Murphy beds instantly change the feel of a room because with one simple movement, a bedroom can transform into a living space, office, playroom, or guest area. These beds have appeared in everything from classic movies to modern apartments, and they continue to evolve with new materials, hidden storage features, desks, and even couch combinations. What began as a solution to city living and creating an "appropriate" atmosphere for guests, has evolved into a timeless piece of furniture.
Part of their charm comes from the element of surprise every time they fold down or disappear, the rest is their practicality with their primary purpose. With all of the adaptations over the years, there is no shortage of interesting fun facts that come along with this iconic piece of furniture. Here are seven interesting facts about Murphy beds you might not know.
The Murphy Bed has a Romantic Beginning.
In the late 19th century, William Lawrence Murphy began experimenting with foldaway beds in his tiny studio apartment in San Francisco. Social norms frowned upon a woman visiting a man’s bedroom, but Murphy was in love with a young opera singer. To make his home more respectable for her visits, he designed a bed that could fold neatly into a closet, transforming his bedroom into a parlor.
In 1911, the first Murphy bed design was patented.
William’s early patent drawings depict a pivoting frame mounted inside a closet, allowing the bed to fold vertically and disappear from sight. He originally referred to his invention as “The Disappearing Bed.”
As interest in his design grew, William founded the Murphy Bed & Door Company, transforming his idea into a successful business that helped popularize foldaway beds. Since 1983, William’s grandson, Clark W. Murphy, has been president of the company.
“Murphy beds” are no longer trademarked.
In 1989, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit determined that the term “murphy bed” had become so widely used in everyday language that it could no longer be protected as a trademark. Other common bed types, like sofa beds and bunk beds, are also considered generic terms and not protected trademarks.
This decision changed everything. The company was still building beds, but the name “murphy bed” took on a life of its own. The ruling confirmed that the Murphy bed had become part of American culture through movies, TV shows, newspapers, and catalogs.
Charlie Chaplin used a Murphy bed in his first solo movie.
In 1916, Charlie Chaplin helped make the Murphy bed a pop culture icon in his first solo film, One A.M. In the silent movie, Chaplin plays a tipsy man struggling to get into bed after a night out. However, he discovers that his Murphy bed has a mind of its own. The bed snaps upright, collapses unexpectedly, and flings Chaplin around the room. This one man show helped cement the Murphy bed’s place in entertainment history.
Murphy Beds became iconic in Hollywood comedies.
Murphy beds have starred in countless TV shows and movies.
Here are a few examples of where you can see one:
- Honeymoon Hotel (1934) - A couple is trapped by flames in their hotel room, and they survive by jumping into a Murphy bed.
- In a 1952 Popeye episode (1952) - In “Shuteye Popeye“, Popeye is peacefully snoring in his Murphy bed when a mouse flips the bed into the wall.
- The Goodies (1970-1982; 2005-2006) - the main characters sleep on Murphy beds.
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) - Eddie Valiant finds Roger Rabbit hiding inside a Murphy bed in his office.
There’s a Murphy bed that folds into a piano.
A piano was a key feature of the American parlor during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This piano bed allowed families to enjoy a piano in their living space while still providing a practical sleeping arrangement for larger households with limited space.
Murphy Beds are more than fold-up beds.
Murphy beds aren’t just wall beds anymore, and many are built to blend in as everyday furniture. Here are some that look like completely different pieces when closed:
- Murphy beds with couches - The sofa stays in place while the bed folds down above it.
- Murphy beds with desks - The bed folds down over a desk surface, and some styles allow you to keep your computer and desk items while lowering the bed.
- Murphy bed and bookshelf combinations - The bookshelves are part of the rotating murphy beds where the bed is on one side of the wall and the bookshelf on the other. As the wall is rotated to expose the bed, the bookshelf becomes visible.
- Murphy beds with TV mounts- The front cabinets house a TV that remains upright as the wall it is mounted to rotates into the cabinet when the bed is lowered. Our Compatto murphy bed with TV mount is a good example.
Who would have guessed that a foldaway bed has such an interesting backstory? From its origins as a love story, the murphy bed has become more than just a space-saving solution, its a way to make rooms mult-functional.
Over the decades, they’ve made their way into Hollywood films and TV shows as well as everyday life earning their place in pop culture and furniture history. Today’s murphy beds have evolved with us while also showing us that space saving design never goes out of style.
