# A murphy bed with a desk that does not make you clear it

A murphy bed with a built-in desk that stays level when the bed comes down. Office all week, guest room on the weekend.

Source: https://beehive-wallbeds.pages.dev/murphy-bed-with-desk/

This is the bed we design most for people who work from home. The desk is on a frame that stays level while the bed pivots down over it, so Monday's work does not get swept into a box on Friday night.

[image: Room scene: a murphy desk bed closed with a laptop and monitor on the desk][image: Room scene: a murphy desk bed open with the desk level underneath]

## Who it is for

- The spare bedroom that became the office in 2020 and never went back
- A basement office that hosts the in-laws for Thanksgiving
- A craft room or sewing room that needs one guest bed a few times a year
- Kids rooms where a twin desk bed buys the floor back

## How it is built

The desk surface sits in front of the cabinet on a pivot that is linked to the bed frame. As the bed comes down, the desk rotates under it and stays flat. When the bed goes up, the desk comes back to working height. The whole thing lifts with one hand on a piston mechanism. The desk adds about 20 to 24 inches to the depth of the unit when closed, which is the main thing to measure for.

Options that make a desk bed better:

- A side cabinet with a desk return, so you get an L-shaped work surface and more storage
- A grommet and a cable channel behind the desk, planned on the visit
- LED lighting in the header, which doubles as task lighting
- Drawers in the side cabinets for the printer and the paper you keep saying you will throw out

## What to measure

A queen desk bed needs roughly 65 inches of wall width without side cabinets, an 8 foot ceiling, and about 7 feet 6 inches of clear floor in front when the bed is down. With side cabinets add their width. We confirm all of it on the visit. The [sizes page](/sizes/) has the full table.

## Cost

Desk beds run above a plain cabinet bed because of the pivot hardware and the extra cabinetry. See the [cost guide](/cost/) for the Utah price ladder. We give a range after the form and a firm number after we measure.

## Questions people ask

**Does the desk really stay flat when the bed folds down?**

Yes. On a desk bed the desk surface is on a pivoting frame that stays horizontal as the bed rotates down over it. A laptop, monitor and coffee stay put. The desk ends up under the open bed, so you do not work while someone sleeps, but you do not pack up either.

**How deep is the desk?**

Usually 20 to 24 inches, and 60 to 65 inches wide on a queen bed. Enough for a monitor and a keyboard, not enough for two monitors side by side unless we add a side cabinet desk return.

**Can I put a monitor arm on it?**

Yes, a clamp-on arm works if we leave the back edge clear, and we plan the cable path during design. We do not recommend bolting through the desk surface.

**What size bed works with a desk?**

Full and queen are the common sizes. Twin desk beds work in kids rooms. King desk beds get wide and heavy and we usually steer people to side cabinets instead.

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Beehive Wall Beds: Custom murphy beds, designed in your home, along the Wasatch Front. Design and sales company; beds built by Utah craftsmen and installed by partner crews. Free in-home design visits. hello@beehivewallbeds.com