The long-term plan is for dh and me to downsize to a 2BR/2BA condo at 935 sq ft. I am thinking that the space in the second bedroom can be better used without a bed in it all the time. We’d like to use it primarily as an office, exercise room, hobby room, etc. We will, of course, occasionally have company and would therefore need a spare bed, but I hate to have a bed taking up floor space all the time. I came across this remote control Murphy bed, and I am pretty intrigued, particularly with the one with the television. Rats - I can’t figure out how to paste in the link. It’s called a zoom-room Murphy bed. I love the concept but do worry about the risk of breakdown when compared to a traditional Murphy bed, which would be less complex but also less versatile. Anyone have or seen a zoom room one? Any opinions? Or experience/opinions on just a regular (fold down) Murphy bed?
This looks like a link. There are lots of different Murphy beds as well. I have no personal experience but also think they look cool. We bought a futon sofa/double bed for S’s bedroom, which is a nice bed for guests and we sit on it for watching tv.
http://www.zoom-room.com/zoom-room-murphy-bed-desk?lightbox=dataItem-ihaqscm01
We had a murphy bed years ago when we had 2 bedrooms with 2 kids in NYC. We had a very nice cabinet built for the murphy bed. We used the murphy bed everyday. It was very easy to push up and pull down. It is a great space saver.
Back when I lived in a Chicago high rise condo, one of my friends in the building had a Murphy bed (the old fashioned kind) in her bedroom which she also used as an office. I thought it was a great idea, very professional during the day, then that bed came down for night. It was quite an attractive room. I know it suited her for a number of years. I’ve always thought if we downsized as you are considering, I’d look into the Murphy bed solution just like you are doing.
We recently stayed in a condo and experienced our first Murphy bed. While I like the concept, I can’t imagine putting it up and down regularly (sort of like my friend who slept on a pull out sofa bed as a young adult - tended to just leave the bed out unless company was coming over). We ended up leaving the bed out during the entire stay. But in a guest room/second bedroom, it might be doable.
I think a murphy bed would be great for a guest room. It’s not something I’d like to put up and down daily, but some folks don’t mind. S doesn’t seem to mind making his bed into a futon sofa pretty much the entire weeks he’s with us, even when he was with us for several months. I think the key is to have a high quality mattress and sufficient support for a good night’s sleep.
@HImom - thanks for posting the link!
@stradmom - I would expect a guest staying with us to leave the bed out/open the whole time they are there. I agree - I wouldn’t want to do it daily for any period of time. Open when guests are there, but closed when it’s just the too of us.
When S is away and the bedroom is in TV room/guest room function, we tend to have the futon folded into a couch rather than left as a bed. It’s a very nice guest room/TV room and has a smaller footprint as a soft than a bed.
I’ve read the furniture for ships can be very handy for small spaces, with good reason.
Here’s a link for wallbeds. https://www.californiaclosets.com/wall-beds/
My husband just built a Murphy bed for our weekend/vacation house. He bought the mechanism on line…rockler, maybe, and built the frame and casing. It is easy to pull down and use. Much, much better than having a queen size bed take up floor space in a dual-use room.
The hard part was making sure that the mattress we bought wasn’t too heavy. Some of the new memory foam ones are really too much.
@zeebamom, do you loan your H out? Great job that your H was able to build it himself! It doesn’t look that complicated to make a simple one (says me who has absolutely NO skill with woodworking).
@HImom, ha - stand in line. It was time consuming, as he built it here at home and then had to disassemble it and get it over to the other place. I think the stain/poly was the worst.
My parents had a media room / home theater that had a Murphy bed in it and that is where H and I would stay. Since the room was interior and had no windows, it was pitch dark and we would sleep til noon while the grandparents took care of the grandkids! It was super easy to pull down - not much different from pulling out a drawer. I could easily do it by myself.
I have a relative in a 900 sqf place; relative has a pull-out couch in the office/spare room for guests. It’s quite large, and only used as a bed. I think the idea of a murphy bed sounds great; it would free up a lot of room; it makes more sense than a couch. have fun planning!
I think the model with the TV would be great and apparently you can pick from various finishes. I think this one looks very nice:
And it seems the side panels can be made into closets – think they did that with the one linked above. I love the remote control feature but do wonder how comfortable these beds will be. Can’t imagine that the mattress is going to be too plush since it rolls up into the main cabinet.
What is the price point?
Regular Murphy: no need to take off the bedding. Just lift it up, and out of sight it goes. How does it work with Zoom Room? Making the bed every night would be a deal breaker for me.
We built one in the music room. A Queen–surrounded by lovely cherry bookshelves. The wall of the bed is also
cherry. We did make sure that the headboard rises and is comfortable for reading and such.
My brother built one in his guest room and it is horrid as they have not headboard. You cannot prop yourself and
there is that scary place where the night monster resides.
The zoom room bed cabinets look really large. Looks like you’d need a very large bedroom to make it look proportional.
@HarvestMoon1 - I’m not sure (I looked at one point, but have forgotten), but they are pricey. They do come with their own mattress included in the price, which is apparently TemperPedic like?? I know nothing about that type of mattres.
@BunsenBurner - you can only leave the fitted sheet on the zoom room bed. So, bedding does take up storage space elsewhere when the bed is closed. Again, when guests were with us, I would expect they would leave the bed out/open.
@gouf78 - I don’t think all of them are large, but that is something to consider. I think they are deeper than a regular Murphy bed, but I believe the side cabinets are optional. We have nowhere around here to see them (or any Murphy beds) IRL. We are going to visit the in-laws in October who live in a larger market and hope to see some there.
The zoom room beds don’t require anchoring to the wall.