Phone Bed

Even phones need down time to rest and recharge. Give your phone a place to sleep in its own bed, the perfect spot to keep your phone when it's time for lights out. This fun bed is more than just a doll-sized decoration, there's actually a soft mattress made from a computer mouse pad that muffles any vibrations from alters while you sleep.

If you're one of those people that can't go to bed without having your phone by your side, then you've probably been woken up by your phone buzzing after dark. With a soft bed for your digital buddy there's no more noisy nighttime notifications!

I designed this bed frame digitally using CAD software, then used a laser cutter to cut the pieces. I made this design large enough to almost every type of cell phone from flip-phones to even the largest smartphones.

Download the CAD file shown in this Instructable here.

Step 1: Design in CAD

First I measured the overall dimensions of my phone and sketched a bed frame to fit. Then I enlarged the design length and width so that the bed would be able to accommodate almost any size mobile phone. Using computerized aided design (CAD) software makes this easy.

In the CAD program the bed dimensions were laid using a very basic bed frame shape. Being mindful that most phones have a charging cable at the bottom of the device, I made an opening in the foot of the bed to large enough accommodate almost any type of charger.

I wanted an ornate design, so I did a search for baroque design to get inspired. I grabbed a few images from my search and traced over them in CAD, then mashed up a few designs until I was happy with the outcome.

Download the CAD file shown in this Instructable here.

Step 2: Laser Cut

After designing I brought my *.dwg CAD file into a laser cutter interface software, CorelDraw.

I used an Epilog 75 watt laser cutter with the following settings: Speed: 30 Power: 45 Frequency: 500 My phone bed frame was cut out on 1/8" plywood. This design took about 10 minutes to cut out.

Step 3: Glue + Assemble

After laser cutting the pieces they were removed from the parent material, the edges and openings were cleaned of burrs and debris, and the faces were sanded smooth. Dabs of wood glue were applied to the connecting surfaces and then the bed was assembled. Using clamps the frame was left to dry.

The frame was finished with Danish oil, a tough water-resistant finish. The oil was rubbed onto the frame with a rag and left to soak into the wood.

Step 4: Mattress

The interior dimension of the bed frame was measured and a mousepad was cut to shape. My bed frame was designed to accommodate the charging cord on the bottom of my phone, so I made a small notch in the bottom of the mousepad mattress to allow the cord to pass through the opening in the bed frame.

Step 5: Optional: Bedding

We could stop here and have an acceptable bed for our phone, but let's take it a step further for our make-believe bed.

Using scrap fabric I wrapped the mousepad mattress and hot glued the corners. A funky swatch of scrap fabric was used to make a cover, and a fluffy piece of fabric was used to make a faux sheepskin throw.

A pillow was omitted as I wanted the phone to lie flat on the bed.

Step 6: Sleep Tight

With the phone bed next to your human bed you can both get a good night's sleep. Plug in your phone to charge, turn off the screen, then turn out the lights. With you and your favourite device safely tucked in, you're both sure to be fully charged in the morning.

Happy making :)