Murphy Beds: Hardware and Plans

I first saw a Murphy bed in some movie and forgot about it pretty soon. It was only years later when I was doing my course and learning how to make ample use of the space available that I saw a picture of the Murphy bed in the pages of a designing magazine. These beds are space savers. Here is information about the Murphy bed.

The History of the Murphy Bed

The idea of the Murphy bed stemmed in the mind of William L. Murphy who was a single, young gentleman who lived and slept in a one room apartment. Now this young man wanted to entertain his girlfriend in his room but knew that she would refuse because it was considered improper for young ladies to enter a man’s bedroom. To combat this problem he came up with the idea of the Murphy bed around 1900.

Mr. Murphy's design was patented in 1900 and he soon began manufacturing the Murphy bed as people who had heard about it wanted to buy one because of its space saving properties. William L. Murphy’s invention became more popular after the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 as much of the city had suffered extensive damage and the available living space was utilized to the utmost.

Slowly but surely, this bed found its way across the country and so Mr. Murphy had to move his flourishing business to New York eventually. Even today the business is located there.

A Murphy Bed - What is it?

Basically a Murphy bed or Wall bed is a space saving bed that only occupies 10 feet of the living space including the additional back support. These beds come in different models such as the unfinished models and the finished models like oak, alder/birch, cherry or maple wood.

There are the Murphy beds that have a port wall mounting facility and a pet-locker in folded posture for additional security. Then there are the single drawer or two drawers models too. Some manufactures make the mattresses for the Murphy bed using different materials like cozy polar fleece, deluxe down, vinyl, soft leather and a host of other materials. These mattresses are washable, durable and water repellent.

Murphy Bed Plans

Today with the increasing rates of housing, multi-use rooms are coming into existence. This kind of room provides the user with more space. Do-it-yourself rooms are not far behind, with people choosing to economize when they can by using their own labor. To help with the do-it-yourself projects there are kits and plans available in a variety of sources, with retailers and manufactures offering suggestions and technical support. You can also purchase a Murphy bed plan at many of these manufactures. When you bring home one such plan, you might also receive an instructional program to guide the home carpenter!

If you are in search of a Murphy bed plan, remember to also ask the manufacturer about the mechanism that allows the Murphy bed to be opened out or shut away with minimum effort. It is easy to make the Murphy bed for your home; all you need is a few simple tools and an intermediate level of comfort with wood-working projects.

Murphy Bed Hardware

The hardware for Murphy beds moves, supports and positions the mattress. These functions allow the mattress to be pulled into place horizontal to the floor for use, or lifted (bedding intact) or to lock away safely.

It is advisable to buy the Murphy bed hardware as a complete kit as it consists of all hardware that is required to support the mattress and fix it to the wall. Apart from this, it also has locking legs, a track for the bed to pivot on and the actual mechanism that is required to lift the bed. These hardware kits are available in a variety of sizes and price ranges. This is because of the differing sizes of the beds and well as whether they are horizontally or vertically mounted. With the range available, make sure that you take into consideration the options and also access the type of Murphy bed you have or want to build before buying a hardware kit.