How To Build a DIY Murphy Bed and Bookcase

Introduction

Combine a Murphy bed with a bookcase to create the ultimate comfort and storage space for the bedroom. Here’s how to build a Murphy bed.

How to Build a Murphy Bed

When William Lawrence Murphy filed patents for his space-saving bed around 1900, he couldn’t have known he was solving a 21st-century problem: the need for a home office or hobby space, plus extra sleeping space for guests. Although his invention has been improved over the last century, the basic idea is still brilliant.

Building a Murphy bed requires some precision — you must install the hardware exactly according to the instructions. But the woodworking here is actually simpler than that required for many bookcases. There are no dadoes, mortises or tricky joinery.

And all of the door frames are impostors. They look exactly like classic rail-and-stile frames, but they’re just 1/4-in.-thick solid wood applied to plywood. The bookcases flanking the bed are optional.

Check out this other disappearing bed and bookshelf project by a Family Handyman reader.

DIY Murphy Bed: Designed to Pamper Your Guests

A Murphy bed can be incredibly simple. Some are just an upright box containing a fold-down bed. But this is a deluxe version. Aside from the handsome design and storage spaces, we included some convenience features to make guests comfortable.

We added pullout tables on both sides mounted on drawer slides. Inside the side cabinets, display lights act as nightlights. And on the headboard, we mounted a touch knob so guests could switch on lights above the bed. No groping for a light switch in a dark, unfamiliar room.

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Pullout tabletops function like nightstands — the perfect spot to set a book or a cup of bedtime tea.

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Lights and switches built into the side cabinets aren’t just decorative. They’re functional, too.

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Just touch a knob on the headboard to operate the dimmable reading lights above the bed.

Murphy Bed Hardware

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Hardware kits include folding legs that support the foot of the bed, pivots that let the bed swing down and — most importantly — gas pistons that operate like the pistons on a hatchback. The latter lifts most of the weight of the bed when you close it.

There are lots of online sources for Murphy bed hardware. We ordered ours ($375) from rockler.com and were impressed with the quality of the hardware and the detailed instructions. Twin-, full- and queen-size kits are available.

Aside from the hardware, we spent about $115 on lighting kits specifically for Murphy beds and bookcases.

Before You Build a Murphy Bed

Don’t begin this project until you have the Murphy bed hardware on hand; you may need to alter our design slightly to suit different hardware.

Also be sure the room and furniture will accommodate the bed. Our bed protrudes 80 inches from the wall. Most of the materials you’ll need are available at home centers. The exceptions are the Murphy bed hardware and 1/4-in.-thick solid oak.

You can order 1/4-in. hardwood online (walllumber.com is one source) or “resaw” thicker boards.

Note: Single, double and triple letters in the instructions that follow indicate corresponding figures, diagrams and materials. Click the bold link at the end of the story to reference them all in one convenient place.