Quick Answer: Murphy beds are one of the most effective space-saving solutions for small apartments because they fold completely flat against the wall and turn a bedroom into a living or working area by day. Wall-mounted Murphy bed kits, Murphy beds with integrated desks, and sofa Murphy beds are the most popular options for studio and one-bedroom apartments.
A Murphy bed changes what a room can do. In a studio apartment, it’s the difference between having a bedroom and having a bedroom that also functions as a living room, gym, or home office throughout the day. In a guest room, it means that room doesn’t sit unused 350 days a year. In any small apartment, it gives back floor space you genuinely didn’t know you had.
These small apartment Murphy bed ideas cover everything from bare-bones wall bed kits to fully integrated cabinet systems with desks, shelving, and sofas built in — all designed for real spaces where functionality and style need to coexist.
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Murphy Bed Types for Small Apartments
1. Standard Wall Bed Kit
A standard Murphy bed kit provides the hardware mechanism — spring system, frame, and mounting hardware — that you build a wood cabinet around yourself. DIY kits from brands like Rockler and Murphy Bed Direct are far more affordable than complete furniture units and allow complete customization of the cabinet size, finish, and door style. A full-size or queen kit typically runs $300-600 for the mechanism alone.
The cabinet you build around the kit does the heavy lifting aesthetically. Paint it to match your walls and it nearly disappears when closed. Add molding details or panel doors and it reads as a custom built-in. The mechanism itself is simple — a spring-counterbalanced system that makes the bed effortless to lower and raise — and holds up for years without maintenance.
2. Murphy Bed with Integrated Desk
A Murphy bed with an attached fold-down desk is the best multi-use solution for a studio apartment or home office space. When the bed is folded up, the desk folds out automatically in the same action — you push the bed up and the desk appears at the same time. When you pull the bed down, the desk folds back in. No separate desk setup or teardown required.
The desk panel typically accommodates a laptop, monitor, and a few accessories. Deeper desk designs give more workspace; narrower ones fit tighter rooms. Some models include integrated shelving on the side panels for books, office supplies, and decor — making the entire unit a complete home office and bedroom in one footprint.
3. Murphy Sofa Bed
A Murphy sofa bed combines a wall bed with a sofa that stays in position when the bed is raised and folds flat when the bed comes down. This means the sofa and bed never compete for the same floor space — they share it in a choreographed way. By day, a comfortable sofa faces the room; at night, the sofa folds down and the bed lowers over it.
The sofa attached to a Murphy bed is almost always more comfortable than a traditional pull-out sofa bed because the mattress is a real Murphy bed mattress, not a fold-out thin sofa mattress. This is one of the best configurations for studio apartments where the living room and bedroom occupy the same space permanently.
4. Horizontal Murphy Bed
Most Murphy beds fold vertically — head at the top, feet at the bottom. A horizontal Murphy bed folds sideways, which means it only needs wall width rather than wall height. This makes it useful for rooms with low ceilings or sloped walls (common in attic apartments) where a vertical fold wouldn’t clear the ceiling.
Horizontal Murphy beds typically accommodate a twin or full mattress. Queen-size horizontal configurations exist but need significant wall width — at least 8 feet. The tradeoff with horizontal folding is that the mattress sits sideways when raised, which is less intuitive to operate than the standard vertical fold. Most people adjust quickly after a few nights.
5. Cabinet-Style Murphy Bed
A cabinet-style Murphy bed looks completely like a wardrobe or shelving unit when closed. The front panels are real cabinet doors with open shelving or closed storage. When you open the cabinet and lower the bed, the shelving panels fold to the sides and the bed comes down in the center. Decorative items and books stay on the shelves throughout the motion.
This is the most disguised Murphy bed style available. Guests in a studio apartment often don’t realize the shelf unit is a bed until the host demonstrates it. The cabinet style requires more wall width than a bare Murphy bed because the side shelving panels need clearance to fold open. Plan for at least 9-10 feet of wall width for a queen-size cabinet-style unit.
Murphy Bed Setup and Installation Tips
6. Mount Into Studs — Always
A Murphy bed mechanism must be mounted into wall studs, not just drywall. The full weight of the bed, mattress, and frame cycles on those anchor points every time the bed goes up and down. Drywall anchors — even heavy-duty ones — will fail over time under this repeated load. Use a stud finder before installation and plan the cabinet width to align with stud positions.
If the studs in your wall don’t fall at convenient intervals for the cabinet width you want, attach a horizontal ledger board through the drywall into the studs first, then mount the Murphy mechanism into the ledger. This distributes the load across more studs than mounting directly into just two.
7. Choose the Right Mattress
Murphy beds require a mattress under a specific thickness — usually 10-12 inches maximum — or the bed won’t fold properly into the cabinet. Memory foam mattresses compress more than spring mattresses, making them a better fit for Murphy beds overall. Avoid mattresses marketed as “luxury pillow top” — the extra depth is incompatible with most Murphy bed cabinets.
When the bed is in the raised position, the mattress needs to stay in place rather than sliding down inside the cabinet. Most Murphy bed systems include a strap or retaining bar across the mattress for exactly this purpose. Check that any mattress you buy is compatible with the retaining system on your specific Murphy bed kit.
8. Keep Bedding On the Mattress
Murphy beds work best with bedding that stays on the mattress when the bed folds up. A fitted sheet plus a duvet that tucks into the foot of the bed and stays put works better than a flat sheet and multiple pillows that fall off during folding. Some Murphy bed owners use a zippered mattress cover that holds the bedding in place permanently — the cover unzips for washing.
Decorative pillows are the one bedding element that doesn’t work with a Murphy bed. Either store them on the sofa when the bed is raised, or eliminate them entirely and use a textured duvet to add visual interest without pillows that need to be moved every morning and evening.
Murphy Bed Alternatives for Small Apartments
9. Loft Bed with Workspace Below
A loft bed raises the sleeping platform to ceiling height, freeing the floor below for a desk, sofa, wardrobe, or any combination of the three. Unlike a Murphy bed, the sleeping area is always available — you climb up rather than fold it out. Loft beds work particularly well in apartments with ceilings above 9 feet, where there’s genuinely enough clearance to sleep comfortably above a 7-foot workspace.
Adult loft beds are available in full, queen, and even king sizes. The quality varies enormously — a solid wood or steel loft bed from a furniture specialist is far more stable than a particle-board assembly. Weight capacity matters: check both the mattress weight limit and the platform’s rated load capacity before purchasing any loft bed for adult use.
10. Japanese Floor Futon
A Japanese-style floor futon (shikibuton) rolls up during the day and lays flat on the floor at night. This is the lowest-cost and lowest-footprint sleeping solution available — when rolled up, it stores upright in a closet corner and the floor is completely clear. It works best in apartments where minimalism is the goal and there’s no need for a permanent, dedicated bedroom feel.
A shikibuton is firmer than a traditional Western mattress. Pair it with a quality tatami mat or a memory foam topper for more cushioning. Air the futon out weekly by standing it on its side near a window or outdoors — this prevents moisture buildup that leads to mold in the thick fabric layers.
11. Daybed with Trundle
A daybed functions as a sofa by day and a bed by night without any wall installation or folding mechanism. The trundle — a second smaller bed that slides out from under the daybed — provides a guest sleeping option that stores completely out of sight. A daybed with trundle is ideal for studios where the living and sleeping areas share one room and simplicity of operation matters.
Daybeds require thoughtful styling to read as sofas rather than beds during the day. Three large cushions across the back wall, a bolster pillow on each end, and a throw blanket over the length of the mattress create the sofa look. Keep the daybed against a wall so it doesn’t read as a bed floating in the center of the room.
12. Sofa Bed with Memory Foam Mattress
A sofa bed with a memory foam pull-out mattress is significantly more comfortable than a traditional sofa bed with a spring mattress. The memory foam doesn’t have bars that press into your back when you sleep on it — the primary complaint about old-style pull-out sofa beds. A good memory foam sofa bed is genuinely livable as a permanent sleeping surface, not just tolerable for occasional guests.
Look for sofa beds where the mattress is at least 4-5 inches thick when folded. Thinner mattresses don’t have enough material to cushion the fold mechanism beneath them. The frame should feel solid with no wobble when the bed is extended — lightweight frames flex and creak under the weight of a sleeping person.
13. Platform Bed with Built-In Storage
If you have a dedicated bedroom but it’s very small, a platform bed with drawers or lift-up storage built into the base maximizes the bedroom without a Murphy bed. The storage under the platform replaces the dresser and frees wall space for other furniture. This doesn’t recover floor space the way a Murphy bed does, but it gives a conventional bedroom dramatically more storage per square foot.
Choose a platform bed with a low profile — taller platforms can feel disproportionate in rooms under 9 feet. Hydraulic lift-top storage opens more quietly and smoothly than drawer-based storage but is harder to access frequently. Drawers on both sides of the bed make more sense for everyday clothing; lift-top storage is better for seasonal items you access a few times a year.
14. Bunk Bed for Shared Small Apartments
Bunk beds aren’t only for children — adult bunk beds in studio apartments shared by two people or roommates with a very small shared bedroom recover significant floor space compared to two separate beds side by side. Modern adult bunk beds use full or queen mattresses on both levels and integrate storage ladder steps rather than a bare runged ladder.
Privacy curtains on each bunk level create individual sleep zones within a shared room — a simple curtain rod mounted to the bed frame and a panel curtain on each level creates a small enclosed sleeping space that feels private despite the shared room. This approach is particularly practical in apartments shared by unrelated adult roommates who need their own sleep territory.
15. Convertible Sofa to Bed System
A convertible sofa system goes beyond a traditional pull-out — the backrest reclines to a flat position, extending the sofa seat into a full-length sleeping surface without any separate mattress to unfold. These systems are typically faster to convert than a pull-out and the transition is smooth enough to use every night rather than just occasionally.
The width of a convertible sofa bed is the limiting factor — most are full-size (54 inches) when converted, which is comfortable for one person but tight for two. For studio apartments where one person needs a comfortable daily sleep surface that also functions as a sofa, a quality convertible sofa system is one of the most practical solutions on this list.
Looking for more ways to make your small apartment sleep, live, and work all at once?
The Aesthetic Apartment Makeover Guide covers furniture strategy and room layouts for studios and one-bedrooms — including multi-use setups that actually work in real spaces. Just $17 now before the price increases to $27.
FAQ
Are Murphy beds worth it for small apartments?
Yes, particularly in studio apartments where the bedroom and living area share the same space. A Murphy bed recovers the full floor footprint of a queen bed — roughly 30 square feet — turning it into usable daytime space. The setup and teardown take about 30 seconds, which makes daily use practical rather than burdensome. The cost is the main consideration: complete Murphy bed systems run $1,000-3,000 installed, though DIY kits reduce that significantly.
Can you install a Murphy bed in an apartment without permanent damage?
Murphy beds require wall mounting into studs, which involves drilling and wall anchors. This counts as a modification to the apartment and requires landlord approval in most leases. Some landlords approve Murphy beds because they increase the apartment’s functionality and value. Always get written approval before installation. Freestanding Murphy bed alternatives like loft beds and sofa beds require no wall mounting at all.
How much does a Murphy bed cost?
Murphy bed hardware kits start around $300-600 for the mechanism alone, with the cost of wood materials and tools on top. Complete pre-built Murphy bed systems with integrated cabinetry typically run $1,500-4,000 depending on size, quality, and features like integrated desk or sofa. Professional installation adds $200-500. DIY installation using a hardware kit is the most cost-effective route for someone with basic woodworking ability.
What size Murphy bed is best for a small apartment?
A queen-size Murphy bed works for most studio and one-bedroom apartments — it provides a comfortable sleeping surface for one or two people and folds into a wall unit roughly 64 inches wide by 18 inches deep. A full-size is a better fit for very narrow rooms (under 12 feet wide) where a queen footprint crowds the side walls. Twin Murphy beds are best for guest rooms or children’s rooms, not primary sleeping spaces.
What mattress should I use with a Murphy bed?
Use a memory foam mattress no thicker than 10-12 inches — most Murphy bed mechanisms specify a maximum mattress depth in their instructions. Memory foam is preferred over spring mattresses because it compresses slightly and doesn’t require a box spring, both of which make the bed easier to fold. Avoid pillow-top or Euro-top mattresses that add extra thickness above the foam or spring layer.
Key Takeaways
- Murphy beds recover 30+ square feet of floor space by folding the bed against the wall when not in use
- Murphy beds with integrated desks are the best dual-use option for studio home offices
- Always mount Murphy bed hardware into wall studs — drywall anchors are not sufficient for the repeated load
- Use a memory foam mattress under 12 inches thick for proper fold clearance
- Loft beds, daybeds, and sofa beds are practical Murphy bed alternatives that require no wall installation
Final Thoughts
Murphy beds solve a fundamental small apartment problem: a bed that can’t be moved is a bed that controls the room. By making the bed disappear during the day, a Murphy bed gives you control of your floor plan. Whether you go for a full wall unit with integrated storage or a basic DIY kit that you build yourself, the functional result is the same: a studio that feels like a living room by day and a proper bedroom by night. Start with the mechanism that fits your budget and skill level, then design the cabinet around your space and style.
Last update on 2026-05-06 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
