Bedframe
A low-cost bedframe. Designed for fabrication and assembly by volunteers.
01
Scope & Context
A Tiny Home For Good is an organization in Syracuse seeking to end homelessness in the city.
They reached out to an SU furniture design class, asking for proposals for a simple bed-frame redesign that could populate their units.
How might we design a cheap, easy-to-build bedframe for A Tiny Home For Good?
Built w/ basic tools
Including circular saws, jobsite table saws, drills, etc. Nothing fancy.
Sturdy
Existing options would break after a year or two. Must withstand wear and tear.
<$250 in Materials
Using lumber from Home Depot/Lowe’s.
Integrated Storage
Has some system for storing items under the bed.
Built by Volunteers
Entry-level carpentry volunteers must be able to follow the cut list and assembly.
Design Constraints
Why not buy pre-made bedframes?
Due to their cheap & flimsy construction, existing fast furniture bedframes like the ones pictured break too quickly. They also aren’t necessarily equipped with storage.
02
Iteration 1
Because this was a two week project, I jumped right into Rhino. After the first week, I presented my design to stakeholders at Tiny Home for Good.
Used “castle joint” construction.
In theory, streamlines assembly, reduces necessary hardware, and is strong. In practice, it’s too complicated to fabricate.
03
Iteration 2
Using feedback from the first design review, I was able to make the second iteration both sturdier and easier for a volunteer to fabricate.
Refining the "Castle Joint"
The new joint is simply 3 1″x3″ boards, glued and screwed together, to form a similar structure.
Keeping it Collapsable
Lag bolts are used to bolt the assembly together. This means that the bedframe can be disassembled, moved, and re-assembled with relative ease.
Overall Improvements
The second iteration is easier to assemble, cheaper, and very sturdy.
Roll-out storage
Constructed from 3/4″ and 1/2″ plywood. Fits standard shallow HDX totes from Home Depot.
04
Instructional Design
I designed a set of instructions for volunteers to follow. The fabrication process accounts for loose tolerances and uses a lot of referential measuring that doesn’t require reading a tape measure.
05
Scale Model
I laser-cut a quarter-scale model, which features miniature hardware and 3D-printed, accurately scaled storage totes. This was used to validate the joinery system and show stakeholders at A Tiny Home for Good.
