How would you go about building a bedrobe

[JungleJim]

Hi All,
I would like to build a bed with a wardrobe underneath and was wondering if you were doing the same how would you go about it. I've attached a sketch of what I have in mind (still haven't got to grips with SketchUp)

The wardrobe will be 100cm-120cm high.
the cupboard by the headboard will have draws behind the doors both sides
The cupboard at the foot of the bed will have hanging wardrobe space both sides
Because the hanging wardrobe only needs to be 50-60 cm deep I can have another cupboard at the foot of the bed for general storage
the shelves on the side will double as a step up to the bed
And on top of that will bi a king size mattress.

So my initial thoughts would be to make a frame out of 2x4 and then cover it with ply. Going this route would mean that I would have to build and paint in place. In an ideal world I'd like the ability to dismantle it if we move, This would also help as I would be able to make and paint in the workshop.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated

Thanks
James

 

[Knot Competent]

You're going to need a ladder to get into bed!

 

[No skills]

I would try to split it into 6 separate boxes that you can bolt/screw together once in the room. Would make life a bit easier I think, more sheet materials to buy but you can build the separate units off site and transport them a lot easier.

 

[No skills]

Bit like jumbo sized kitchen cabinets with some timber reinforcement, I think it would make fitting out the insides for drawers etc easier too.

 

[JungleJim]

John, or a trampoline

No Skills, Thanks, that's a great idea looking at the picture again, the different sections lend themselves to being made modular.

Does a bed need to have slats or would it be OK to lay on top of the plywood tops of the units?

 

[xraymtb]

You don't need slats, plenty beds are solid tops as long as the boxes are sturdy enough. Be aware you might want a softer mattress though as you lose the spring of the slats.

 

[Adam9453]

Bearing in mind you need approx at least 1 metre in height for the hanging clothes, it will make the bed very tall. Not a problem but something to certainly be aware of.
Another reason for slats is to ventilate the mattress, helps reduce the temperature and slow bacterial growth. If you are going for a solid base instead of slats then i'd recommend steam cleaning the mattress and flipping/turning it more often than you usually should.
Bear in mind womens clothes are much longer than ours so if you plan to hang dresses under there, it will need to be more like 1.6-1.8 metres hanging height depending on how tall the lady in question is.
You may need to notch out the ceiling above for headroom

 

[AndyT]

That design is a new one to me.

James, I hope you are young and have a good back - stooping down to get clothes in and out of what are effectively standard kitchen cabinets does not look like fun to me. Maybe if you look around at special fittings you will find something where the whole rail full of clothes pulls out of the cupboard so you can get to it more naturally.

And I really am trying to sound realistic rather than just negative, but I think you will need something more like normal steps, which extend out into the room, not just a vertical run of shelf edges. Your design needs to work when you are ill or hungover as well as for more normal times.

Construction wise, I agree that thinking of it as a set of boxes is the way to go. There are plenty of stages in school halls that are made up of separate boxes linked together. Your bed looks like a small stage!

 

[No skills]

Regarding the tops of the units and ventilation for the mattress underside:-

The tops of the boxes could be framed in timber in a "slat like" effect instead of using a ply/mdf panel.
Or the ply panels could have rectangular holes cut or routed in them, maybe even with some pegboard or similar inset.

Fwiw

 

[JungleJim]

Thanks for the tips guys, I'm going to go the individual box route with wooden slats on top of the boxes. I was going to paint it white, Do you think 18mm ply will do the trick? I'll reinforce the boxes with 2x3 or 2x4 as well.

 

[custard]

This is a really great project. The simple fact is that people are living in smaller and smaller spaces, but with more and more possessions. I doubt either of those trends will change in the foreseeable future.

I used to spend quite a bit of time working in Asia, where population densities can be even higher and living space is even more tightly squeezed. I noticed that this style of higher bed, with elaborate under bed storage facilities, is quite common.

I think you're really on to something with this design and in the future we'll probably come to regard this as a standard furniture option. Your "bedrobe" phrase might even find its way into the dictionary!

Good luck, please keep us posted!

 

[Zeddedhed]

If you're going to paint it then I'd go the MDF route. Plenty strong enough and easy to get a smooth flat finish (if that's what you're after of course)
I regularly (about three or four times a year) get asked to do 'cabin' style beds up in London and last year did two doubles, so not just for kids. Custard is quite right. This sort of dual purpose furniture is becoming much more popular as house prices continue to increase out of everyones reach.

 

[Water-Mark]

Worth considering is the amount of fine white dust ( it's actually dead skin cells)
that a mattress sheds as it's used.
You may need to re thing opening the box tops.

 

[JungleJim]

Yep, will definitely keep you posted. Looking forward to starting this project. So will go the painted MDF, individual boxes route, like giant kitchen units. Will order the mdf for next week.
Thanks

 

[-Matt-]

Just as a thought, how about utilising this type of thing?

https://kitchenslattern.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/pull-out-pantry-cabinet.jpg

You could then reduce the height of the bed base, to say, two drawer heights, and have a much deeper headboard. The headboard would contain the kitchen style slideout thingy but would instead be a hanging rail. You could even have one on each side for his and hers.

-Matt-