I have been living in San Francisco now for 6 weeks. Since I didn't know how long I was going to be here I slept on a mattress on the floor for the first 5 weeks instead of throwing down hundreds of dollars for a bed-frame.
After organizing and tidying up the instructables office a couple weeks ago, we realized we had an extra bookshelf that wasn't needed. I was bummed because I just bought a bookshelf for my room for $30 and the only piece of furniture I needed was a bed... but then I thought there has to be a way I could use it. I took the specs of the shelf and my twin size mattress was exactly the perfect size to fit on the shelf if it was lying down.
Thus, here is my awesome re-purposed bookshelf bed!
After organizing and tidying up the instructables office a couple weeks ago, we realized we had an extra bookshelf that wasn't needed. I was bummed because I just bought a bookshelf for my room for $30 and the only piece of furniture I needed was a bed... but then I thought there has to be a way I could use it. I took the specs of the shelf and my twin size mattress was exactly the perfect size to fit on the shelf if it was lying down.
Thus, here is my awesome re-purposed bookshelf bed!
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This bed (not including mattress) cost me about $40 including:
Bookshelf - Free
Piece of plywood (1/4" thick, the same width and length of the bookshelf) - $30, you could use any flat board like thing that does not bend easily
Screws (8) - approx. $1
Contact Paper - $10
Screwdriver - already had
Drill - already had
Although you may not be able to find a bookshelf for free, check out yard sales and craigslist. You will be surprised how cheap you can get them for. They are often much cheaper than buying a used bed frame. Also, make sure the edges of the bookshelf are thick like this. If they are thin the bed will be flimsy and may not support your weight and it will be hard to attach the plywood.
Bookshelf - Free
Piece of plywood (1/4" thick, the same width and length of the bookshelf) - $30, you could use any flat board like thing that does not bend easily
Screws (8) - approx. $1
Contact Paper - $10
Screwdriver - already had
Drill - already had
Although you may not be able to find a bookshelf for free, check out yard sales and craigslist. You will be surprised how cheap you can get them for. They are often much cheaper than buying a used bed frame. Also, make sure the edges of the bookshelf are thick like this. If they are thin the bed will be flimsy and may not support your weight and it will be hard to attach the plywood.
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Two questions: how much did you pay for the mattress? Where can I find an economic mattress? In february 27th I will move to San Francisco for three months, and If I can't find a room with bed, I will need to make my own bed!
What you have here is a prime example of exactly that motto, you have done yourself proud!
Friendly critique! Contact paper = good, sand and paint = better. 3/8 foam covered with dark brown (Colored to closely match the color of the shelves!) vinyl upholstery = best! (NO SPLINTERS WHEN MAKING THE BED!)
I'm going to turn-on people to your instructable, because it is PRIMO!
This isn't exactly retaining bookshelf capability, but you could try repurposing with additional functionality, like so:
As long as the flat bed support (plywood or pegboard, as another suggested) is screwed into the bookshelf as shown in the vid, you have enough support to be able to cut off one side and use the frame as segmented storage. To make it even more convenient, place cheap towels with a 2x4 board stapled on the end of the towel. Place stuff on the towel, then slide the board down the seg.ment with a yardstick. Anytime you want to access the stuff, just pull the towel out. To make it look nice, buy a couple of hinges from your local hardware store and latch it using velcro across the vertical members (the "shelves"). Check out the 3M industrial velcro - it can support a LOT of weight.
Again, in case you missed it- Stunning
Thanks