Create-A-Bed Queen Size Deluxe Murphy Bed Kit, Horizontal

I wanted a murphy bed so we can convert a room to a playroom for my kids but still have a good bed for when guests stay over. I'm fairly handy so I bought this kit to build the bed myself. Not to pat myself on the back but it turned out pretty well. Be forewarned, this kit is just hardware and the plans to make the bed frame and cabinet. That means it's just metal plates, screws, gas pistons and legs. You can't buy this kit and expect someone to 'assemble' it. You have to go buy the raw building materials, cut it, glue/screw/nail it all together, It took me 10 days of working 3-5 hours a day in the garage, but that also included time to add trim to the cabinet and paint it. Only then do you actually assemble it into a bed. The plans were fantastic, and as long as you follow them and make precise cuts, you should have no problems during assembly. It also came with a dvd also that I didn't bother to watch. The plans were more than sufficient. Read the plans completely and put together your shopping list before going to the store. The plans included a list for fasteners but i found it to be inaccurate. Add up the screws or nails you plan to use for each step and buy them based on that. I ended up with a lot of 1 1/4" screws that I didn't need and not enough 2" screws. For people who like shaker style cabinets, I found that the 1/4" plywood left over from the bed platform can be cut up and nailed/glued to the cabinet face to add shaker style trim to the cabinet face. That way you can add a design to the cabinet face without any additional cost. The hardware itself is rock solid and I ended up with a piece of furniture I really like. Great product if you're into building your own furniture.

This is great set! I don’t usually write reviews for any products but felt the need to write one for this one since it’s made in the USA. The set came with two sets of instructions which were really easy to follow. The material list was very well put together and it truly included all of the materials required for the job and nothing more. The instructions were easy to follow. All of the measurements were very accurate which allowed the assembly to be easy and painless. As long as you can follow along, you will be successful.Overall my experience with this set is 5 stars. I will be purchasing a second set in the near future. Will be building a second Murphy bed for our office room.

This was a fun project that allowed us to turn a grown kid's bedroom into a home office that accommodates guests. The biggest lesson I learned from this is you MUST "read and follow the directions" which is not easy for me because I tend to grab the cut-sheet and go. But when it says to read the plans AND watch the video, it's critical advice since I found details missing in the plans that were included in the video and vice versa. Sometimes the order of steps is different in the plans and the video shows why the order of steps is important. You really need both plans and video and lots of attention to detail to make sure the hardware is installed exactly where it needs to be. I found it easiest to convert the DVD to video on my iPad and keep it handy in the workshop. PROS: Easy to follow plans when accompanied by video. High quality hardware that installs easily if plans are followed. Operates smoothly and looks great! Lots of options to customize. CONS: One shortfall of the kit is the fact it shows options without providing any details or dimensions. For instance, you can build decorative picture frames for the plywood front to simulate doors and drawers. But you must leave a 1/2 to 3/4" gap between the bottom of the picture frame and the baseboard trim or it will bind when opening. MODIFICATIONS: I found that as long as strict attention was paid to the mechanical portions, you can extend vertical supports to create a taller wall unit with bookcase. Just ensure you retain a header that is firmly attached to wall studs. We added a light bridge/shelf and installed the Rockler Murphy Bed Lighting Kit that is available on their website, but not on Amazon for some reason. There is a 12" and 60 lb limit on mattresses and after consulting with Create-a-bed folks, I learned the horizontal bed is much more forgiving on weight when the mattress is hinged on longitudinal axis vs. the traditional vertical Murphy bed. We used a 78 lb, hybrid inner-spring/memory foam mattress that is VERY comfortable, reasonably priced, and works perfectly in the horizontal bed. I am attaching a few photos that show the basic bed I built. Missing is the matching bookcase and crown molding that ties the two together, but you'll get the idea. (The mattress looks a little lumpy in the picture because it just came out of the packaging and is still inflating. After a few hours, it grew to a full 12" pillow-top and looks great!)

Soooo, the product is of good quality and well thought out, you can tell it is put together with care. Buuut I’m only leaving four stars because if you just follow the pamphlet, you’re going to have a bunch of bs to redo and even more money to waste. Very upsetting. Just watch their videos on YouTube. A template is supposed to match up perfectly, and simply put, they don’t. Says to measure this and measure that, place template here, but then the crap doesn’t line up. I’m an industrial electrician, so I’m pretty sure I know what I’m doing. I take pride in my work. I know not everything can be perfect but this is pretty simple stuff. Overall, these are minor issues, the product itself is good, so just take your time with EVERYTHING.

This was an excellent kit with very easy to follow instructions. Be prepared to spend a lot of time on this to make it look furniture grade. Would recommend starting with cabinet grade plywood as well. I spent about 40 hours total labor making this unit and an additional side shelf. Decorative trim, etc. 2 recommendations , drill and put your handles on before putting the 1/4 panel down on the bed support frame. And make a 2-1/4” runner across the bottom of the cabinet to secure one base to the other. I also pocket hole drilled and mounted my vertical assembly bottoms into the trim once squared up. I would interpret the dimensions 2-5” wider on the verticals the next time I do this so there is room to run electrical and store pillows in the bed. Lesson learned. Excellent hardware kit and very clear instructions, just time consuming. Not for the novice wood worker