Murphy Bed for a Guest Room: Features That Matter Most

What a guest room bed must do

A guest room Murphy bed has three jobs: give the visitor a full night's sleep, keep linens and spare blankets within reach, and turn the floor space back into a room when nobody is staying. Occasional guests are different from nightly sleepers. A bed that serves a few weekends a year needs a mattress that performs when it is used, storage that keeps the room tidy, and a setup you can manage without help.

This article walks through those three priorities: the mattress, the storage, and the ease of opening and closing the bed. The site's buying guides compare stated details from maker pages, so what follows is about reading those details when you compare Murphy beds and cabinet beds for a spare room.

• Mattress: what the bed sleeps on and whether a mattress is included
• Storage: drawers, shelves and a cabinet top that stays useful
• Ease of setup: spring or piston mechanism, freestanding or wall mounted

Comfort begins with the mattress

For a guest room, the mattress is the feature that decides whether the room gets used again. A Murphy bed takes either a mattress that comes inside the cabinet or one you choose separately, and the listing tells you which.

Wilding Wallbeds states that its Murphy cabinet beds come with a 6-inch tri-fold mattress, and Night and Day Furniture lists tri-fold mattress options (gel memory foam and gel pocket coil) with its cabinet collection. A tri-fold mattress is a foam or coil mattress with three segments that fold inside the cabinet when the bed closes. A bed with an included mattress is simpler to buy: no separate mattress order, no extra delivery to coordinate.

Wall beds are usually listed without a mattress, so you pick one yourself. Wilding Wallbeds' mattress page describes foam core, gel memory foam and innerspring models at heights from about 8 to 12 inches, and it notes that these mattresses are engineered to stand on end in a Murphy bed without slumping. Mattress height affects how a wall bed closes, so read the mattress section of the listing and the article on mattress thickness before you choose.

Storage that keeps a guest room tidy

Guests arrive with a suitcase and usually want a spare blanket, so storage is the second feature to check. A cabinet bed, closed upright, is a piece of furniture that continues to work while nobody is sleeping in it.

Wilding Wallbeds describes its cabinet beds with drawers: several models list a rolling drawer, and another lists a storage drawer. The page adds that the cabinet top holds a TV, lamp, books or decor whether the bed is open or closed. That gives a guest room a surface for a lamp and a drawer for linens without extra furniture.

Wall beds can add shelves, bookcases or side cabinets. The value depends on your room: a small guest room gets more use from a drawer than an open shelf, while a room that also stores hobby equipment may prefer the shelves. The article on storage options compares the stated details.

Ease of setup for you and the guest

The third feature is how the bed opens. For a guest room, you want a bed you can lower and raise in a few seconds without worrying about the mechanism. The listing describes the mechanism, so read that line before you buy.

Wilding Wallbeds lists two mechanisms across its series: a spring lift on its Studio Series wall beds and a piston lift on its HomeFront series, with a lifetime warranty on the lifting mechanism. A piston uses a gas strut to assist the motion; a spring uses tension. Both are described on the maker's page, and the warranty line tells you what the maker promises for the mechanism. For a plain-language comparison, see springs versus pistons.

Cabinet beds are freestanding: Wilding states that they do not need wall or floor mounting and can be repositioned, which suits a guest room in a rental or a room you might rearrange. Wall beds fold flat against the wall; they mount to the wall and tend to use less floor space when closed. The trade-off is explained in the article on cabinet beds versus wall beds.

When the guest room is also an office or living room

Most spare rooms are not used only for guests. A desk bed keeps the room as a home office during the week, and a sofa wall bed gives a living room a place to sit during the day.

Wilding Wallbeds describes its desk beds with a hinging system that keeps the desktop level as the bed opens and closes, with 17 inches of clearance for items left on the desk, and a Power Hub with two outlets, two USB ports and two USB-C ports. That means the desk stays usable until the moment the bed comes down. The guide for desk beds compares stated details across models.

For a living room that occasionally needs a guest bed, a sofa wall bed folds down from a sofa frame. The guide for sofa beds compares the stated details of those models.

What to check in the listing before you buy

Once you have a shortlist, read the listing in a fixed order. First the mattress line: is a mattress included, and what type? Second the storage lines: rolling drawer, storage drawer, cabinet top, shelves. Third the mechanism line: spring or piston, and what warranty the maker states.

Then note the closed cabinet depth. Wilding lists most of its cabinet beds at about 24 to 27 inches deep when closed, and its desk bed model at 38.5 inches. That number tells you how far the cabinet sticks into the room when the bed is not used. For more on that, see cabinet depth.

Any detail the listing does not state is a question for the maker. Asking before you order is better than assuming, and the maker's contact details are on its own page.

What to pick for your situation

Questions

Do cabinet Murphy beds include a mattress?

Many do. Wilding Wallbeds states that its Murphy cabinet beds come with a 6-inch tri-fold mattress, and Night and Day Furniture lists tri-fold mattress options (gel memory foam and gel pocket coil) with its cabinet collection. Wall beds are usually sold without a mattress. Read the mattress line in the listing to confirm.

Does a Murphy cabinet bed need to be attached to a wall?

No. Wilding Wallbeds states that its Murphy cabinet beds are freestanding and do not need wall or floor mounting, which makes them easier to reposition in a guest room or rental. Wall beds, by contrast, mount to the wall.

What size Murphy bed should I choose for a guest room?

A queen gives couples a full-size sleeping surface; a full fits a smaller spare room. Match the bed size to the room and to the guests you expect. The closed cabinet depth in the listing shows how far the cabinet sticks into the room, so measure the space before ordering. See measuring a room for the steps.

Can I leave bedding on the mattress when the bed folds up?

Follow the maker's instructions for the bed you choose. Some listings describe the bedding staying in place; others expect sheets and blankets removed before folding. Check the listing, and keep the area in front of the bed clear.

What mechanism is easier for opening a guest bed?

Wilding Wallbeds describes a spring lift on its Studio Series and a piston lift on its HomeFront series, both with a lifetime warranty on the mechanism. Compare what the listing states for the bed you are considering, and follow the maker's instructions when opening or closing it.