I am cleaning out a spare bedroom, and was thinking of having a murphy bed put in so when company comes over. I like the murphy bed concept because they are space savers and I heard they make them in stylish models now. This would free up extra room when the bed is not being used. Just wondering. Thanks, Abner
I've only seen them in movies. You know, that scene where it closes up and the guy winds up inside the wall.
No but I've thought about them too! The ones I looked at a few years back were pretty expensive, so we opted for a trundle. Not nearly as cool, but works for the kid's overnight guests.
Friend of mine has a murphy bed. I got to use it on a recent visit. It is great. Very comfortable. Also, they are constructed so that it is extremely easy to pull them down and put them back up. Much easier that a sofa bed.
A friend has a really nice studio condo in Cambridge that has a murphy bed. It seems to work for her. I considered one for my 2nd bedroom/office, but decided on a sleeper loveseat instead.
Air mattresses have greatly improved in the past few years. I have an extra-high queen that I use as a spare. Got it at Target for $60. The thing is very comfortable. Just don't use the battery powered pumps, they don't inflate the mattress enough. Use an A/C pump.
We also use an air mattress for our occasional guests. Plus we also bought a sofa bed from Ikea for occasional use several years ago for $150.00 (I have it in my office). It is standing up well. I checked Ikea and it is still available for $149. IKEA | Sofa beds | Sofa-beds | SOLSTA | Sofa bed
What a coincidence. I've been looking at Murphy Beds too for my condo in Palm Springs. In addition to the expensive store bought ones, you can buy just the mechanics and make it yourself. Side Mount Murphy Bed Hardware - Rockler Woodworking Tools Vertical Mount Murphy Bed Hardware - Rockler Woodworking Tools Rockler's Murphy Bed Plan - Rockler Woodworking Tools Murphy Beds Vs. Our Wall Beds-We Are Better than Murphy Beds I kind of like the horizontal ones. If you're handy, you could build it yourself for a lot less money. I've also seen them available on Craigslist.
Just discovered something called a fu-chest, a "low cost alternative to the murphy bed." Doesn't have to be attached to the wall. New ZZZ-Chest™ -The Murphy Bed you don't have to install!
The zzz-chest does look great. Not nearly as complex (and therefore less likely to break down) than a murphy bed (or one of the murphy bed knock-offs). There's a store nearby that sells them so I'm going to go take a look. Might be just what I need.
We just went through the experience. Have a guest room that we also wanted to use for arts and crafts and exercise and so forth between guests. Looked into it extensively, and ended up deciding to buy the mechanism from a company called Create-A-Bed (Build a murphy bed with the Create-A-Bed mechanism) for about $300. We bought the wood locally (six sheets of either plywood or particle board required). Comes with an extremely detailed videotape instruction, plus a pretty good 24-page instruction manual. We are tremendously pleased with the final product. Caution one is that the wood has to be cut with great precision; we ended up hiring a carpenter with a big table saw to do it right. Caution two is that it wasn't fast. I figure about 40 hours to build it, although the second one would take a lot less. It works like a charm.
I considered a Murphy/wall bed some time ago, but the price got in the way. About the least expensive, basic unit I could find ran around $2300. Any chance you'd like to sell a copy (or the original) of the video and manual? I'd like to see if its sometihng I could do.
Glad to loan the CD manual and written manual. CD currently loaned out to someone else who was interested. I can ask him to mail it directly to you, and I can mail you the written one, if you tell me where. Email me at [email protected] I'd like them back eventually but no rush. -John
I told my wife about your Murphy Bed project and said I wanted to build one. She pretty much laughed me out of the room and suggested I start small. So it's a garden box, dog house, work bench....then a Murphy Bed
Yeah, as a little boy I remember seeing a murphy bed in a old black and white movie, and I thought that was the COOLEST thing I had ever seen. Since then, I have been obsessed in wanting to get one. In the next couple of weeks, I am going to either give away or throw away a bunch of stuff I have in the spare bedroom. Over the years it has become a giant closet. Once it is empty, I am going to have the popcorn sraped off the ceiling, and I am going to have recessed lighting installed, along with a really futuristic looking ceiling fan. Have a good weekend! And thanks for all your comments. It's nice and sunny out here in Cali. Abner
