Wikipedia says the bed is named after William Lawrence Murphy, president of the Murphy Bed and Door Company. According to legend, he was wooing an opera singer while living in a one-room apartment in San Francisco, and the moral code of the time frowned upon a woman entering a man's bedroom. His invention converted that bedroom into a parlor, so he could entertain. I love that. A piece of furniture exists so a guest sees a parlor, not a mattress.

 

The records are a little more modest than the legend. Murphy introduced pivot and counterbalanced designs and received a patent for a "Disappearing Bed" on June 18, 1912, and a fold-up bed had been exhibited by Sarah E. Goode in 1884, before his inventions. So when I shop for a murphy bed today, I am shopping for a very old idea that keeps getting tidier: one room, two jobs.

 

The queens come first, because they are the full guest-room answer. The Wilkinson farmhouse queen in white has a wide storage drawer at the foot and a charging station, and the Lark Manor farmhouse queen is the one that comes with its fold mattress, which saves you a shopping trip. The Latitude Run queen in natural wood folds up behind open bookshelf panels, so the wall looks like a library by day. The Wrought Studio queen in dark brown sits between two tall side cabinets with warm LED lighting, and I would put it in a den.

 

The Lark Manor Wilkinson with bedside tables and three drawers is my pick for a room with no nightstand space. The Red Barrel Studio and Winston Porter queens, both white, wrap the bed in shelving towers and a cabinet door. The Rosalind Wheeler queen has a lit headboard panel. Before you choose, measure your ceiling height and mark where the bed lands when it folds down, then walk around that rectangle.

Walk the floor first, with tape. A full or twin bed needs less depth than a queen, but it still needs a clear path from the door to the side of the mattress, and that decides more than any finish does.

 

The full-size beds here are the quiet workhorses. The Latitude Run full in white has a drawer under the mattress and a USB charging station, and the Rosalind Wheeler farmhouse full has a shelf headboard and a stated 900 lb capacity, which I would want for any bed an adult sleeps on nightly. The Latitude Run modern full in oak has a side drawer, and it is the warmest of the group. The Ivy Bronx cabinet bed in black has smart LED lighting that glows blue under the frame. It is moody, and I like it in a teenager's room or a home office.

 

Then the twins. The Ophelia and Co. Wilkinson twin in dark oak has a tall headboard and a large drawer. The Orren Ellis, Wrought Studio and Gracie Oaks twins in white all fold sideways or horizontally with LED light, and they suit a long, narrow room where a vertical bed would eat the wall.

 

Pairing idea: keep the wall color close to the cabinet finish so the closed bed reads as built-in. At the store, or when it arrives, press the mattress strap, test the charging outlet, and fold it once while you are standing there.

 

What I would skip: a black or very dark cabinet in a tiny room with one small window. It will make the space feel smaller the moment the bed is folded away.

Look at the floor, not the wall. A cabinet bed rolls out from a chest, so it asks for a clear rectangle but no stud hunting, and that makes it the easiest version to try if you rent.

 

The Night and Day Murphy Cube in cherry is solid hardwood with a six inch tri-fold gel memory foam mattress included, and the maker says it needs no wall anchoring. The Murphybedz Tuscany chest in tobacco has a panelled front and built-in power and USB outlets, in a queen. The Mjkone queen in white looks like a tall chest of drawers and has two storage drawers, which is the one I would hide in a hallway. The VINGLI queen has a rattan front, a drawer and a charging station on each side, and it is the boho choice. The ANGRYWIN queen in walnut has drawers and a bedside power strip.

 

The desk beds are for the room that has to be an office by day. The Lark Manor twin in washed gray has an overhead desk and shelving. The Hokku Designs twin in teal has a rolling desk, a cabinet and a bookcase tower, and it is the fun one. The Red Barrel Studio twin in gray folds into a whole wall of shelving, wardrobe and cabinets with a desk, which is the most room for the least floor.

 

Test the desk surface for wobble, and check that you can reach the chair when the bed is open.

I would begin with who sleeps there and how often. A weekly guest can use a cabinet bed with its included mattress, while an everyday sleeper needs a proper queen wall bed with the frame anchored into the wall.

 

Then I would measure twice: ceiling, floor space when open, and the outlet nearby. The finish comes last, because white, oak and walnut all look right once the bed is folded up.

 

Murphy would approve of that order, I think. He wanted a bedroom that turned into a parlor on cue, and the best of these do exactly that without making a fuss about it. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together A Satin Pillowcase Guide, Plus What to Put On Before Bed and Bed Head by TIGI, the Styling Line and the Texture Sprays and Clays Beside It.