A Murphy bed folds up into a wall or cabinet to free the floor. Here's how the mechanism works, what sizes exist, what mattress you need, and whether one makes sense for your space.
A Murphy bed is a bed that folds vertically into a wall, cabinet, or freestanding frame when you're not using it. The mattress stays attached to the platform, so you pull the whole thing down at night and lift it back up in the morning — no stripping sheets, no wrestling with cushions.
It's a genuinely useful piece of furniture in a city where square footage is expensive. In LA, we see them most often in studio apartments, converted garages, guest rooms that double as home offices, and ADUs where one room has to do two jobs.
The whole design hinges on a counterbalance mechanism that offsets the weight of the platform and mattress. Without it, you'd be lifting 80 to 150 pounds over your head every morning. With it, most Murphy beds take about as much effort as closing a car trunk.
There are two common mechanisms:
Either way, the frame has to be anchored — either bolted to wall studs or, on freestanding cabinet models, weighted and braced so the unit can't tip when the bed swings down.
Vertical Murphy beds fold down from the head end and project further into the room. Horizontal ones fold down from the side, so they're wider but stick out less — useful under a low ceiling or in a room where you need to preserve walking depth. Horizontal models are usually limited to twin and full sizes.
Murphy beds use standard mattress sizes, which is convenient — you're not hunting for odd dimensions.
Measure your clearance before you commit. You need the mattress length plus a couple of feet to walk around it — and check that a ceiling fan or light fixture isn't in the arc of the platform as it swings down.
This is where most Murphy bed disappointments start. The mechanism is designed around a weight range and a thickness limit, and a mattress outside those specs either makes the bed hard to lift or stops it closing flush.
Three rules:
Nearly every Murphy bed also uses a retaining strap across the mattress to hold it against the platform when folded. Don't skip it, and don't rely on the mattress's own weight.
For specific picks, see our guide to the best mattress for a Murphy bed. If you're outfitting a twin unit, our twin mattresses collection is the place to start.
They make sense when: the room has to serve two purposes daily, you're renting out a space where floor area is the selling point, or you have a guest room you use six nights a year and would rather have as an office the other 359.
They make less sense when: you have a dedicated bedroom with room for a normal bed, you're renting and can't anchor into studs, or you want a thick luxury mattress — the thickness cap rules out a lot of plush builds.
Cost is the other consideration. A quality Murphy bed system typically runs well above a standard foundation and frame, and cabinet-style units with integrated shelving climb from there. You're paying for the mechanism and the millwork, not the sleep surface.
If a Murphy bed feels like more commitment than you need, a trundle bed or a quality sofa bed solves the occasional-guest problem for less money and no installation.
A counterbalance mechanism — either gas pistons or steel coil springs — offsets the weight of the platform and mattress so you can lift and lower the bed with modest effort. The frame anchors to wall studs or a braced freestanding cabinet, and a strap holds the mattress in place when the bed is stored upright.
The comfort comes entirely from the mattress, not the mechanism — a Murphy bed with a good mattress sleeps like any other bed. The one real constraint is thickness: most systems cap around 10 to 12 inches, which rules out very thick pillow-top builds. Within that limit you have plenty of comfortable options.
Prices vary widely by construction. Bare hardware kits sit at the low end, complete cabinet systems with finished millwork and integrated storage sit considerably higher, and custom built-ins higher still. Budget separately for the mattress — it's not usually included, and buying one that matches the lift specification matters more than buying the cheapest option.
Properly installed, no. The risks come from bad installation — anchoring into drywall instead of studs, skipping the anti-tip bracing on a freestanding unit, or using a mattress outside the weight range so the bed swings up unexpectedly. Follow the manufacturer's specs, secure the mattress strap, and keep the landing area clear.
It's named after William Lawrence Murphy, who patented a folding wall bed design in the early 1900s. The name stuck so thoroughly that it's now used generically for almost any wall-mounted folding bed, regardless of manufacturer.
If you already have a Murphy bed frame, bring the maximum thickness and weight specs with you — our teams at all five LA showrooms can narrow it down in a few minutes, and same-day delivery means you can be sleeping on it tonight.
Not sure what firmness suits you? Our sleep quiz takes a couple of minutes and gives you a short list worth trying.
Skip the comparison shopping. Answer a few questions and we'll narrow it down to the mattresses that actually fit your sleep style.
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