Who is Murphy? The History of the Murphy Bed Wall Unit

Like most people, you probably lived in a small apartment when you were just getting your start — either while you were still working your way through college or when you got your first job and moved into your first real place. The bigger the city you lived in, the smaller your apartment was likely to be.

Some things just don’t change. William L. Murphy had the same problem around the turn of the 20th century — before there were even things like telephones or televisions. He wanted to entertain in his San Francisco apartment, but the whole space was only one room and his bed took up a big chunk of square footage.

He started tinkering with ideas, and he soon came up with a plan to store the bed in a cabinet attached to the wall. He enlisted the help of a blacksmith to create the mechanism that would hold the bed and fold it into the wall. When the bed was up, he could free up quite a bit of room and make the space a living room instead of a bedroom. His little studio would now be fit for polite entertainment of a special lady friend who would later become his wife.

After refining the model, Murphy applied for a patent on the design in 1900. He then started the Murphy Wall Bed Company, and consumers could find a Murphy bed for sale starting in 1918.

Demand quickly grew over the next decade, and Murphy opened factories in Chicago and New York (in addition to the first San Francisco factory). These fold out beds could be purchased in Arizona and around the country. Soon, the company was producing 100,000 beds per year.

The Murphy bed wall unit soon became so popular that it appeared in television shows like “The Marx Brothers.”

The Great Depression saw the closing of some factories, and steel had to be rationed during World War II, both of which dampened production of these fold out beds. After the war, more people started living in houses instead of apartments, which offered more room and lowered the demand for Murphy beds.

Over the years, the beds continued to be solid sellers, and more companies started making models using the same technology. In 1989, the court ruled that anyone could call these fold out beds “Murphy beds” since Murphy had lost his trademark protection. Now the term refers to any bed that folds into a closet or against the wall — not just those that were made by the company Murphy founded. It even applies to DIY wall beds.

Lift & Stor Beds is proud to sell Murphy beds in Arizona and beyond. We offer a number of variations on the basic Murphy bed wall unit, including wall beds that have desks, bookshelves and other accessories attached. When you are looking for a Murphy bed for sale, you need look no further than our extensive catalog with some of the best prices on the highest-quality Murphy fold out beds. And always feel free to contact us for more information.

Published By:

Lift & Stor Beds – Jennifer Abbey

9124 E. Main St., Suite 7
Mesa, AZ 85207-8735

Phone : 1-480-380-8018
Phone : 1-888-223-8839
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