OptiMalm Prime: Malm bed base transformed into a TV Unit

Components: Malm Bed Base

Description: This hack starts with a king-size Malm bed base that we no longer had any use for. Instead than get rid of it I had an thought that the headboard and base had been nice-ample looking pieces of wood to be reused and, given that our Television was sitting on a little, worn out stand, I thought I’d have a go at creating a Television unit/sideboard/thing.

I began by employing Google SketchUp to play all around with the style, specifically doing work out wherever I would need to have to lower the primary shelves to make greatest use of the wood I was going to reuse.

I made the decision to build a three-shelf unit so started by cutting the headboard into two pieces, 410mm and 360mm broad respectively, leaving me with a best and bottom shelf. The “footboard” didn’t need cutting and became the middle shelf. Because it was a small shallow, I decided to attach the metal center help from the bed to the back of it to give me an additional 60mm of depth (and a neat cable tray). Making use of some of the plastic grommets from the bed as spacers, it is cantilevered away from the back of the shelf. Not necessarily beneficial shelving area, but I like the seem of it.

The up coming stage was to develop the door. I was genuinely keen to use the bed slats as the door front as they have a actually great camber in them (I spent some time discovering four slats that were bent along a lot more or less the same curve). I reduce pieces of the metal angle that would commonly carry the bed slats so that they grow to be two upright supports. I bought some modest bolts and attached the slats, and I utilized one particular of the bracing straps from the old bed to preserve the door rigid.

I spent a lot of time cutting up the little piece of tubing that commonly supports the center of the bed, to consider and turn it into a hinge method. Nevertheless, in the end, due to the fact the door is quite wide and I believed could be as well hefty to swing outward, I shelved individuals plans (no pun meant) and now hang it from two eyelet hooks.

Finally I designed the vertical uprights. This was tough because I had intended to use the long side pieces of the bed but, instead than becoming solid pieces of timber, they are in fact mainly air (see picture). In hindsight I ought to possibly have realised that Ikea components are not all produced of sound Swedish pine. Nevertheless, it meant I had to rethink the method I would use to attach the uprights to the shelves. I initially had an elaborate program to reuse the wooden dowels, but in the end opted for a significantly far more basic approach of glue, nails and screws to fix the vertical supports to the shelves. Not particularly classy but it is still standing. One particular issue that did function was that I planned my cuts in the side pieces so that I could reuse the present connection holes that initially attached the side piece to the head and foot boards. I’ve also employed much more of the bracing straps at the back to truly make sure it really is not going to move.

The two vertical “legs” that hold the shelves are really a composite of two pieces of the bed side help fixed collectively.

The last touch was to reuse the plastic pads that prevent the furnishings from scratching the floor by attaching them underneath the bottom shelf.

I am fairly happy with it – except for some screws, nails and glue, it’s all pieces from the old bed. There are still a couple of finishing touches I require to add: wax or paint the shelf so it has some protection against coffee stains, and seal the front of the bottom shelf which is at present uncovered chipboard, which helps make it look a bit unfinished, but truly I sort of like.

~ Anthony, London