Build a Modular Storage Bed For Cheap In Like, 5 Seconds. And Save The World A Little.

My other half and I are nomads currently living in Boulder, CO, til we figure out our next move. Being nomads means we've been sleeping on a mattress on the floor for a few months. Urban camping is fun for awhile, but we needed a change. When he went away on a business trip recently, I decided to surprise him and make us a bed. Plus it had been awhile since I built something and my brain was itchy. I captured the process with my iPhone. 

Here were my design protocols for the bed building project. 

1. Storage underneath. I drag a lot of books around.

2. Simple to Build - I don't have my power tools with me, so it had to be simple E.g. No sawing or cutting to size.

3. Simple to Dismantle - For fun, I also decided to see how I could get away with out drilling or nailing stuff together. 

4. Inexpensive - the budget was $23. 

5. Bonus Protocols :: Has to look good, be sturdy, & it has to be possible for one person to carry & transport the materials without a truck or van. (Bike transport possible if you have a bike trailer!)


Here's what I did and how I did it. 

Step 1 Step 1 Gather Ideas

First, I looked up what others had done for building a quick bed to get ideas. There's this guy who put a mattress on top of his file boxes. Clever! But I didn't have storage boxes like that and I wanted something a little more interesting. Then I looked up some other platform beds, but most involved sawing and screwing (imagine that.)

Finally, before heading to a retail hardware store like the famous McGuckin's of Boulder, I decided to go check out ReSource, an architectural & building salvage shop in town. I'd check out McGuckin's later if I needed to. I'd been going to these places for years for other building projects but I wasn't sure yet what I'd find there, or how I'd do it. (The places I've been to are Bring in Eugene, OR, Build It Green in New York City, and ReStore in Philadelphia, PA. IF you're lucky, there might be one in your city too.) 

Materials I considered included ::

1. Pallets (too splintery and not enough storage)
2. New 2 x 4s or 2 x 6s with plywood or OSB combo (ruled out because of budget, sawing, & screwing)
3. Salvage dresser drawers (could have structural issues),
4. Salvage doors (a good choice for size & sturdiness, but not in the budget, and what would they rest them on?) and
5. Old milk crates (not so easy to find these days, also they're plastic, I like natural materials better.)
6. Scraps of hardwood flooring
7. Salvage cabinetry

Check out Step 2 to see what I picked.

(Note, photo credit for the cabinet picture:: ReSource website.)

Comments

[Silver Buttons]

Your hardwood floors are beautiful!

[darlajanette]

Fabulous idea!

[midsummermuse]

This is bad ass. Not a nomad currently, but we have the boxsprings on the floor with the mattress and pad on top of it since we moved a year and a half ago. This would be a good idea if I ever decided to do it! The cheapest metal platform frames I've been looking at online clock in around $100 or a bit more so we've just been doing without so far. I like the cabinet storage idea!

[MrMiz]

I don't know the stress loads of OSB but any "extended" activity in middle of this might cause the OSB to fail. I've actually had OSB fail on me this way before, but because of a different activity. Maybe the distance in the middle is closer than it looks.

[smmiller506]

I would agree about the stress loads of OSB in that layout. I would suggest finding some 2"x4" pieces of wood the same width or slightly shorter than the total width of the cabinets; within 6" of the total width will work, so long as you don't lie on the extreme edges of the bed. Lay the 2"x4" pieces across the cabinets, and then the OSB. If it's time to move, take everything back to where you originally found/bought/"appropriated" it from. I would say three or four 2"x4" pieces would work well.

[Katie Brennan]

MrMiz Good point about stressing the OSB. My plan for that is a milk crate full of books that I can slide into to the middle if I see an issue, or a builder can purchase a 5th cabinet. FYI so far so good, the setup is working. And smmiller506, yes definitely ""If it's time to move, take everything back to where you originally found/bought/"appropriated" it from."" I'll add both these points to the instructions. Thanks for sharing your tips!

[l8nite]

sounds like a great idea and not just for nomads !

[Katie Brennan]

not just for nomads, i agree!

[hherzog]

I love it! I'm a nomad currently in rehab, but I still love keeping things handy that will make for a quick escape, so I'm definitely going to be hitting up the Re-Store this weekend to check out their cabinets! Thanks for the great idea!

[Katie Brennan]

Wow, it's so cool put this out there and have people find it useful! Thank you hherzog! Good luck with your project!