In the first post of a series on updating our home office space/bonus room, see how to build your own diy daybed couch perfect for lounging, studying, or giving sleeping space for guests.
the space
Our home office space was one of the rooms with the least amount of work to do from the beginning. This room is on our first floor right off of our dining room, so it has potential to be used a lot and seen a lot. When we bought our house, it had new LVP flooring and some nice trim on the windows and baseboard. Here is what the room looked like when we moved in:
Note the layer of tobacco and dirt covering the ceiling and walls that isn’t easily seen in the photo on the left. Right after we moved in, we applied Kilz to the walls and ceiling and finished it off with a fresh coat of paint. The nicotine soaked blinds went promptly in the garbage.
This room is longer than it is wide, so we knew that furnishing it in a non-boxy way would be challenging. The main focus of the room would be a daybed reimagined as a window seat/couch. I wanted a place to sit and read a book while looking out the windows while utilizing the twin mattress we had lying around in a way that guests could still use it. While this isn’t intended to be a guest bedroom, we feel that it would be nice to have more space. So, I envisioned a daybed that filled up the back wall of the room yet allowed for storage in this small room. I wanted something that would be easily adaptable to different stylings but still functions as the room’s centerpiece and offered a place to relax.
making the daybed couch
The bed’s frame is essentially three parts: two side shelving units, and the middle part that supported the mattress and offered a back rest. That’s it. Here is a close up of the side of the bed.
The side boxes of the daybed couch frame are constructed with 2x4s ripped down to 1 inch pieces and pieces of plywood as the shelves. The front face of the bed is 1 inch pine boards ripped to cover the face. We used our favorite budget hack for the backing by using hardboard sheets instead of more wood. The side tops and back railing are made of edge glued pine boards to give a smoother finish. We did not take photos during the construction, so unfortunately I do not have any pictures of the three sections disassembled.
A good way to get started on this project is to determine the overall width and length that you want to fill. Then, draw out the daybed couch with the length of the mattress or pad in the middle labeled. From there, you can do the math on the length of each side piece and the overall width.
the somewhat finished daybed
Here is what the frame looked like after assembling:
This is another real life progress photo that shows the paint I got all over the wall, the seedlings waiting to sprout, and the mattress leaning against the wall. #pictureperfect
I chose to paint the daybed base the same color as the walls to give it that built-in feel. This was also great because it allowed me to utilize paint we already had. There is still some work to be done with regard to making the daybed look built-in, but things are always a work in progress around here. The top and back railing are made of edge glued pine stained and sealed to bring some depth and a classic vibe back into the room. All things considered, building this frame cost about $200. Not only is this competitive for a daybed frame, but it is highly customizable to your space. You can add or adapt storage to your needs or switch out the finishing to make it fit your home. Stay tuned for part 2 where I show the beginnings of styling the room!
