6 Ways To Customize Your Murphy Bed
Intro
A Murphy Wall Bed can be fully customized to suit YOUR space, and we're here to help every step of the way.
No matter your stage of life, you will undoubtedly shop for furniture and have to decide on colours, styles, and features that affect the overall visual feel of your home, condo, apartment, or cottage. The same is true when you're furnishing your guest room, spare bedroom, home office, den, recreation room, etc. It's important to you that the pieces of furniture you choose to add to your living space, compliment the decor and visual aesthetic overall. Your living space is a reflection of your personality and style, and you want to be proud to host your guests in the space you've put so much time, energy, and resources into designing and furnishing.
Your Murphy Bed doesn't need to be an exception to this! In this post, we're going to cover these 6 ways you can customize your Murphy Bed to suit your living space:
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Size and Dimensions
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Mechanism & Frame
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Functionality Features
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Comfort & Convenience
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Integration with Existing Furniture
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Design and Aesthetics
Customizing a Murphy Bed typically means modifying it to fit specific needs, style or preferences, because lets face it, one size doesn't always fit all! Let's get into the 6 ways to customize your Murphy Bed:
1. Size and Dimensions
Murphy can tuck himself away in a small corner of your living room, conveniently replace that extra queen sized bed in your spare bedroom, create another bedroom in the basement, or completely take over the home office. Whatever the space, size & dimensions are the first determining factors in your Murphy Bed purchase.
Murphy Beds come in your standard Single (Twin), Double (Full), Queen, and King bed sizes, and use standard mattress sizes. So determining the space you have for a Murphy bed is the first step, and with measurements of all the bed dimensions below, we can easily find the size that will work for your space.
Vertical Single/Twin
44.5"(w) x 80-1/16"(h) x 16"(d) x 85" (open bed depth)
Vertical Double/Full
59.5"(w) x 80-1/16"(h) x 16"(d) x 85" (open bed depth)
Vertical Queen
65.5"(w) x 85-1/16"(h) x 16"(d) x 90" (open bed depth)
Vertical King
83.5"(w) x 85-1/16"(h) x 16"(d) x 90" (open bed depth)
Side-Tilt Single/Twin
80"(w) x 47-5/16"(h) x 16"(d) x 49" (open bed depth)
Side-Tilt Double/Full
80"(w) x 62-5/16"(h) x 16"(d) x 64" (open bed depth)
Side-Tilt Queen
85"(w) x 68-5/16"(h) x 16"(d) x 70" (open bed depth)
2. Mechanism & Frame
After we've confirmed what size of Murphy Bed is right for your space and needs, it's important to confirm the Murphy mechanism and frame style that's required to make Murphy right for your situation. We have vertical tilt and side tilt bed orientations, steel or aluminum murphy hardware, and three leg heights, all to make sure you're Murphy is right for you.
Vertical Tilt? Side Tilt? What's the Difference?
Side tilt Single Murphy Bed with Storage Hutch, and Flat Crown Moulding
As you've read in the first point, the Murphy Bed comes in either a vertical tilt (vertical orientation and the bed folds down from the end of the bed) or a side tilt (horizontal orientation and the bed folds down from the side of the bed). The main determining factor in deciding which orientation you need, is the available wall height you have to work with, and the depth of the room.
A bulkhead, low ceiling, window, and a narrow room are all great examples where you might want to consider a side tilt (horizontal) bed over a vertical tilt.
Steel or Aluminum Murphy Hardware?
This is quite simple, how often will the bed be used, and where will it be installed? Every night or Commercial use requires aluminum hardware, and occasional residential use is perfect for steel hardware.
What's the difference? Steel hardware comes with a 25-year warranty and a 1,700lb. weight capacity. Aluminum hardware comes with a lifetime warranty, 2,000lb. weight capacity, and the ability for a King sized bed.
Other than these differences there is nothing functionally or visually different that will affect the user.
Regular Legs? Extended Legs? No matter which one, these legs won't let you down.
There are 3 different leg heights, all determined by how thick your mattress is, and is important to understand when building your Murphy bed.
Regular Height Legs: accommodates mattresses up to 10" thick
Extended Height Legs: accommodates mattresses 10"-12" thick, and requires the bed height to be increased by just over 2"
Long Legs: accommodates mattresses up to 15" thick, requires the bed height to be increased by just over 6", and the bed depth to increase from 16" to 21".
It's important to understand too, that the thicker the mattress, the heavier it is. This will affect the spring load and how many & what kind of springs we use.
3. Functionality Features
Your Murphy bed serves as a space-saver and comfortable bed out-of-the-box, but it doesn't have to stop there. Consider these popular ways to add more function to your Murphy.
Cabinetry & Storage
The only limit here is budget and available space!
Add storage cabinets to the sides of the bed and/or above the bed. Fill your space wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling, and go for a true built-in look. The sky, I mean ceiling, is the limit.
Our standard side cabinets include 2 drawers and the bed "slide" table (more on this below) at the bottom, and anything from full open shelving to fully closed shelving above. Cabinet heights usually match the height of the bed at 80 or 85", and the standard widths range from 15" to 30".
Don't let the standards stop you from customizing for your specific space, we can make your cabinets pretty much however you like.
Slide Out Shelves
We call this the bed "slide" table. A convenient shelf that slides out from a side cabinet to act as a bed side table. This makes it easier to access your belongings while using the bed. When the bed isn't in use, simply slide it back into the cabinet.
Extended Headboard
By increasing the depth of the bed cabinet from 16" to 20", we can add a 5" deep shelf above the headboard. This is a great option for your guests to store some personal belongings, and charge their devices. Want even more? we can go a bit deeper and turn this headboard into a storage headboard for storing pillows and linens.
Office Desk
The perfect solution for your den, spare bedroom, or home office. Add a desk to your Murphy to take full advantage of the space, and while you're at it, add some more convenient storage! Like everything else, the desk is fully customizable to suit your needs, being different widths, depths, mounted to the side of the bed, or on the front of the bed, fixed, or foldable!
Clothes Storage
When adding side cabinets to your Murphy bed, consider building clothes storage right in, and eliminate that old wardrobe unit. Sliding closet rods and hooks are a great way add even more function to your Murphy suite.
4. Comfort & Convenience
We might be crossing into "Functionality Features" territory here, but these options certainly bring more of a comfort & convenience aspect to them. Consider things like:
LED Lighting
No more getting out of bed to shut off the room lights after you've finished your night time read. Cozy up in bed with our fully customizable LED light option and turn them off without having to leave the bed. Our most popular option is to add puck lights above the bed in the top stretcher, but go further and add them into your side cabinets or in an overhanging top stretcher in the front of the bed. If puck lights aren't your thing, maybe you'll love the look of strip lighting! LED lighting can come in warm, daylight, or cool light temperatures, dimming capabilities, and various finish options like black, silver, or white. Switch options range from a wireless touch switch mounted inside the bed, wireless remote control, or a smart phone app! You can also do multiple lighting zones, if for example, you want the bed lights powered separately from the cabinet lights.
Power Grommets
You want to wake up recharged, and so do your devices! Make sure your devices are charged up and ready to go in the morning with our Power Grommet. Featuring two outlets, two USB-A, and one USB-C, this adds ultimate convenience to your Murphy bed. The Power Grommet plugs into a standard wall outlet, and is a great addition to the Murphy bed headboard, or extended headboard.
5. Integration with Existing Furniture
Back to the overall feel and aesthetic of your home... it's important to consider what you already have in your home, and wish to continue using. Your existing furniture can have a big impact on how you design and customize your Murphy bed.
Got a special cabinet that you want the bed to tie-in with, aesthetically? No problem! Do you already have storage cabinets that you'd like the bed physically tied in with, and match to? Let's look at that! We are always open to discussing how Murphy can work with what you already have.
6. Design and Aesthetics
Alright, we've covered all the bed functions and features, now it's time to finalize the look and feel of your new Murphy bed. For some, this is a very quick and straightforward process, and for others, it's very involved and might include an interior designer to assist with the decisions. If you've worked with a designer for the rest of your home, it might be a good idea to consult with them to decide on your Murphy bed finishes.
Let's take a look at a few ways we can alter the look and feel of the bed:
Substrates & Materials
The most obvious and noticeable is the material the bed and cabinets are made from. Our most common is to use a high-quality melamine which comes in many wood grain and solid colour finishes. You will likely find what you need from the vast selection of melamine finishes, however melamine isn't for everyone, which is why we also offer plywood, painted, and stained wood.
Usually the bed and cabinets are all made using the same finish, but there's nothing stopping you from mixing it up, and adding in a second finish to add some interest.
Door and Drawer Styles
The door and drawer style is firstly determined by the material you choose.
Melamine panels will result in a slab (flat) door/drawer, giving the bed a simple and more modern look.
Painted and Wood products will allow us to add more interest to the doors, either shaker style or raised panel.
Glass Doors & Shelving
Give your storage cabinet's look a boost, by swapping the standard melamine or wood shelves/doors, with glass! Add glass shelving with various thicknesses, and doors with decorative glass to really make your Murphy suite a show piece.
Handles & Hardware
What's your style? Traditional? Modern? Rustic? No matter what, there's hardware for your style preference. As long as it can open the drawers & doors, and assist in pull the bed down for you, we can likely use it on the bed!
Most of the time, our stock handles work for our customers, but if you like options, click HERE to see what's available to you.
Variable Depths
Who said the bed and cabinets have to be the same depth? By bumping the bed out and setting the cabinets back, you'll give the bed a more dynamic look and Murphy will become a bit more of a statement piece in the room.
Crown Moulding & Filler Panels
Polish off your Murphy suite with crown moulding and/or filler panels for a completed finish.
Crown moulding not only helps to tie your bed and cabinets (if applicable) together and helps with the overall aesthetic, but also hides some unsightly wires and drivers from installed LED lighting (if applicable).
Filler panels clean up the small gaps on the sides or top of the bed and cabinets between the walls or ceiling. By adding filler panels, you can give your Murphy suite a fully built-in look, leaving no detail behind.
Conclusion
There You Have It!
At the end of the day, we're just here to say that your Murphy can really be what you make him, and not to feel like you're limited to what most people do.
We are here to help you every step of the way, and enjoy seeing how we can tailor Murphy to the specific needs of our customers.
So, how will you take YOUR Murphy?
Don't hesitate to contact us and we can get started on your dream Murphy.