Murphy bed styles, explained without the sales pitch

Every murphy bed is a cabinet, a mechanism and a mattress platform. The choices that matter are which way it folds, what the mechanism is, and what else is built around it. Here is how we walk through it on a design visit.

Which way it folds

Vertical cabinet bed. The standard. The cabinet is a tall wardrobe, roughly 65 inches wide for a queen and 87 to 90 inches tall. The bed folds down from the top and extends about 87 inches into the room. Needs an 8 foot ceiling and the floor space in front.

Horizontal cabinet bed. The cabinet is wide and short, roughly 87 inches wide and 65 inches tall for a queen. The bed folds down sideways and extends only about 65 inches into the room. The fix for low basement ceilings, rooms under sloped roofs, and narrow bedrooms where a vertical bed would block the door.

Cabinet chest bed. A low chest, about 40 inches tall, with a tri-fold mattress inside. Pulls out like a drawer. The cheapest real wood option, no wall anchoring, thinner mattress. Good for a guest closet or an office where a full cabinet is too much.

What goes around it

• Side cabinets on one or both sides: open bookshelves, closed doors, drawers below. They hide the proportions of the bed cabinet and turn a bed into a wall unit.
• A desk that stays level when the bed comes down. See murphy bed with desk.
• A sofa that tucks under the open bed. See murphy bed with sofa.
• Lighting in the cabinet header, usually LED strips on a switch, so guests have a reading light without a lamp on the floor.
• A fold-down table on the face of the cabinet for a craft room or office.

Doors and finishes

Shaker doors are the default and the most forgiving to match. Flat panel reads modern. Raised panel reads traditional. Woods are usually alder, maple or oak under a stain, or paint grade maple under a painted finish. Paint costs more than stain because of the prep. We bring samples; you pick in your light, not a showroom's.

Mechanisms

We spec piston mechanisms for most beds. They are quiet, hold the bed at any angle, and need no tuning. Spring mechanisms earn their place for very heavy mattresses. Either way the bed lifts with one hand, the legs fold out on their own, and the mattress stays strapped in place when the bed is closed.

What we do not sell

Flat-pack beds from big box stores. They are a fine answer for some rooms, and we will install one for you if you bought one. But we design and sell custom cabinets built in Utah, because that is where the difference shows after five years of guests.