The Many Benefits of a Murphy Bed

Rumor has it that William Murphy first invented the Murphy bed in the early 1900’s. Apparently, he was ever eager to woo a local opera singer. However, his one room apartment allowed no space for a parlor. It was customary at the time to never entertain a woman in your bedroom and so William sneakily designed the ever-popular “disappearing bed” in order to entertain, as well as potentially woo. This funny history, though not overly respectable speaks to the functionality of the Murphy bed.

Murphy beds can be used in a variety of settings: spare beds in a vacation home living room, extra sleeping space in a game room or office or, as in Williams case, in small living spaces. The selling point with the Murphy bed is it’s multi-functionality. It allows for living and sleeping to occur in the same space, without having to monopolize space. Murphy beds prove to be extremely practical in a number of scenarios.

1) Guests sleeping in the Living room:

How often do you have a guest staying multiple nights in your living room and each morning the sheets on the couch need to be taken off and folded up, only to be put back the following night? A Murphy bed eliminates this problem. Often people think settling for a pullout couch is a good alternative. Pullout couches, though practical in certain settings, do not offer the same ease as a Murphy bed. Pullout couches are heavy and still require being unmade and folded back up the following morning.

2) Leaving a spare room open and functional:

Offices or playrooms can be excellent spaces for a Murphy bed. Unless guests are constantly pouring through your front door, having a guest room in the house can leave a perfectly good room untouched all year. A Murphy bed allows for a completely functional space to easily double as a guest room when need be.

3) Studio apartments:

With the ever-growing demand of housing in cities, studio apartments are becoming the standard of living. The downside of studios is their limits on space. Providing adequate room for living as well as sleeping space can be tricky, however a Murphy bed can severely help eliminate some of this headache. A Murphy bed allows for quick transition between a living room and bedroom without the hassle of unmaking or folding up your bed each morning.

Murphy beds provide an undeniable level of practicality and function when planning the layout of a new room, studio, office or living space.