So Over That Futon

I have been over this futon in our loft for a while now, but without a good solution for replacing it I haven't done anything about it. I'd been tossing around all kind of options from rearranging the desk space making room for a permanent bed to expanding the loft into the extra 6 feet of attic space in the garage. Andrew was strongly against any desk relocation since his current setup is ideal for seeing the TV and expansion is a major renovation I'm not interested in right now. Instead I decided a murphy bed would be a better solution for the space the futon is currently in. We could use a real mattress, it would be hidden away from the cats when not in use (otherwise it just becomes their bed) and it would take up less space than the unused futon, so Friday after New Years I started making a plan. I based my plans on this wall bed plan sold online. I made some minor adjustments to accommodate our space limitations.  

We took apart the futon. Aiden thought the mattress made a fun trampoline in the living room for the week. I assembled the box on the first night.

The second night I cut, sanded and attached the shelves.

After looking at some different versions of completed plans, I saw one that stood out and had a much more finished look. So when I picked up the plywood I also got wainscoting panels for the front-facing side of the mattress platform. I glued the paneling to the plywood so when I cut my 2 platform pieces the edges would be perfectly aligned. Then I screwed the platform the the back of the shelves.

Once the bed and the box were done I added latches to hold the bed/shelves in place. It's nearly done!

 I added replaceable notches in the mattress platform so that when the bed is down it can slide back into the box against the wall. This saved crucial inches in our narrow loft space. I made the cuts align with the grooves in the paneling to keep them as inconspicuous as possible.

 Then "we" painted the entire thing. Most of the lumber I bought was already primed so painting went quickly. I ended up doing 2 coats of the trim paint we've used throughout the house.

  The final product... We're going to get a real mattress so for now the futon mattress is a placeholder. I love this so much more than the futon!