Using a Murphy Bed to Make Space in Your Home

When trying to decorate a small room or add a guest room-office combination, the competition for space always comes down to one main question: Where do you find room for a bed?! Particularly as real estate prices skyrocket and your total affordable square footage starts shrinking, the simple answer is a Murphy Bed that allows you to store your mattress upright against a wall without the risk of falling over or the need to set up a bed frame each time the bed is to be used.

Traditionally, a Murphy Bed is made with a simple frame to hold the mattress and is encased in a wooden frame decorated to appear to be another piece of furniture, such as an armoire or dresser. For those on a budget or wanting to build their own wooden frame, Murphy Beds can be purchased as just the metal frame and hinge structure with no casing or decoration. They can either be mounted against a wall or into the floor, or can be set into the drywall to minimize the space taken up when they are upright in their frame. It may seem like this leaves few decorating ideas with a large frame hanging from the wall, but Murphy beds are easy to use for decorating, whether you have a limited or unlimited fund.

One key thing to remember when decorating with any style of these fantastic space-saving Murphy Beds is that the bed should match the style and function of the room. If you have a theme, time period, a particular color scheme or a favorite type of wood found throughout the room you are adding the Murphy Bed to, be sure to match the design of the bed to the room. If all of your wooden furniture is oak, be sure to order an oak Murphy Bed. If you have a particular architecture style, like tradition Roman or Gothic style, try to see if your Murphy Bed can be carved to match.

Since the front portion of the Murphy Bed provides support for the mattress once dropped, it can be decorated with hardware to appear to have cabinet doors and drawers, but is actually one solid piece. You can add cabinets, drawers, bookshelves, and drop-down end tables, night stands, and full desks to your Murphy Bed, particularly if custom ordered from a major site.