Murphy Bed Ideas for Stylish Studio Apartments

If you live in a studio apartment in Orange County, you probably wish you had more square footage to work with. You’ve got one room doing the work of three, and your bed takes up most of it. But what if you could remove the bed factor almost entirely? That’s what a Murphy bed (AKA “wall bed”) is for. This innovative piece of furniture comes in a variety of styles, each of which proffers more usable floor space without turning your home into a furniture showroom. Below, we explore what Murphy beds are in more detail and provide ideas for using them to make your studio apartment more stylish.

What Makes Murphy Beds Work in Studios

A Murphy bed folds up vertically into a wall-mounted cabinet when you’re not sleeping in it. When it’s time for bed, you pull it down, and it unfolds into a full-size sleeping surface with a real mattress (as opposed to the sleeping pads used for sofa beds, for instance). During the day, however, that same floor space can become a work area, a living room, or whatever else you need it to be.

In a studio apartment, this swap has huge space-saving benefits. Instead of sacrificing the better part of your floor plan to a bed 100 percent of the time, you can convert your sleeping area into a completely functional space during the day.

Murphy Bed Styles That Suit Studio Living

Not every Murphy bed looks the same, and that’s good news for studio dwellers who have differently restrictive floor plans. Let’s explore the most popular wall bed styles you can consider for your space.

Horizontal Murphy Beds

Most Murphy beds fold down vertically, but horizontal models swing out sideways. This design tweak is useful in many studio apartments because ceiling height can be below average. A horizontal Murphy bed can still give you a full-size sleep surface without requiring the vertical clearance a standard model needs.

Murphy Beds with Built-In Shelving

In addition to square footage, something many studio apartments lack is sufficient storage. Solve both problems with one bed by adding side storage piers to your model. These side piers are shelving units on either side of the bed’s concealing cabinet. So when the bed folds up, nobody sees a sleeping setup or a mere cabinet. Instead, they see a stylish wall unit that tastefully displays books, plants, blankets, and whatever else you want to keep there.

Murphy Beds with a Fold-Down Desk

Some Murphy bed designs include a desk that appears when you fold the bed up. This design is perfect for work-from-home professionals or truly anyone who uses a desk at home. And the best part is that you won’t ever have to clear the desk off. When you need to sleep, the desk lowers flat and in tandem with the cabinet face, keeping all its contents stable.

Sofa Murphy Beds

A sofa Murphy bed attaches a couch to the wall cabinet so that when you fold the bed up, a sofa automatically swings into position in front of it. This transition from sleeping space to living room takes seconds. Plus, the coach is more comfortable than it would be if you bought a standard, wire-frame sleeper sofa to accomplish this same setup.

What If You Rent and Can’t Install a Wall Bed?

Murphy beds require wall mounting, which means drilling into the wall and anchoring into studs. For renters who aren’t comfortable with that level of installation, or whose leases don’t allow it, there’s an alternative: cabinet beds.

A cabinet bed is freestanding. It doesn’t attach to the wall, so there’s no installation involved and no risk to your security deposit. It folds out from a cabinet that sits on the floor, and when it’s closed, the bed is fully hidden. Cabinet beds are available in twin and full sizes, and they work especially well in smaller studios where you need the flexibility of a freestanding piece.

Where To Position a Murphy Bed in Your Studio

By now, you have a good idea of the many Murphy bed designs you can choose from, as well as the freestanding cabinet option that is renter friendly. You should have an idea of which design is best for your living space, depending on ceiling clearance, storage needs, lifestyle factors, and lease requirements. But the question remains: When you bring the Murphy bed into your apartment, where do you put it?

Placement makes a big difference in how well a Murphy bed functions in your layout. Here are some popular options to consider before you buy:

• Opposite the kitchen: In studios with a galley-style kitchen along one wall, placing the Murphy bed on the opposite wall creates a clear visual axis and keeps the kitchen functional at all times.

• Along the longest wall: Murphy bed cabinets are wide, and positioning them on your longest wall helps to balance the proportions of the room.

• Away from the bathroom door: You need full clearance when the bed folds down, including for any doors that still need to open. Therefore, keep at least a few feet between the bed’s drop zone and any doors that swing outward.

• Near a window: Natural light in your sleeping area improves sleep quality. If you can, position your Murphy bed near a window without blocking it when the bed is folded down.

Make Your Studio Work the Way You Need It To

These Murphy bed ideas for stylish studio apartments will help you make the most of your small space and design a functional layout you love. If you’re ready to explore wall beds or cabinet beds for your studio, come to Wall Beds of Orange County. We specialize in creating the highest-quality hidden wall beds in a versatile array of multifunctional designs. Moreover, we operate the only Murphy bed showroom in the county in Costa Mesa, where you can see and test a minimum of 15 wall beds in person. Schedule your appointment to find your space’s best piece of furniture today!