Malm Captain's Bed for tiny NYC Apartment

Materials: MALM 6-Drawer Dresser, EKBY TONY/ EKBY BJARNUM, NISSE Folding Chair, 2x4s, Plywood Scraps, Shelving Board

Description: I have a tiny bedroom (about 6ft by 7ft) in a 3-bedroom apartment in New York City and was looking for a way to make the best use out of the space. As a student, I still wanted a desk space to do my work so that was a must. When I first moved into the space I was using the Tromso loft with the desk attachment underneath and that was about it. Being a tall person however (I'm about 6'1") I quickly found that a twin loft bed was just not going to work in the long term.

When I stumbled upon Ikeahackers and and saw some Malm hacks for storage beds it got me thinking about how I could make my own custom built for the space, and with the help of my father and uncle here is the result! I could not be more happy with the way it turned out!

The basic structure of the bed is an L-shaped table that was built to surround the dresser, which is free-standing. Since the dresser is only 63" wide by about 19" deep, the supporting structure needed to compensate for the rest of the bed, which overall is 74" wide by 54" deep. It is made of the 2x4's which were doubled up to make about 8 4x8 legs upon which the plywood top was attached. These legs were then connected and reinforced by cladding the inside with additional 2x4's that go around the perimeter. The unfinished end of the bed that was added beyond the dresser and the desk that was made to come off the end was made out of the finished shelving board which matches the finish on the Malm dresser almost perfectly!

The shelves above the desk are the EKBY TONY/ EKBY BJARNUM which were actually too big for the space. So my dad just measured them and cut them down to the right size before attaching them to the wall. The computer was put into place prior to attaching them to the wall to get the perfect height of the lowest shelf and then the books were put into place to figure out the placement of the upper shelf. The chair at the desk is the NISSE folding chair, which I am thinking about putting on the wall with hooks when not in use, but I am thinking that is not necessary as I have more room than I thought I would!

Overall the construction took about 6 hours and turned out pretty great if I do say so myself!! Would love to know what you all think as I love this site!

~ Peter M, New York, NY