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Smaller Homes Design Dilemma Bedroom

Multifunctional Murphy Bed

6 years ago

Hi,

I am relocating to a studio apartment in an urban area soon and wondered if anyone used a Murphy Bed as their primary sleeping arrangement and if anyone might know of a Murphy Bed that doubles as a couch/table/etc. to maximize small space? I love the designs by Resource Furniture, but think that they're a little bit out of my price point. Any suggestions welcome! Thanks

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Comments (5)

PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
6 years ago
Google murphy beds and I have clients that have a murphy bed as their primary bed in the same situation as you are in. I can’t remember the name of the company that built theirs but when it is up there is a dining table attached .
eld6161
6 years ago
They are very costly. I would only invest in one for a home that I own.

That said, what is the size of your studio? There are creative ways to divide things off. Post a floor plan.

My youngest has a convertible sofa in her studio apartment.
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The cabinets and bed are to go along the back wall as seen in the second photo, with a vertical Queen bed dropping down in the direction toward the ping pong table. It's hard to tell from the photo but there's still several feet of room around where the end of the bed would be and the ping pong table. The kitchen cabinets may be outdated (built in 2005) but we aren't interested in modifying those at this time, that's just not in our budget. This isn't a rental, it's in the basement of our home. Over the years we've had many guests and family members come for extended visits and they've used an air bed, the Murphy bed would be more comfortable and cabinets are intended for storage. Thanks for the comments so far, I'm thinking I need to look at more photos and trends on Houzz!
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How do you use the room when it's not acting as a guest room? I see the main point of getting a murphy bed being able to flip the room between guest room and a second purpose like an office or a play room. If this were me i'd care most about how it looks when guests are staying there so I'd pull down the bed and then style the room around that in terms of choosing colours to tie in to bedding, placing pictures over the bed etc. I don't really see how having a sofa in the room can work alongside the murphy bed without overcrowding it -- but why do you need one there? I see you have it folded down like a daybed. If someone likes to take naps in here, couldn't they just fold down the murphy and nap on that?
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In my opinion, Murphy Beds are not intended to be used in a room where they are used every night. They are intended for use in an office or den where they are not used frequently and so the space can be used for other purposes. The issue is that you need space in front of the bed in order to pull it down - so that really defeats the benefit of obtaining more space since the space in front of it is not usable. It is the same thing with a sofa bed - I had one in my den area but when it was being used by a guest I had to take the coffee table away from the front in order for the bed to open - not a big deal for a few times a year but not something that works everyday if that were my bed.
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writersblock (9b/10a)
6 years ago
Yeah, unfortunately all decent murphy beds are expensive. Even if you have good carpentry skills and could build your own, the hardware is very, very expensive and that's not something you want to cheap out on.

Have you ever looked around at apartmentherapy.com? They have lots of features on small studios with clever workarounds that usually didn't cost thousands of dollars.
PRO
Patricia Justice Designs, LLC
6 years ago
If you want something quality, unfortunately materials can add up, but you never know if you can get something well made on sale with the holidays around the corner. Keep looking, and don't rush into it.
stringweaver
6 years ago
try a search for Ikea hacks, I saw one using a Billy shelf unit, though I would wonder about the stability for nightly opening and closing.

I've used my sister's Murphy bed on short visits and we put it up each morning. You can get pretty good at anchoring the blankets and sheets so the bed stays made. All you have to do it lower it, add the pillows (note, you need a place to put the pillows during the day), and snooze. I believe she bought a kit and they assembled it.

It is very comfortable to sleep on.

They got it long ago, sorry, I doubt she could tell me where she got it.

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