Beehive Wall Beds
Free design visit
What "custom" means in a murphy bed, and what it costs you
"Custom murphy bed" and "custom wall beds" get searched across Utah every month, and the word covers everything from picking a stain on a catalog bed to a built-in designed for one wall. Here is what custom means when it is done properly, how the process runs, and what it costs next to the alternatives.
What custom actually means
A custom murphy bed is built for a specific wall in a specific room. Three things separate it from a catalog bed with options.
Built to the wall. The cabinet width, height and depth are set by your room, not by a size chart. A 9 foot basement ceiling gets a taller cabinet with a proper header. A 7 foot 10 inch rambler basement gets a horizontal bed sized to the wall length. A soffit, a window, a return vent or an outlet gets designed around rather than discovered on install day.
Finish match. The doors and finish are chosen against the cabinets, trim and floor already in the house. Stain on alder, maple or oak, or paint on maple in whatever color the room calls for, matched in your light with a sample.
Options as design, not add-ons. Side cabinets, a desk that stays level when the bed comes down, a sofa the bed folds over, LED lighting, a fold-down table. On a custom bed these are drawn as one piece of cabinetry with the bed, so the reveals line up and it reads as a built-in.
What custom is not: a flat-pack kit with a choice of three finishes, or a shipped bed that comes in standard widths and lets you choose a stain. Those are fine products at their prices. They are not built to your wall.
The process, start to finish
- Send the room. A photo or two, the ceiling height if you know it, and what the room has to do. We reply the same business day with a range from the Utah price ladder and a time for a visit.
- Free in-home design visit. We measure the wall, the ceiling and the floor in front, check what is behind the drywall, and go through sizes, orientation, doors and finish with samples in your room. This is where a vertical versus horizontal decision usually gets made.
- Drawing and firm price. You get a scaled drawing of the bed on your wall and a single installed number. Nothing is built until you approve it.
- Build, 4 to 8 weeks. The bed is built to order by a Utah cabinet shop. Paint and unusual matches can sit at the longer end.
- Install, about half a day. A partner crew brings the cabinet, anchors it to the studs or the concrete, sets the mechanism, hangs and adjusts the doors, and leaves you with the bed working. Installation is part of the price.
St. George customers are served on trips, so plan on 6 to 10 weeks.
What it costs against the alternatives
| Option | 2026 Utah price, installed | Built to your wall? |
|---|---|---|
| Flat-pack kit (Costco, Wayfair, Home Depot, Walmart, Amazon) | $400 to $1,500 plus a few hundred to install | No. Standard sizes, particleboard or MDF. |
| Shipped real wood murphy bed | $3,700 to $5,100 plus install | No. Standard widths, your choice of finish. |
| Custom cabinet bed, built and installed locally | $4,400 to $6,500 | Yes. Sized, matched and installed. |
| Custom with side cabinets, desk or sofa | $6,500 to $10,000 | Yes. A full wall unit. |
| Closet-franchise wall bed | $5,000 to $10,000 or more | Partly. Laminate modular systems. |
The gap between a shipped real wood bed with installation and a custom bed installed is smaller than most people expect. What the custom money buys is the fit, the match and the design visit, and it is the only row where side cabinets, a desk or a sofa are drawn with the bed instead of bolted beside it.
When custom is not the right buy
If the bed is going on a plain wall under a standard ceiling, in a standard size, in a finish you are not matching to anything, a shipped real wood bed can be the sensible answer. If guests come once a year, a flat-pack bed and a good mattress is the cheaper call, and we will install it if you want it done right. Custom earns its price when the room has to look finished and work every week.
Send the room, we reply the same business day. A photo of the wall and a photo of what it needs to match is enough to start. Start here.
Questions people ask
How long does a custom murphy bed take?
Four to eight weeks from an approved drawing to install along the Wasatch Front. St. George installs run on trips, so six to ten weeks. Install itself is about half a day.
What can be customized?
Size, vertical or horizontal, door style, wood or paint, the exact finish, side cabinets, a desk, a sofa, lighting, and the cabinet dimensions so it fits the wall, the ceiling and any soffit or outlet.
Is a custom murphy bed worth it over a shipped one?
If you want it to match the house, fit an awkward wall, or include side cabinets or a desk, yes. If a standard size in a standard finish on a plain wall is fine, a shipped real wood bed plus installation can land close to the same money.
Do I need to pick everything before the visit?
No. The visit is where the choices get made. Bring a sense of the budget and what the room needs to do, and we bring the samples and the tape measure.