Clever bed

I spent part of today rearranging the boxes in the shed, plus assembling an elevated bed frame that Guitar Cousin helped me build, around 1993. I sketched it out, and GC made some improvements and cut and trimmed all the lumber.

The design was inspired by the beds in the dorms when I was at college (my second college, not my first one): turned one way, the beds were at a normal height, but with oddly tall headboards and footboards. Inverted, the bed was about belly height, to it took a bit of leap to get into bed -- **but**, you could store a **lot** of stuff under the bed!

The design that GC and I cooked up is pretty clever, if I do say so myself. The main criteria were that it had to break down enough to fit in the back of my Honda Civic hatchback, but also be easy to assemble. In addition, the platform's height had to be at a reasonable work surface (i.e. somewhere between waist level and elbow height), as its immediate purpose was to provide room for my recording gear in my moderately small bedroom, while I was rooming with Old Roommate (I was cheap, so I took the smaller bedroom in exchange for a smaller share of the rent). The recording gear went on top -- and I slept underneath.



The headboard and footboard assemblies are permanently assembled; the side rails go on next (note the triangular plywood braces, for stability --GC's idea, I believe); then I add two threaded rods, to hold the side rails against the sides of the headboard and footboard; I then drop the two cross rails into place; and finally, two square-ish sheets of plywood drop into place.



Despite not having assembled it since around 2001 (and disassembling it in 2003, when I moved to Australia), the design was straightforward enough that I assembled it by myself, and in just a few minutes. This is the sixth place I've assembled it: two with Old Roommate; one is Seattle before getting married; two places with The Lady; and now here (still married, of course -- just hadn't used the bed). In all of those places, I used it more as a work table than as a bed.



I'm using it as shelving, to help maximize storage space. Eventually, It'll be used as a bed -- or a work surface for recording gear -- again.


--GG