I have been coming across a bunch of good DIY projects online lately, and I thought that I would share some of the recent ones I have found. The most impressive of them all is this Ikea hack by the folks at Moddi. It uses some off the shelf pieces as well as some Ikea goodies, and the result is a great looking murphy bed for under $200. You can buy the plans from Moddi for $8, and with a little elbow grease have your very own affordable modern murphy bed.
Plans available at Moddi for $8.


If your not feeling quite that ambitious, you could always tackle a smaller job, like this DIY stuffed animal. This little kit comes with two hand screened pieces of canvas. All you have to do is follow the instructions, cut them out, sew them up and stuff them. It would be a nice and easy little project, and you have to admit that Claus is one of the cutest racoons you’ve ever seen.
Available at Egg Press for $26


If you don’t have a kid to make a stuffed animal for, or just aren’t into that thing, you could always treat your laptop to it’s own little felt cozy. Grace over at Design Sponge has posted a great little how to on making your very own laptop cozy. This one is even easier because there is absolutely no sewing involved. The end result is a very nice looking protective sleeve for your laptop.
Full instructions at Design Sponge

I have to be honest, bow platform beds aren’t exactly my favorite style of platform, but the price on this one seemed to good not to share. From Simplyplatformbeds.com comes this metal bow platform bed for only $330 (for a full sized). Compared to most of the prices I see for this style of bed, that is a steal. The bed is made of chromed steel and looks like it would be quite sturdy. For an extra $300 you can get a thin mattress with a microsuede cover and a couple of pillows as shown in the picture.
Available from Simply Platform Beds for $330.

When it comes to affordable modern design, there is no doubt that Ikea has some of the best deals around. Sometimes I’m amazed at just how affordable some of their stuff is. Take the Tolga bed frame for example. A decent looking bed frame, maybe a little on the rough side, but it’s only $35! You spend that much going out to dinner. I have seen it in person, and it looks pretty good. The one thing I wonder about is how sturdy it is?

Available from Ikea for $35.

My good friend Bryon took the challenge to make a decent video for the Shycast “Break the rules of bedmaking” contest. Unfortunately it looks like he got his entry in a little too late, because there wasn’t even enough time to vote it into the top ten. None the less, everyone should head on over to Shycast and check the video out. It is by far the best one over there. Great job Bryon!

Check out the video “Making the bed while taking a nap” at shycast.

Ikea and Shycast have teamed up to have a contest about making your bed. Applicants can submit a video under five minutes that shows a creative or different way that they make their bed. The grand prize is a $5,000 gift certificate to Ikea. As far as I can tell, videos are rated by the public, and the one with the most votes wins the grand prize. I was pretty surprised by just how lame the top three videos were. It seems like anyone with a little creativity and a video camera could easily take the lead.

See the videos at Shycast.

It’s not easy to find a nice looking platform bed at an affordable price. The Valentina Platform bed from Simply Platform Beds may just fit the ticket if you have a tight budget. The look is simple and clean, with no extra frills, and the price shows it. For only $149 for a double and $169 for a queen and free shipping, this bed is a great deal. Don’t forget though, you get what you pay for. This bed is made of “High quality particle board sections with a pure white laminate..” Still $149 is a good deal.

Available from Simply Platform Beds for $149

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I have been looking for a duvet for a long time now to replace our aging Ikea one. Seeing this bedding set, almost made me wish I needed a comforter instead of a duvet. This bed in a bag set includes a comforter, flat sheet, fitted sheet, two standard pillowcases and two sham pillowcases all for the sweet price of $99. It’s all made of 100% cotton, 200 thread count. The decorative pillows shown are also a steal of a deal, one square and one breakfast pillow will run you a mere $14.

Available from overstock.com. Shipping $2.95.

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My good friends mentioned to me some time ago that they were looking for a platform bed. They are West Elm junkies and have an nice modern style going on in their house, so I quickly offered to build one for them. Just a couple of weeks ago, they had an anniversary coming up, and I had an opportunity to build one as a surprise. They wanted something similar to the West Elm Low Platform Bed but slightly different dimensions. We ended up making it out of walnut (my new favorite wood) and it turned out really nice. We made it a little chunkier than the Low Platform. It sits at 10″ high overall instead of 5″, and it is a couple inches shorter too.

Price of materials $280.

Detail pics after the jump.

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So you are the lucky one who gets breakfast in bed on a regular basis, or maybe you just like eating all your meals in bed. The CB2 Bed Tray makes such indulgences even easier. Stark white finish and Mahogany veneer, this small tray is just the thing to hold your daily meal, or even your lap top. Clean design, sturdy, and best of all, very affordable.

Available from CB2 for only $29.

My architect friend is re-doing a small pad about a mile from my house. About a month ago, he was getting ready to move in, and was looking for a bed. Unsatisfied with what he was finding in the stores, he drew me a quick sketch and asked if I could build it. Since I never turn down an opportunity to try something new (especially when someone else is buying the materials) I was all over it. The design was really quite simple. Two plain boxes wrapped in birch with a cantilevered top. The edges on the top were left exposed to match the desk I did for him a while ago. All in all I think it turned out pretty good. The price for materials was right around $250 when it was all said and done. The mattress is a 9″ memory foam. The duvet is by Dwell.
Lots more pics after the jump.

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