Materials: Malm headboard, Ribba shelf, Komisk cushion cover
Description: Here is my teenage son's "lounge bed" hacked from a Malm headboard and Ribba shelves. The goal was a double bed in minimum space with no hiding places to stuff dirty clothes and trash. (Did I mention it is for my teenage son??) This design allowed us to put the bed right into the corner and maximize floor space.
The Malm headboard comes in 2 pieces. We used the two pieces separately to make an "L" shaped corner headboard. It is shimmed out from the wall with 2 x 4's at the top and bottom of each piece.
1) Mark on wall where headboard will be mounted. Plan to mount them so the front corners will be touching in the corner, leaving a space behind them.
2) Measure and cut 4 lengths of 2x4 the width of the headboard minus 1 inch (ours just goes to the window trim on the shorter piece.)
3) Mount 1 2x4 on wall just above baseboard.
4) Mount another 2x4 at height of mounting mechanism on larger section of headboard.
5) Mount 3rd and 4th lengths for the shorter headboard.
6) Mount larger headboard
7) Place 2x4 on the floor under the shorter headboard.
8) Attach legs to both ends of the shorter headboard that measure the distance from the 2x4 on the floor to the base of the shorter headboard.
9) Mounting the smaller headboard was tricky for us to find something that would allow it to be flush with the 2 x 4 without cutting completely into the headboard (I didn't know what we would find if we cut into it!) We used picture hangers that were as flush as we could find. The weight is supported by the legs, and the picture holders just hold it in place. It gains more stability when the Ribba shelf is attached.
10) Line Ribba shelves up along top edge of headboard and make any cuts needed to get the appropriate length. Cut at a 45 degree angle in the corner to make a mitered connection.
11) Drill a hole for the cord of a surge protector in one of the shelves or in both. I screwed the shelves in, drilled the hole, unscrewed, threaded the cord and rescrewed. I am sure there is an easier method. Attach surge protector with screws or with sticky sided Velcro
.12) The larger piece of the headboard is resting on the ground (shimmed out) and the shorter piece is mounted level to the top. This does not come down to the level of the mattress, but that makes changing sheets easier. Because it extends in front of a window, we used legs for extra support. On the floor is a 2 x 4 that the box spring juts up to, which prevents the bed from getting jammed into the wall - making it easier to make up the bed and change sheets.
We also attached under cabinet lighting along the front edge. A black Sharpie is a nice touch up for where we drilled the corner hole.
I bought a fitted sheet to put on the box springs. My son's name begins with "W" so the zig zag Lack shelf went perfectly. The IKEA triple cushion cover Komisk goes around the corner of the headboard and forms the base of the piles of pillows. In my pictures it is black, so it doesn't show very well. My son loves finally having a bed big enough to stretch out his 6'4" frame, as well as a lounge for homework, video games, reading, etc.
~ Ann Hunter, 1.5 hrs away from IKEA :(
