Everything There Is to Know About Wall Beds
Installing a wall bed (aka Murphy Bed) is the biggest impact you can make to your square footage. I’ve purchased and installed three wall beds in three different apartments and here’s what I’ve learned along the way.
Benefits of a wall bed
MORE SPACE
Wall beds free up an incredible amount of space. For example, a queen size bed takes up 35 square feet. In my 400 square foot apartment, that’s almost 10% of my whole space. Not to mention, it’s prime real estate, especially when you consider that fact that your bed goes unused for most of the day. Meanwhile all your other furniture goes unused while you’re sleeping!
And by the way, wall beds aren’t just for studios! Even if you have a one bedroom, converting your bedroom into a office, yoga studio, or project space by day can make your home feel twice as big.
KEEP YOUR MATTRESS
Wall beds use a regular mattress and the mattresses are sold separately. Most wall beds I’ve seen take any standard mattress size—twin up to king! That said, some have a thickness limit so be sure to check for that. Because wall beds use a regular mattress (unlike a pull-out couch) it’s as comfortable as a regular bed. We opted for the Green Mattress by Avocado. We opted for a queen mattress without the pillow top and have found it to be very comfortable and breathable.
About the Green Mattress: Natural mattress features GOLS organic certified latex, GOTS organic certified wool, GOTS organic certified cotton and up to 1,414 pocketed support coils. No polyester, polyurethane foams or toxic fire retardants are used.
EASY TO PUT UP AND DOWN
While elderly and young people shouldn’t operate a wall bed, able-bodied adults can operate them easily. Springs can be added or removed to adjust the tension and effort required to put the bed up and down. When you’re ready to put the bed up, just remove the pillows and clip the mattress strap. Then lift to stow the bed, tuck the pillows, and close the doors.
TAKES LESS TIME THAN YOU THINK
Once you get the hang of it, putting the bed up and down takes just two minutes!
YOU FEEL ACCOMPLISHED IN THE MORNING
I never used to make my bed. My mantra was, “why make it if I’m just going to mess it up again?” But the extra square footage entices me to make the bed each morning and once I do, I feel a small sense of accomplishment. Once the bed is up, I feel more energetic and motivated to get started with my day.
Where to buy a wall bed
TOP CHOICE
Our favorite so far is the Next Bed from Murphy Bed Depot (I’m not getting paid to say that, it’s actually our favorite). Here’s why it’s the best wall bed we’ve had so far:
The mechanism for the mattress is separate from the enclosure, meaning if you move and the enclosure gets damaged, you don’t have to get a whole new mechanism. Cheaper and greener!
There’s plenty of room for your mattress, blankets, and pillows. Other beds I’ve had couldn’t handle a big blanket in the winter and didn’t have a place for pillows.
Tucking the blanket is easier because there is no lip on the mattress frame. Other beds I’ve had had a lip around where the mattress laid on the slats making it hard to tuck in the blankets.
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