20 Approved Murphy Bed Ideas & Designs

Murphy Bed Ideas – Dealing with a small bedroom is quite tricky for you as the room owner, especially if you like to place a lot of furniture there. If your large bed burdens you with no room for the furniture, you should find another way to arrange your bedroom.

One idea that will meet your needs is by investing in a murphy bed. The murphy bed is a great way to make space more spacious in a bedroom. It frees up some room and also is a great way to transform any room into a guest room. It can also become your decoration elements combined with your bedroom wall color combination.

Contents

What is Murphy Bed?

You may have ever seen by chance a murphy bed while visiting a friend’s apartment, or maybe you have one yourself. However, have you ever heard any story behind the invention of the bed and how it gets your name? It might just surprise you.

Having a murphy bed is a clever little space-saving solution for anyone living in a cramped space. The Murphy bed, in case, if you haven’t heard anything about it and don’t get it into your mind, is a bed that installed behind the wall and can be pulled if you want to spend the time on the bed and then folded back to the wall when already used.

Once you finish using it, you can make the bed, put the pillow elsewhere, lift it up by pushing its pivoting metal frame, and tuck it away into the wall. After you have kept it, it will stay out of sight for the remainder of the day. The wall where keep the bed is often made to look like a part of a bookcase or a large built-in armoire for the rest of the day, so it blends in well with another room’s decor.

The Murphy Bed; which is also known as a wall bed, fold-down bed, or pull-down bed, is useful for any situations where floor space is at exclusive, like studio apartments, dorm rooms, mobile homes, and cruise ship cabins.

Why Are Murphy Beds Called Murphy Beds?

Let’s back to a story that came some centuries ago, shall we? According to CBS News, the Murphy bed took its name from its inventor, William Lawrence Murphy. The bed was created in the late 19th century. As the condition at the time, the Murphy man, who was a young man with plenty of problems facing urban-dwellers, lived in a studio apartment, which meant a room for all.

The living room could be the bedroom and the bedroom could be…. anything. Instead, to save the space in his place, Murphy found a way to tuck his bed away in a closet, and his bedroom problem became solved.

The Murphy Bed Company tells that Murphy’s original bed spent most of the apartment’s floor space, which made having a party time with coworkers a little complicated. Murphy wanted to entertain his friends when they are at his home, so he began starting and examining with the folding bed idea.

Is Murphy Beds Safe?

From the information above, it seemed Murphy beds are a great way to save some space in your bedroom. They also are a great way to be placed in a guest room that can be transformed the room to another occasional room.

However, some awareness has already arisen toward the safety of installing this kind of bed. The Murphy beds used to be badly represented in media comically. You may have seen those clips or people jokingly being trapped underneath or being folded up to the wall. Have no fear, then!

If installed properly, the Murphy beds are not dangerous. They will not fold up by itself when you are on top of the bed. Vice verse, when the frame is seated correctly on the wall, it will not fall on your head either.

How Realistic Is Murphy Bed Ideas?

How Realistic Is Murphy Bed Ideas

The Murphy beds introduced globally and earned their first popularity back in the 1950s. Nowadays, they have recently started their comeback in a big way. This happens because of the rise in the popularity of the downsizing movement. In recent times, families no longer want to purchase large houses.

Either because of the spreading matter of the real estate market or green issues, instead of looking for a big family house, a family decides to choose the smaller one. The Murphy beds might be a great option related to this matter. But, people are still worried about how safe they are.

We have to look deeper at why people might see Murphy beds be seen as dangerous. As explained in the previous chapter, the reason is simple – they are not being used properly. We will give you two ideas of the safety tips for the owner who will need to be aware of when having the wall bed put into their residence.

Letting Professionals Install the Wall Bed is Essential

Letting Professionals Install the Wall Bed is Essential

It seems all of the DIY daybeds you see from youtube or media social is unusual to get implemented. There might be several DIY jobs you can perform, but installing a new wall bed is not one of them. If you never have experience with this type of work, then you will need to find professionals to help you with this one. The professionals will be able to do this work done the right way. Remember, when you are considering to hire a company for this job, you need to get a few onsite estimates. With the information and consideration taken from this estimation, getting the best company hired will be easy.

Installing a Lock on the Bed is Another Great Idea

Putting a Lock on the Bed is a Great Idea

When you have already installed the Murphy bed in, you may need to think about how to secure the bed properly. The last thing you have to put in your mind is to avoid their wall bed popping out due to a lack of security or bad installment. Most professionals will have already prepared to install a lock on this kind of bed. The lock will keep the mattress stays in the wall until you get ready to use them.

Murphy Bed Ideas

Murphy Bed Ideas


Murphy Bed Office Ideas

Gorgeous Office Room

Installing a Lock on the Bed is Another Great Idea

Guess how efficient it is if we have a gorgeous guest country bedroom that also serves as a home office. When it’s not functioned as the guest room, the guest bed folds up into the built-in drawers, transforming the space into a spacious office. The Murphy bed is an excellent solution for accommodating guests while maintaining the room for any usage in daily activities.

Bed Featuring Shelves

Bed Featuring Shelves

This idea will give a great look like a home office guest room, as it brings additional storage and a few display spaces that can be utilized to organize your office files. Install windows as lovely lighting to add the ambiance of the home office and guest room.

The Supreme Bed Addition

The Supreme Bed Addition

A Murphy bed is a useful add-on for the home office guest room. Planting plenty of closed storage by the Murphy bed for a dual-purpose space will accommodate guests not have to look at piles of paper or supplies. The built-in cabinets and a work surface along one wall with the Murphy bed allow the space to double as a home office.

Smart Bed For Guest

Smart Bed For Guest

Provide your guest with a room with a smart home office with a Murphy bed. When a guest is coming, the Murphy bed folds down into space, turning the area into a welcoming guest retreat. If the guest is already back to their own home, you can use it as a media room or office.

Sleep Or Work?

Sleep Or Work

This home office and a small library are designed with a hidden bed and ample storage space. A pull-out bed disappears into a built-in dividing wall when it is pulled up, but creates a multi-function space as a cozy sleeping area when guests are in town.

Murphy Bed Ideas For Small Spaces

Joining The Sofa

Joining The Sofa

Within only a few seconds, just with a minimal effort, you can pull up the bed and make the whole body disappears into the wall. The one that left is a more spacious room with a sofa which is revealed after the bed hide behind the wall. Instead of the bed, you can enjoy your day on a lovely couch.

Link To The Balcony Examine this bedroom thoroughly. At first, it looks like a regular modern bedroom. It’s not large, but the minimalist décor helps it to have a very chic look. Now you can pull down the Murphy bed in the wall, and you’re probably wondering if this is the same room. The bed then appears from the wall, and you can enjoy your night in the soft bed.

It comes to your mind a design of the lovely room; the sunshine showers all of its corners from the sliding door. While you think about it, consider the arrangement of the furniture, it doesn’t make a matter if you have a tiny bedroom or a spacious one. The selection of a Murphy bed will be a good deal for any type of room. It’s an excellent option in this case in particular. While in the up position, the connection with the balcony becomes a lot spacious.

Free The Blue

Free The Blue

From all the stuff placed in your coastal bedroom, the bed may occupy most of the floor space. It’s better to be able to free up space and use it for another usage any time you want is a significant advantage, especially if the room is not as large as you need.

Cabinet Illusion

Cabinet Illusion

The beautiful well-arranged cabinet may be the first think glanced in your sight about this bedroom organization. The owner of this cool bedroom should be a well-organized person, and the cabinet must suit as a residence in this kind of large room. This is only a small room, and the cabinet is not just for storage. Fold-down the middle part of the cabinet and a Murphy bed then occupies most of the floor space.

Blast In White

Blast In White

Examine this bedroom thoroughly. At first, it looks like a regular modern couple bedroom. It’s not large, but the minimalist décor helps it to have a very chic look. Now you can pull down the Murphy bed in the wall, and you’re probably wondering if this is the same room. The bed then appears from the wall, and you can enjoy your night in the soft bed.

Murphy Bed Ideas Diy

Asking for a professional’s help is the best you can get, but it will cost you much more money. If you like to do some carpenter thing by yourself, let’s make some DIY Murphy beds. Some of these projects below use any building materials that you can get at any home center, while others feature mechanical hardware or other materials available at specialty retailers. Also considered various IKEA product hacks, which we can make for especially ingenious DIY Murphy beds.

IKEA Murphy Bed Hack

IKEA Murphy Bed Hack

DIY Murphy Bed for Small Spaces

DIY Murphy Bed for Small Spaces

This DIY Murphy bed can be doubled a craft room as a guest room. Considering how much budget you get, you can use hardwood, plywood, or MDF to construct this Murphy bed design. But remember, the stronger is the best. Hardwood plywood has been selected for this project for its strength and lightweight. This professional-grade building material enhanced the strength and beauty of the finished project. 

A Modern Farmhouse Murphy Bed

A Modern Farmhouse Murphy Bed


This Murphy bed office is a one-of-a-kind furniture system that includes bookcases and desk installed by the side of the bed. When the bed is pulled up, it resembles a storage wall so the guest would never guess it conceals a mattress before they sleep on the bed.

Hack-a-PAX Murphy Bed

Hack-a-PAX Murphy Bed

This DIY Murphy bed is another a PAX IKEA hack. You will need several things to accomplish your unit for a full-sized mattress. This includes two PAX wardrobe frames and a couple of LURÖY slatted bed bases.

Murphy Bed Fit For a Kid

Murphy Bed Fit For a Kid

This Murphy bed for a grade-schooler uses parts from an IKEA Ivar storage system to go for a small Murphy bed with built-in shelving for a small teen bedroom. You can put three of the plywood shelves to create a bench for blankets and sheets if you have more available space.

Murphy Bed Couch Ideas

Transforming Sofa

Transforming Sofa

This money-saving DIY is including the sofa and ottoman that are from IKEA’s SÖDERHAMN series. If you want to simplify the DIY process, purchase a Murphy bed mattress frame with an already-installed mechanism that you can install to a wall or floor. It is very easy to assemble and also a custom mount for the bed frame so it would open over the sofa.

Keep It Simple With Extra Bed

Keep It Simple With Extra Bed

A bedroom with shelves and ample storage space make it an ideal addition for a apartement guest room. An excellent space-saving solution that mixes aesthetics and ergonomics.

Shelves, Storage and a Sofa

Shelves, Storage and a Sofa


Introduce the Nuovoliola, a unit with a built-in bookshelf that makes you not worry anymore to your limited space. It is also good for those who live in a low-space apartment that requires you to combine the couch, bed, and even the home workspace. This cool Murphy bed can be tucked away when not in use and leave a two-seater sofa. With its aluminum frame, the bed can easily be put in place and removed without any hassle.

Doubling the Comfort

Doubling the Comfort

Looking different from other Murphy beds, which are installed vertically, this one fold up in a horizontal fashion with an elegant front sofa. This chic style statement comes with additional space for your stuff and seems like a great option for the small guest room and double use as a study room. The room colored in grey and white offer an impressive visual contrast and fits with any furniture in a neutral color scheme.

Frequently Asked Question

How practical is a Murphy bed?

It is practical for small space rooms, perfect for space-saving purposes. It is perfect for an apartment, working room, or kids’ room. You can save space for other purposes rather than more of it for the bed space.

What is a Murphy bed good for?

Murphy is good for a kid’s room, working room, or apartment. It’s perfect for saving more space for doing something else.

Can any mattress be used in a Murphy bed?

You can use any kind of mattress for your murphy bed frame; make sure you research the size of the bed and frame.

Do Murphy beds have to be attached to the wall?

Most of the murphy beds require you to attach them on the wall. Depend if you made it as a custom build. But It needs to be attached on the wall as the support mechanism to raise the platform up dan down.

More Murphy Bed Pictures

Conclusion of Murphy Bed Ideas

At the end of the day, a Murphy Bed is just like another bed. It seems different in the way it moves and functions, but the idea is still the same. It is a serene place to rest your body after the business during the day. One other thing, you have to remember installing the frame properly and follow the directions exactly. Good luck!

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