Murphy/Wall bed questions

Elothar

Hi all,
I have an idea of building a Murphy/Wall bed in my spare room. I'd like to be able to use it as a craft room when not in use as a bedroom. I have the basic idea of layout in my head but have some questions about the bed mechanism I hope somebody can answer. I've had a look around Google but can't seem to find out the information I need.
First a few statements about the bed. It won't be in daily use. When it is used it will be down continuously so there won't be too much use of the mechanism. I'm hoping it will be a standard double size. It will be mounted vertically rather than horizontally so won't be that tall when its up against the wall.
I have two basic questions.
One: I don't really want to buy a ready made mechanism (far too expensive) and was wondering if the mechanism from a folding attic stairs would do the same kind of job? I have access to a fairly recent model that I could co-opt if it was worth it and would save me a few quid. I know I could just use a piano hinge or gate hinges but was hoping to have some sort of assist in raising and lowering the bed. If I can't use the attic stairs hinges could I use garage door hinges, the canopy kind of garage door not the roller kind. Anyone know where I would get these?
Two: I would ideally like to have shelves on the unit when it is folded up that would keep the stuff on them when the unit is folded down. I don't think I can post links here but if you search for 'Nuovoliola' you'll see the type of shelf I mean. Basically it acts like a leg for the bed when the bed is down and a shelf when the bed is up. What I need to know is what type of hinge/mechanism is that shelf using? I would ideally like to have one or two 'shelfs' and a 'desk' similar to the shelf but bigger.

If anyone can shed any light on what I need then I'd be grateful. I may not have explained myself correctly so feel free to ask any pertinent questions.

Loafiebread

Did you ever manage to get this bed made up? I am looking to create something similar in our spare room. Would appreciate any advice or knowledge you have on this.