A few weeks ago I wrote that people can’t really come over to my place, seeing as it’s just a bed in a van. That wasn’t entirely true; they can and they have, and in fact I’ve had a couple of really nice visits on cold sunny days, lying comfortably by the beach with a friend, sun streaming in the windows. Still, it’s only the most devoted of friends that are willing to come visit you lying down.
Anyway I thought a lot about how to improve the situation, and came up with a new design for my bedroom. I cannibalized the first bed and just finished reassembling the frame in its new form yesterday. It converts from bed mode to limo mode; so cool! The old one converted to a long sideways bench that wasn’t very comfortable, so it wasn’t worth the effort of tearing apart my bedding, only to have to re-make when it was time to go to sleep. This one is way more rewarding. It makes a cozy little social space for four, and one of the seats is angled backwards for more comfortable lounging. There’s a little ledge that can either be the place to rest our drinks, or be a little perch for a fifth person. Whereas in the old arrangement I could only drive in bed mode (the bed platform locked the bookshelf in place), with this arrangement I can drive safely in either.
I’m very excited about this… you know after a show when there’s a group of people and you’re all juiced up and not ready to go home but it’s late and you all live in different directions and you can’t decide where to go so you all give up and go home? Those days are over, my friends… now the afterparty’s right outside, at my place!
Next step will be to go to the foam shop and order pieces for the mattress/cushions (I’ve tried cutting foam myself before, with lousy results). Once I have them, you’re all invited! Check it out:
going nomadic 
i love your new design!!
You’re so clever!!! Can’t wait for the limo visit!
Hi, this looks great. I’ve been googling for a couple of days now about van conversion and van campers and etc. But this bed/social area looks the most promising. I was wondering if I could get a few particulars from you.
1) Does the part of the bed closest to the front have three panels to it?
2) What does the front backrest of the bench rest against? (the back of your front seats?)
3) Where does that extra piece of plywood come from for the back bench seat?
4) what are the two squares pieces in the middle of the benches in the third pic?
5) How did you get that back seat to stay in that position?
I would totally understand if you have moved on from four years ago, and don’t have time to answer this. But thought I’d give it a shot!
Hope all is well,
Deborah