A History with Murphy Beds

02/19/2014

Murphy Beds, also known as wall beds, have been around for more than a century. According to legend, in the early 1900s, William Lawrence Murphy (1876–1959) was living in a one room walk-up apartment in San Francisco and wooing a lovely, young opera singer. Since young ladies in those days wouldn’t dream of entering a gentleman’s bedroom, Murphy put his creative mind to work and came up with the idea for a “disappearing bed.” Instant success with his lady friend followed, as well as a series of patents.

FAST FORWARD TO 1995
Bob Wilding is happily doing what he loves: Working with wood and building custom furniture out of his small garage/workshop in St. George, Utah. Much of Bob’s business comes from happy repeat customers and from word-of-mouth testimonials. His two adult sons, Dennis and Dan, each work nearby, Dan for a mattress company and Dennis for a furniture company. Now and then one of the boys asks Dad if he can build a piece of custom furniture for one of their customers, something not available at the mattress or furniture store. One serendipitous day Bob gets a request to build something a bit unusual: a Murphy Bed. After some research, Bob sends away for a do-it-yourself-kit and builds the very first “Wilding Wallbed.” His customer is so pleased that he tells practically everyone he knows about the beauty, functionality, fair price and outstanding craftsmanship of his new wall bed. (Over 15 years later, that first Wilding Wallbed is still in use — and likely will be in use for many decades to come.)

FAST FORWARD TO 2014
With its state-of-the art 35,000 square foot production facility in St. George, Wilding Wallbeds is now the leading manufacturer of Murphy Beds in North America. The company is renowned for its fair pricing, craftsmanship and customer service. Only the finest hand-selected solid hardwoods and furniture grade plywood go into Wilding’s products. Customers have a choice of 18 standard Murphy Bed models, five woods and 22 colors. All models are available in twin, full and queen size, and some even in king size. Side cabinets and many other options are available as well. Please check out Wilding Wallbeds at www.wallbedsbywilding.com — or visit one of the three beautiful showrooms.

SAN DIEGO SHOWROOM: (858) 578-0627, 7944 MIRAMAR ROAD, SAN DIEGO CA 92126

CHINO HILLS SHOWROOM: (866) 797-7110, 4200 CHINO HILLS PKWY, #660, CHINO HILLS CA 91709 (NEAR VONS)

UTAH SHOWROOM: (866) 877-7803, 1509 S 270 E, SUITE 3, ST. GEORGE UT 84790