HomeThe Murphy Bed – known generically as a wallbed – was named after its inventor, William Murphy at the beginning of the twentieth century. The story goes that his one-bed apartment was too small for him to entertain his friends, so he invented a way of making more space by hiding away the bed. Thus was born the Murphy bed. William went on to found the Murphy Wall Bed Company and produced wallbeds based on his inventions and patents.
WHAT IS A MURPHY BED?
Murphy bed is also known as wallbed, or fold away bed. The idea behind designing such a bed was to make provision for more space in a small and limited room. During the day, the bed folds away vertically, allowing the room to be used for other purposes and when required, it can be unfolded to transform the room into a bedroom. Although we mainly think of Murphy Beds as wall beds, in 1918 William Murphy invented a system that allowed the bed to be attached inside the door of a closet and folded down from there.
WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS OF A MURPHY BED (WALLBED)?
The Murphy Bed of today bears little resemblance to the original design of a century ago. Wallbeds, today include high quality designs and mechanisms with a choice of finishes:
Storage: Wall beds are stored vertically against a wall or inside a closet or cabinet. They can be incorporated as part of a complete system of coordinated wall units – sometimes you can’t even tell that the bed is there
Mechanism: They usually have a counter-balancing mechanism to allow for easy raising and lowering.You can flip the bed at one of its horizontal edges, generally at the head, to make it stand vertically inside a wall or closet.
Mattress and frame: The mattress is generally attached to the bed frame, with a lock at each corner. Since the main idea behind installing the bed is space limitations, Murphy beds lies on wire mesh instead of box springs.
Headboard/footboard: Another unique characteristic of the Murphy bed is that they do not have headboards, footboards or bed rails.
Night tables: Some units even include extras such as fold-out night tables.
WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF MURPHY BEDS?
There are different styles of Murphy Beds:
The original panel style – where the whole bed simply folds down from the wall in one go. A panel bed has the advantage that with no doors to open, less space is used.
The Bi-Fold or Closet style – In this style, both the Murphy bed and the closet are concealed behind a pair of closet doors in the wall of a bedroom or living room. When the doors are opened, the bed folds out from within. A variation in this particular type has the bottom of the bed in solid panel which when folded up, looks like a paneled wall. Bi-Folds tend to have simpler and lighter operating mechanisms.
Hide-away bed: The hideaway bed like other Murphy beds, also folds up when not in use. However, it is not concealed behind a wall or closet . Instead, the hideaway bed has a dual purpose – it can be used as a shelf or desk.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF MURPHY BEDS?
Space: The biggest advantage of Murphy bed is that it can be easily folded down from the wall during the daytime, when you don’t need to use it. While during the day, you can utilize the space for some other purpose, at night you can convert the place into a bedroom.
Economical: Murphy beds are economical and pocket friendly. At times, the Murphy beds prove to be cheaper than the regular ones.
Usefulness: Murphy beds can be used by anyone including pets!
WHAT ARE THE DISADVANTAGES OF THE MURPHY BED?
Comfort: You might just have to compromise on the comfort quotient when you use a Murphy bed. In comparison to the regular beds, Murphy beds may not be as comfortable or sturdy as regular beds. The main reason is that, these beds use wire mesh instead of box springs.
No Scope For Decoration: Since Murphy beds do not have headboards, footboards, or bed rails, they provide no scope for decoration. So, if aesthetics is high on your list, a Murphy bed may be a wrong option for you.
Tedious Task: Since you are limited by space, you need to fold the bed every morning you get up. This task may become tedious to some people over time, such as older citizens or young girls.
ARE MURPHY BEDS STILL POPULAR?
The peak market for wallbeds was back in the 1920’s. In recent times, the wallbed has not been so popular because of the availability of alternative, space-saving beds such as futons or trundle beds which are a lot more comfortable. However, as cities become ever more crowded, the pressure on space increases, especially in apartments with limited square footage and mobile homes. In such spaces, Murphy beds are the best alternative. Nowadays Murphy beds have been revamped to include modular cabinetry with glass, mirrors, lighting, or additional units for entertainment storage or computer centers.
For information on other Bed Types, go to:
November 27th, 2011