DIY Modern Murphy Bed

A few years ago, I transformed my parents’ extra bedroom into a combination guest room and home office. The focal point was a DIY Murphy bed that allowed the room to serve multiple purposes, from giving overnight guests a comfortable place to stay to providing my mom with a dedicated space for virtual appointments with her clients.

Murphy beds are one of the best ways to make a small room more functional, but they can also become a statement piece of their own. You all know I love a good space-saving hack, so here’s how I built this modern Murphy bed with help from my friends at Rockler.

How To Build A DIY Modern Murphy Bed

This post is sponsored by Rockler and may include affiliate links. For my full disclosure policy, click here.

Want to see this build in action? Check it out on YouTube and make sure to subscribe!

Before the makeover, my mom held online physical therapy sessions in her living or dining room, making it difficult to organize her equipment and demonstrate exercises. The priority for this redesign was creating a functional workspace with plenty of open floor space while still keeping the room usable for guests.

Building a Murphy bed can be intimidating, but luckily my friends at Rockler make an epic DIY Murphy Bed Kit that comes equipped with the hardware needed to build a Murphy bed without any guesswork attached.

The kit also comes with a comprehensive plan for how to build the bed cabinet and a cut list, which makes the entire build not only doable, but extremely organized. Trust me, if I can build a Murphy bed, ANYONE can!

Here’s how I did it!

Tools + Materials

Tools

• Rockler DIY Murphy Bed Kit
• Track Saw
• Circular Saw
• Miter Saw
• Jig Saw
• Drill & Driver
• Nail Gun
• Sander & Sandpaper
• Iron
• Chisel
• Staining Materials
• Forstner Bits *

Materials

• ¾” Birch Plywood *
• ¼” Birch Plywood *
• 1 x 2 Pine *
• Edgebanding *
• Birch Veneer Sheets
• 1 ¼” Wood Screws
• 1 ½” Wood Screws
• 3” Lag Screws
• Wood Glue
• Special Walnut Stain
• Black Spray Paint

* Indicates materials and tools that are specific to this particular DIY Murphy bed kit. Please refer to your particular Murphy bed kit’s plans for your specific materials list.

1. First thing I did was refer to the plans and the cut list that were assigned to my particular DIY Murphy bed kit before shopping for materials or making any cuts. If you are working with a DIY kit it is super important to follow those plans before and during your entire build. You can even download them for free and check them out before you start building!

To make things easier, I published my own plans for this build as well and you can find them here!

2. After collecting my materials and reviewing the plans, I cut all of my plywood pieces using my track saw. If you don’t have a track saw you can use a circular saw with a guide or a table saw and I only needed to use my jig saw for one cut (to round the outside edges of the bed frame).

3. Next, I cut all of my pine pieces for my bed frame using my miter saw and I trimmed any specialty pieces with my table saw.

4. Once my pieces were cut, I applied edge banding to all of the exposed edges of plywood. I referred to the plans to figure out which pieces required edge banding.

5. Next, I pre-stained all of my bed pieces.

6. I then assembled the bed frame using the plans to guide me. I installed any hardware that needed to be placed in the bed frame according to the plans as well.

7. Once the bed frame was assembled, I began to assemble the other cabinet pieces and install hardware according to the plans.

8. Next, I focused my energy on the Murphy bed doors. I decided to use pressure-sensitive, adhesive birch veneer to create a chevron effect on the front of the cabinet. I seriously loved this stuff – it was so easy to trim with a box cutter and apply using some pressure.

Then I stained the doors to match the cabinet.

9. Next I installed the doors to the back end of the bed frame using the plans to guide me.

10. After that, I cut and installed custom cabinet pulls using 2 x 2” poplar. I cut them to 1 ½” square and used my table saw to cut a groove for my fingers to grip (you can see this in action in my video).

11. Next, it was time to close up the bed frame using the ¼” plywood.

12. I then installed the headers for the cabinet according to the plans.

13. Then it was time to enlist the help of my family to install the pistons to the bed frame and the cabinet.

14. The last step was to attach the cabinet to the wall using lag screws through the studs.

15. Then it was time to install the mattress!

16. Instead of applying a piece of trim to the outside of the cabinet, I opted for a removable piece of flush trim that I can move out of the way when folding the bed up and down (you can see this in action in the video).

I absolutely love how this Murphy bed turned out! It not only looks awesome, but allows for so much room for activities!

Make sure to check out the full guest room makeover too so you can see how the rest of the room turned out!

This Murphy bed completely changed how the room functions. My parents still have a comfortable place for guests to stay, and my mom gained a dedicated workspace. It’s the perfect example of how one space-saving project can make a small room work so much harder.

In the meantime, if you’re looking to build a DIY Murphy bed in the future, make sure to Pin this post!