Murphy Beds and Wall Beds

MURPHY BED Versus WALL BED

The originally created “Murphy Bed” folded up behind doors in front of a closet. With the aid of springs, the platform and mattress came up and down as a unit. This type of mechanism is still in use today if the bed is to be hidden inside a closet or behind bookshelves to create The Smart Spaces Library Bed.  Typically, when the bed is placed inside the closet the owner has a very limited ability to add any side cabinets or an integrated office.

At some point the “Murphy Bed” moved from inside to outside the closet. In this case, the bed is installed inside a cabinet or frame. The cabinet is then attached to the wall for stability and is accordingly called a “Wall Bed.” The mattress is mounted onto a platform that forms the front of the unit when the bed is in the “up” position. The mattress and the platform go up and down as a single unit.

Other than its ability to be mounted to any wall in the room, the Wall Bed has the distinct advantage of being able to add side cabinets, closets, and integrated counters and offices. Smart Spaces has manufactured and installed thousands of Wall Beds with such additional modular furniture to create truly beautiful customized rooms. We specialize in completing rooms with wall-to-wall or floor-to-ceiling woodworking.

Finally, today the terms “Wall Bed” and “Murphy Bed” are used interchangeably to reference a bed that goes up and down with “Murphy Bed” being the more popular term.

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