Murphy’s Law
A space-conscious option for transforming any room into a bedroom is remarkably relevant and fresh, even more than a century after its inception. Hideaway furniture is finding its way into coffee tables, bookshelves, desks, televisions and more
Image courtesy Julia West Home
Image courtesy Julia West Home
More than meets the eye: This coffee table transforms into a hideaway bed in one swift change, with the mattress unfolding as the top and bottom sections align. Image courtesy Julia West Home
John Evans always considered Murphy beds the lot of young city dwellers who needed some elbow room in their tight confines.
He was right in one regard. The beds that fold up into the wall, like other space-saving furniture, help reconfigure a room for different uses. But nowadays they are found in homes of people from all walks of life, including in his spacious Millsboro, Del., townhouse.
The recently divorced father of two turned his home office and workout rooms into spare bedrooms for his children when they come to spend time with him.
Murphy beds are not only more popular than ever, design experts say they are also on the leading edge of a whole range of innovative, space-saving, dual purpose furniture that’s now available for people who want what space they have in their living quarters to be multi-dimensional.
“People are trying to get more out of their home and apartments. They want dual-purpose rooms so children can have more room to play or so they can use the guest room as a home office,” says Gene Kolakowski, vice president of Murphy Bed Co. Inc., Farmingdale, N.Y., which was founded around 1900 by William Murphy, the genius who patented the idea that bears his name.
The desire for people to get the most out of their living space is partly the result of the fact many Americans now use their homes for more than just eating and sleeping. Not only are more and more people working from home than ever before, they’re also looking for a room to develop their mind, hobbies or bodies.
The problem: Most Americans do not live in quarters that are spacious enough for them to have a home gym and office unless they get very creative. An American Furniture Manufacturers Association survey found, in fact, that 87 percent of Americans describe the size of their home as either “small” or “medium.” More than 30 percent say they have “small” rooms in their homes.
The solution: Furniture that can make what space they have multifunctional.
That’s why, designers say, hideaway beds are popular again and why there is a growing demand for furniture that can be used two or even three different ways.
Consumers need to be careful when shopping for these new multifunctional pieces, however. Kolakowski says they should have a clear idea of what each room is going to be used for primarily. Everything else will fall into place once that determination has been made.
Murphy Beds, for example, now come in all names and sizes because while the room they are being used in may be a bedroom first and foremost, it also can double as a library or a handy place to store everything from clothes to old photo albums. Kolakowski says that consumers are now asking for his company’s beds to come with cabinetry with bookshelves and drawers for additional storage space.
Other manufacturers of wall beds are offering theirs with a twist to take advantage of this growing market for multiple use furniture. Inova LLC, New York, for example, sells a large freestanding dining room table than can be used not only for eating but also for working at home. At night, it can be quickly transformed into a bed.
Off the Wall Beds, Lincolnwood, Ill., sells a bookshelf that turns into a queen-sized library bed when you fold back the middle compartments of the shelving unit and pull the bed down. It’s marketed as the perfect solution for use as a guest bedroom or for people living in one-room apartments.
Hidden storage space is at the heart of a lot of versatile furniture.
Blu Dot, Minneapolis, touts its Modulicious beds, for example, which hold up to six full extension drawers that sit underneath.
Julia West Home, Toronto, has designed what looks like a simple coffee table that is, in reality, a hideaway bed. The top lifts off and lines up perfectly with the base to become a bed. The mattress is contained within the coffee table and unfolds once the top is lifted off.
“Not only does it turn a room into a guest bedroom, but it also has a lot space for storage when it’s used as a table,” says Carla Nicols, the company’s general manager.
Switching gears: This company-friendly coffee table makes it easy to get down to business after your guests leave. Image courtesy Julia West Home
Another popular and versatile Julia West Home product is the coffee table-turned-desk. Just lift up the top to reveal a desk with plenty of storage space for office supplies or things you don’t want scattered around, like magazines or children’s toys.
Aspenhome, Phoenix, unveiled its LIV360 collection this year: A cocktail table with a lift-top work surface that adjusts to various table heights for comfortable laptop work, games or casual meals. A coordinating lamp table offers storage for a printer or files and a place to recharge a laptop or cell phone.
Dens and living rooms can also become multi-functional, using furniture that can be quickly transformed from one use to another.
Boston-based Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams offers the expansive Dr. Pitt collection, for example. Consumers can pick and choose from seven pieces of slip-covered furniture that can be pushed together or placed separately, adapting to both the needs and space of a room.
Nowadays, even a television sets can be, yes, hidden. That’s the niche for Reflective Security, LLC in Toledo, Ohio. The company sells special transparent mirrors that can be mounted over a television screen and, with the push of a button, be converted into an entertainment system.
Bathroom mirrors also have new forms and functions. Some even come with a flat screen plasma televisions.
Evans, the Delaware homeowner, says he is having fun discovering ways to make the most of his townhouse. Before his divorce, he’d been accustomed to living in a home twice as large as his townhouse and thought he’d be cramped when he first moved in. His two Murphy Beds have given him tremendous flexibility and are allowing him to make the most of the space he has.
“You can do so much more with a bedroom,” Evans says, “than just walk around a bed.”
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