I could not be happier with this purchase. I'm not much of a woodworker and it took me a couple days to make but so glad I did it myself. The hardware is top notch and the opening and closing are so easy. Just follow the directions carefully and make sure your cuts are accurate. Now I can customize the cabinet with trim.

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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!)

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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.

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 I did a lot of research and ended up purchasing the Queen kit. The guest bedroom is only used occasionally and I wanted to free up the space when guests were not visiting. This did exactly that. I now can use the room as an exercise room, but it could also be an office, craft room, or playroom for the kids. The project was an investment of my time, but the end results and benefits of the space savings are well worth it. You can build the frame and customize it to best fit your space. The total cost to build the project was much cheaper than purchasing a pre-made wall bed. I did document the process of how I built the bed in hopes it will help make it easier and more efficient for you to build a bed. I have a detailed article on my website with more photos of bed I built and the customizations that were made. - diypete .com / murphybed ( no spaces )