This cool IKEA hack made for a perfect nightstand for my newly finished Murphy bed!
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I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: this house is a game of inches. During our recent home renovation, I was constantly trying to maximize functionality without compromising space. Case in point: after underpinning the basement, we were left with a massive concrete bench right in the middle of what would eventually become our home office.
Sure, I could have turned the space above the bench into shelves or extra storage, but with only one guest bedroom in the house (which could quickly become zero if our family grows!), adding another sleeping option took priority. Plus, I’ve always wanted to try a Murphy bed to see if they’re actually as comfortable and convenient as they look.
After the heavy construction wrapped up and our basement renovation was complete, I never quite got around to finishing the Murphy bed unit—until now, when my ADHD brain desperately needed a side quest from the backyard makeover I’m currently in the thick of! Over the past few weeks, I’ve been busy putting on the final touches, figuring out the styling, and hunting for the perfect accessories to make the space both highly functional and beautiful. That includes a killer IKEA hack mirror cube DIY I just finished to use as a nightstand!
BUILDING THE ULTIMATE BASEMENT: MURPHY BED & MIRROR CUBE DIY (IKEA HACK)
Step-by-Step Guide: Building the Mirror Cube Pedestal
Before you dive into this DIY, you’ll need to do some quick math and a little shopping. To build one mirror cube, you will need one small IKEA LACK table and five BLODLÖNN mirrors. Because the mirrors come in packs of four, make sure to grab an extra pack so you aren't left short! While you're on your IKEA run, you’ll also want to hit up your local hardware store for some heavy-duty construction adhesive and painter's tape.
Before using it as my Murphy bed nightstand I experimented with it as a pedestal in my dining room.
Here is exactly how the assembly comes together:
Prep the Frame: For this build, we are actually only using the legs of the LACK table, so you can set the tabletop aside for another project.
Secure the Base: Apply your construction adhesive to the first two legs, flip them over, and line them up perfectly with the outer edges of your first mirror pieces. Repeat with a second mirror.
Build the Box: Stand the legs up, apply glue to the remaining exposed leg sides, and press the next two mirrors into place to form your outer box structure.
Pro Tip for a Strong Bond: Reach inside the hollow box and gently push the legs outward. This helps spread out that sandwiched adhesive to ensure a really secure, flush bond against the glass.
Lock It Down: Wrap the corners tightly with painter's tape to keep all the edges perfectly aligned and sturdy while the glue sets.
Cap the Top: Once the sides are secure, apply adhesive to the top of the legs and drop your final mirror piece into place to seal the cube.
When it's done, you'll have a gorgeous, seamless mirror box that is completely hollow on the inside if you flip it upside down. You will want to give these a full 24 hours on a flat surface to cure completely before handling them. To get the perfect, dramatic pedestal height for my Murphy bed nightstand, I repeated this process and stacked four of these finished cubes on top of each other!
I love how versatile this mirrored cube DIY is and how you can easily adjust the height to whatever size you need.
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Finishing Touches & The Final Look
24 hours later it was time for the best part: styling the space. While I was at IKEA, I also grabbed a handy step stool and some fresh bedding, which I gave a quick wash before setting up the Murphy bed. Once the bed was made, I brought in my newly cured mirror cubes and gave them a thorough cleaning. Let me tell you, it is almost impossible not to get construction adhesive all over your fingers—and the glass—during this DIY! To save the day, I used Krud Kutter and a microfiber cloth to effortlessly cut through the leftover glue, followed by a quick spray of Windex to get that flawless, high-shine finish.
To complete the look, I accessorized the top of my new pedestal nightstand with a classic IKEA FADO globe lamp, a cozy pink candle, and some genius adhesive cable clips I found on Amazon so my phone charger never slides out of reach behind the bed. After weeks of hard work balancing this room with the backyard makeover, it was finally time to sit back, relax, and admire how a few clever inches completely transformed this functional home office into a cool guest room!
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The Reality of Building a Basement Murphy Bed
Don't let the smooth final look fool you—getting this Murphy bed into our custom cabinetry was a massive game of Tetris. Because we were working with tight basement constraints and that concrete underpinning bench, a standard vertical queen bed was out of the question. Instead, we could only fit a twin-size mattress designed to fold down horizontally.
When I started sourcing the hardware, I nearly choked on the price of professional-grade mechanisms, which clocked in around $3,000. Luckily, I found a highly rated DIY kit on Amazon for just $300. But fair warning to anyone looking to replicate this: even with a budget-friendly kit, this is not a beginner Sunday afternoon project. It takes some serious carpentry experience to get everything aligned. Honestly, even with a seasoned carpenter on hand, building it into our custom cabinetry was still a challenge.
We had a custom cabinet made for our Murphy bed and even with a seasoned carpenter doing the install, this project was no walk in the park.
Because of our unique space, we also had to make a few major modifications:
Custom Leg Extensions: The legs that came with the kit were designed for a bed cabinet sitting flat on the floor, not elevated on a concrete bench. We had to get the legs custom-extended to make up the height difference.
The Leg Storage Compromise: Because of those custom extensions, the kit’s built-in self-storing rotational mechanism no longer worked. The bed is still 100% stable and functional, but we have to manually screw the legs on when the bed is in use and remove them when we store it away.
Is a Horizontal Murphy Bed Actually Worth It?
Since we used a standard, high-quality mattress, it’s incredibly comfortable—though if you’re a particularly tall guest, a twin size might feel a bit tight! For short-term visits, it is absolutely going to come in handy.
The biggest caveat? It is definitely disruptive to my day-to-day workflow. Because of the room layout, my office desk has to be completely moved every single time the bed comes down. But then again, how much work do you really plan on getting done when you have guests in town anyway?
Was all the troubleshooting worth it? Only time will tell, as we haven’t actually had our first official guests test it out yet. But after leaving it sitting on the back burner for so long, it feels incredibly good to finally check this massive project off my list.
Thank you so much for joining me today and for checking out my new YouTube series Soh At Home! If you have any questions or comments about my Murphy bed or mirror cube DIY, please feel free to leave them below!
Until next time,
- Soheila
