The name of the brand is taken from the inventor’s name, William Lawrence Murphy, murphy beds have captured the market and they have been prominent for decades now. the main cause behind it is that Murphy beds are made as fold-down or pull-down beds so they can retract against the wall when not in use. This is one of the reasons that makes them unique from most other beds. When you have less space in your room or apartment and looking for a way to save space, a pull-down or fold-down bed will do it.
But this benefit is not free of cost! It is very clear that when you have a look at the cost of pull-down beds, the price will be more than $ 1,500 dollars. But do you have to use them? Isn’t any cheaper alternatives to murphy beds to use? And that is the topic we are going to discuss today. We will answer the question, “Why are murphy beds so expensive?” and what you can do about it.
In short, murphy beds are so expensive due to their complex design, costly materials including laminate boards and intricate mechanisms such as hydraulics or spring lift systems. Other cost include installation, bedding and any other extra features you want to add with your murphy bed including drawers, desks and shelves.
This was the short answer, to get a more detailed answer, please continue reading.
Budget Murphy Bed Options (Price Examples)
Here is a list of murphy bed prices that we are quoting as examples. We did a lot of research to find some of the cheapest in the market. Some of them are not added to this list as they are more than $1800.
| Murphy Bed Link | Price * |
| Bestar Nebula Collection Queen Murphy Bed | Check Latest |
| Night & Day Furniture Murphy “Cube” | Check Latest |
| Atlantic Furniture Southampton Murphy Bed Chest | Check Latest |
| Atlantic Furniture Southampton Murphy Bed Chest with Charging Station & Mattress | Check Latest |
| Night & Day Furniture Murphy”Cube”, Queen, White | Check Latest |
| Night & Day Murphy Cube Queen Cabinet Bed with 6″ Memory Foam Mattress | Check Latest |
* Prices may get changed, you can click the button to check the latest price. They may have been changed now.
After checking the options in the table above, you will find out that they are pretty Expensive! The question arises why? Check out the reasons we discussed below that can affect the price.
Why Are They Expensive? – Reasons:
Made from expensive materials such as wood
Murphy beds are usually designed from costly and durable wood. That makes it beautiful as well as durable, and also expensive! Nevertheless, a Murphy bed is worth paying if it is made from the finest wood including oak and mahogany. In these cases, headboards, wooden side cabinets and veneered hardwood plywood are available in one place with a smooth finish. The wood planks are selected correctly in order to fit the bed design. That is why quality murphy beds that are produced from sold wood are generally costly, but it will be durable and murphy beds will have a lifespan of decades.
Intricate mechanisms such as hydraulics
Murphy beds use hydraulic lift systems to solve one main issue that occurs in many pull-down or fold-down wall-beds. Sometimes people get anxious about lifting the bed every morning and pull it down every night. The hydraulic or spring mechanism can prevent you from thinking about it. With this mechanism, even the children as well as elderly can fold or pull down their beds without extra help. This is one of the main benefits of using a Murphy bed that makes it easy to move. And you have to pay the price for it.
Overall large size affects pricing
Although murphy is a good choice as it offers a lot of benefits including saving space, it also comes with a very large physical size. In fact, there is a very low chance that you will find an appliance or appliance in your whole house that is larger than this murphy bed. You can name any of them available in your house such as the chair, TV, the tables and the fridge. That is the fact that impacts the price of murphy beds. As you may have heard of this saying:
“the bigger the item, the more expensive it is”?
When getting a furniture item, the same rule applies to it which is designed with high-quality costly materials. And our Murphy bed are also one of them because they are built with expensive materials including solid wood as we discussed above.
Professional installation may impact the final cost
If an average person is getting it, a Murph bed will need installation in order to fix it permanently into the wall. However, if you can do it by yourself then you will be able to save the installation costs. Most buyers will need an expert to do the installation of beds for them, but it will add to the final cost of the bed. However, it means that paying more money, the benefits of getting it installed from a professional on your wall will worth that hundred or two dollars as they have done it a lot of times before and they know what they are doing.
Bedding can add to the cost
Every morning you need to lift or fold Murphy beds against the wall, you should choose carefully what kind of mattress or other bedding you are going to use for your bed. Some mattresses are not made that way to be upright all the time: it includes the mattresses with in-built springs that may begin to lean sideways and if it remains upright for too long, your sleep will be disturbed. Some beddings would cause the folding process a daily issue. So, it is necessary to choose the kind of bedding that can make the process easier by using the materials that can be attached to the mattress firmly.
Related Article: Are Murphy Beds Comfortable?
Include it to the price of other types of bedding that are usually used with a bed including linens, duvets and pillows. Some people may want “budget friendly” items for them, while others may want to enjoy premium quality bedding products. And it will also impact the cost of the bed.
Additional features can add to the cost as well
It is another cause that makes Murphy beds so expensive! Whether you are getting the murphy bed online or going to a store to get one, there are a lot of additional features to keep in mind when doing so. When it comes to shopping for these accessories, most buyers prefer beauty and convenience. It can be a cabinet wardrobe, a side drawer cabinet, a reading lamp and so on. Many of these accessories can be detached from them and you do not have to fold them with the main bed. So, you need to remember that any extra item included in the bed will impact the overall price of the bed as well!
Some Other Options to Consider
Think of “only” Murphy beds
Some people also convert them into couches during the daytime so, Murphy beds are not only usable for night time shifts. It is a very creative thing but you need to spend some more to avail these features. Some people give preference to other accessories including desks, drawers and convertible tables along with their Murphy beds. All of them are considered as good features but they can be costly.
The best way to deal with it is to select a bed without those extra addons, especially if you already have alternatives to those that you can use in your home. Some users only need a bed to sleep in and do not require any extras – every buyer has its own reason. If you are one of them, and just need a bed and nothing more, or if you have a limited budget, then you can get a basic murphy bed without additional features. So, if your house already has closets, cabinets, and drawers and you need a bed, so, why invest in extras, stick to the basics and save money. It is replete with different designs to select from and you should have a look at them and take your time to finalize the best design.
DIY Murphy beds
If you are here to read this article, it indicates that you have gone through the high prices of pre-build murphy beds in the markets including offline as well as online. You do not have to lose interest in it as there is hope.
If your budget is limited, you can make your own Murphy bed yourself, but it also needs essential skills and time to build one at your house. The process will not be as hard as it may look. You will find a lot of online tutorials that can helps you on DIY Murphy beds. In fact, you can buy Murphy bed hardware kits from different online as well as offline stores, and create one for you. Apart from these kits, it will also offer detailed instruction manual and cut lists for the lumber. So, you only have to take the cut-list to the wood-working store and get the precisely cut wooden parts to perform your DIY murphy bed.
This procedure will help you to reduce the cost of your Murphy bed significantly, enabling you to get your own Murphy bed at a lower price as compared to pre-built ones. As we have already discussed that the price can be more or less $1500 but if you build a DIY Murphy bed for yourself, it can be possible around $700 (excluding the cost of tools, mattress, etc).
You can convert your bed into a bookshelf, desk or couch by using some DIY kits and materials, all depends on how you design it. this is one of the benefits of doing it yourself: you can come up with a convenient design. So, if you ever have budget problem or want to get the design of your choice, buying murphy bed hardware and kit with DIY instructions and constructing it for yourself will be the ideal way to do it.
Sofa Beds
Murphy beds are not similar to sofa beds, the function is similar. In fact, a Murphy bed that you can use as a couch is the reverse version of a sofa bed. Basically, a sofa bed is a sofa that can be changed into a bed when you want to sleep, and similar to a Murphy bed, it can save space too. Just think about the fact that a sofa bed helps you to save the space and you can use it for two items: a bed and a sofa. Some people give preference to sofa beds they save them the need for a guest room for visiting guests. So, you need to choose the design that fulfills your requirement: it must be comfortable both as a sofa as well as a bed. You should not sacrifice either of these two. This Faux Leather modern upholstered bed from Best Choice Products is very popular because of its pull-out and folding mechanism that can transform it from an average-size sofa into a decent bed within seconds.
Futon Beds
There is confusion among the people about a sofa and a futon bed. The main difference is that the sofa has an in-built bedding material and works as the sofa seating material. Alternatively, a futon bed comes with cushions that are turned into mattresses when it is sleep time. That is the reason, many futons contain thick cushions that can make the comfortable when needed. In fact, the convertible sofa bed is a hybrid of a futon and a traditional sofa bed. Some futons contain armrests and some of them do not, but the average length of a futon can serve as a long bed for most people. Here is an example of this type of bed, Button Tufted Futon Sofa Bed from Naomi Home.
Final Words
We hope that this article has helped you to know why Murphy beds are so expensive. Though they are costly, we can confidently say that you will agree to it – a Murphy bed may be the difference between being able to live in an affordable studio apartment or shift to a bigger, more costly home. There is no doubt in saying that Murphy beds instantly were and continue to be prominent. They will always serve those people who need extra space in the room. If you have a good budget to afford it, then Murphy bed is a worthy investment. If you are not able to afford a Murphy bed, then you should go for hardware and DIY kit option that will cut the price in half. Other options, as discussed above are futons and sofa beds. You do not have to get a bigger, more costly living space when you can customize your existing space now. Have a nice sleep!