Murphy beds for the Utah basement apartment and the ADU

Utah has more basements per home than almost any state, and since the 2021 accessory dwelling unit law most cities allow a basement apartment, a mother-in-law suite or a backyard ADU on a normal lot. The hard part is making a small unit sleep people and still feel like a home. That is the murphy bed's whole job.

The studio ADU

In a studio the living room is the bedroom. A murphy bed with a sofa keeps a couch in the room all day and folds down over it at night. A desk bed does the same for a tenant who works from home. Either way the unit shows better, rents better and does not feel like a bed with a kitchenette attached. See murphy bed with sofa.

The basement family room that hosts

Not every basement is a rental. The family room that hosts the married kids three times a year wants a queen that disappears. A vertical bed with side cabinets on the long wall, or a horizontal bed under the egress window, and the room is a family room again on Monday.

Low ceilings, soffits and concrete

• Measure at the wall. Basements lose inches to ducts, beams and soffits along the walls. A room that is 8 feet in the middle can be 7 feet 4 inches where the bed goes.
• Go horizontal. A horizontal queen is about 67 inches tall. It fits under soffits and beside egress windows.
• Concrete is fine. Masonry anchors into foundation walls are routine. Furred-out walls get anchored to the framing.
• Watch the mechanical. Water heater closets, sump pits and the furnace room decide where a bed cannot go. Send us the photo first.

For landlords

Spec the heavier piston mechanism, a strap and a release lock, a laminate or painted finish that wipes down, and keep the mattress at ten inches. Tenants are hard on furniture. A murphy bed anchored to the wall is the one piece they cannot drag, flip or lose.

Cost

A studio sofa bed or desk bed is a full unit; a plain horizontal queen for a family room is near the bottom of the custom range. The cost guide has the ladder.