Murphy Bed/Pull-Out Wall Bed

We have this funky box in the small bedroom.  Part of the room's floor space is taken up by a cut-out for the head height for the main stairs, which was boxed in.

Originally we painted and sanded back some of the wood.

For a while it was a hodgepodge of storage for clothes.  But that got sorted with the wardrobes.

The small room used to be where both kids slept, but now that the loft is done and they have their own bigger room, the small room is now the office.  Complete with a fold-down desk.

The stair-box was just there.  And I 'need' the office (I'm working from home.)  But we wanted an extra guest bed.  I've had this dream of having a Murphy bed since I was about ten.  So we finally just went for it.  Because of the box and the room dimensions, we had to go for a unique and bespoke design.  The joiner patiently built it, and it only just fits.  The shelf flips down as the bed base legs when the bed is pulled down.  The frame is hardwood (mahogany) because the mechanisms inside are super strong.  (We got the Urmstrom Mechanism from Ibedz.  That's after calling six different suppliers to find out their technical specifications.)  The pull is so strong that MDF and pine (or other soft woods) would warp.  The joiner had to sit on the frame to get the mechanism to stay down before the facing and mattress were added.

You would not believe the amount of research, time and thought that went into this bed.  It's almost pathetic how much discussion and investigation went into this thing.  And the geometry!


Due to the overall weight, we had wooden panelling put on the face instead of MDF or solid wood.  Which led to Niall (ever the interior decorator) suggesting black and white stripes.  Sure, why not?  I love spending eight hours painting minute details.


And, well, here it is.  A ten-year-old-me...dream come true!  A whole bed hidden behind a door.

Once down, it's a pretty comfortable bed.  It is a bit high (again, due to the stair-box dimensions) but we have steps to help climb up.


Most of the time it just looks like a weird, random piece of furniture.  At some time I plan to put something in the 'frames' of the shelves/fold down bed supports (in red.)

Until then, the ridiculousness of it makes me smile every time I turn around from working at the desk.  (As an aside, the light was just a bit too low.  The bed would hit it when folded down, so an electrician friend came and moved it up a few inches.)  And, honestly, sleeping on the Murphy bed really beats sleeping on the air mattress.

It turns out my ten-year-old dream wasn't cheap.  For years I have looked for an inexpensive (i.e. cheap) way to get a decent wall bed.  But I haven't never found one (the mechanisms alone are a fortune, and I didn't want to risk pinched fingers) so we bit the bullet.

Murphy Bed Project Cost

Labor and materials:  £485
Mechanism:  £160
Paint:  £30
Total:  £675