space to guest space so quickly. The bed is so easy to pull down (even for a preggo!) and everything is so solid and sturdy. I also love having the desk in the centre of the space when the bed is not in use – it feels way more open and inspiring than having the desk pushed up against the wall. When we want to pull the bed down, the desk can easily be pushed up against the wall, and there’s still enough space to walk by.

 

We still need to add some window/door coverings and a new light fixture, but I’m SO excited to have guests now! This space is finished just in time with lockdown ending and our baby arriving. This room will get lots of use in the coming months with grandparent visits! Brian and I might even have a little staycation down here before the baby arrives. I just love how bright and cheery this space is, and I’m getting serious boutique hotel vibes!

So if you need a multi-functional guest space, I would definitely recommend using the Easy DIY Murphy Bed hardware and plans! Feel free to send any questions you have, and I’d be happy to answer!!

Cheers!

Julie