Murphy beds have been around for a long time. In fact the first patent on a was way back in 1916, by William Murphy. Production of the Murphy bed started soon after in San Francisco. A Murphy Bed is a bed hinged and able to be lifted against a wall. More complex designs allow the bed to fit into a wall cavity and even have storage and book shelves on the base. Since the design is more complex than a regular bed the challenge of building one can be too much for some woodworkers.

After finishing your first platform bed project, you may wish to build another in the next bedroom, and then the next. Everyone in the family is going to be begging to have their bedroom updated. With some great designs and plans, you could do a unique and stylish bed to match the personality of everyone in your home. The fun all begins with choosing the right platform bed plans for your project.

A breakdown of specific tools needed for the whole construction process is usually included in the better plans available in the market. It is wise to build it with the instructions given, such as the use of electric screwdrivers in installing your screws, as the bed should be tightly held together to avoid structural failure through loosely secured screws, fixtures and other hardware. This is especially true when it experiences the rigors of use by your children. Securing the screws and other attachment hardware through the use of power tools is necessary to ensure the structural safety.

If you have some standard tools for working with wood, you most likely have all the right tools to build this type of bed. The best way to make sure you have everything you’ll need is to review the list of tools required on your plans. Unless you are doing some very fancy scroll work, or decorative touches, you will most commonly only need a good electric saw, a drill with the appropriate bits, and a few other hand tools.

Originally the Murphy bed was designed for small apartments, and living spaces. Today, adding a Murphy bed into a guest bedroom can allow you to use the room as both a full sized office, and a bedroom when needed. If you plan to build your own bed and cabinet, you need to choose your Murphy bed plans carefully, for ease of use, and safety.

Enjoy the process. Building your own Murphy bed from a set of plans is very gratifying. Make sure you fully understand the steps the plans describe and are familiar with everything before you start to cut wood.

You will also want to be considering how you plan to finish the bed. Your plans may contain several suggestions. Your wood selection may change slightly depending on your choice. If you are planning to paint, you are probably not overly worried about the cosmetic appearance of the grain of the wood. If you are planning to stain, varnish, or just seal the wood, you are going to want great looking wood. Keep in mind the abuse your children can dish out. You may like a painted bed better, since it can easily be touched up, and kept looking great.

After choosing the right design platform bed all you will need to do is to print it out the plan and the list of the materials that necessary for you purchase. Purchasing the right materials also very important. This is the most important steps of all. Purchasing the wrong materials for the wrong platform bed design may end up a disaster. Furthermore by having your own DIY platform bed plans can avoid you from purchasing the wrong material and this can hugely save hundreds of dollars too.

Building this type of bed is a big project. You need to have detailed plans covering all of the critical safety concerns of implementing the bed. Pay close attention to the details on the plans of securing the cabinet and bed. Your bed and cabinet will be quite heavy after your final construction, and must be secured correctly to prevent the entire structure from tumbling on top of you, or your guests.

If you are thinking of trying your hand at building your own bed the first thing to do is find an accurate set of woodworking bed plans. Not even an experienced woodworking pro would think of beginning any project without some good woodworking plans. An old pro would either use the same plans they used before or if a different design had occurred to them that they wanted to try they would start that project by drawing another set of plans.