The Murphy Bed

We recently began fabrication of a cabinetry and casework project for a couple living in Pacific Heights. We first met back in September of last year to discuss transforming an upstairs office into a library of wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling shelving with one provision: one wall of shelving needed to incorporate a Murphy Bed so that the room could serve as a guest bedroom for overnight guests. The clients also wanted the style of the casework to reflect other elements of the Victorian architecture of the home: trim profiles, raised panels, decorative edging, crown molding, etc. With all of this in mind, we left the meeting and set to work on a set of drawings that would give some perspective to the layout of the new interior.

Though the perspective drawings we provided served as a good visual tool for design, they did little in terms of helping to understand the exact spatial constraints that would be imposed by the perimeter walls of shelving. This would be especially critical around the murphy bed. At our next meeting we used blue tape to mark out on the floor exactly where the shelving and murphy bed (in the down position) would be. This, along with budget concerns, led us to the conclusion that one wall of shelving should be eliminated so that more space could be created on the sides of the murphy bed. The revised floor plan below was the result.

After finalizing the design and budget, as well as providing profile samples for the clients' approval, fabrication was set to begin. A friend had given us a tip about a 3-D modeling software called "Google SketchUp" (available as a free download online) that could be used as a tool for building a virtual model of the cabinets (as opposed to the time consuming task of drawing them out by hand.) The software proved to be very user friendly and exceptionally useful in situations where wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling cabinets are concerned. You can work backwards from your maximum dimensions of height, width and depth. In the end, any dimensions which you have not already had to figure, the software can provide for you. However, the "cut list" phase remains part of the process.

And lots of coffee gets us through it. Thank you, Vega.

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