In this blog I will address several of the most frequently asked questions by our customers. Skip down to those that apply to your questions. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if I don’t address an answer to your question below.

What is the difference between a Wall Bed and a Murphy Bed?

The quick answer is Lifting Mechanism. Murphy Beds are traditionally a spring lift mechanism. There are several types of spring lift mechanisms that are routinely used in today’s Murphy Beds. Some of these mechanisms are stand alone, spring driven, metal frames while others integrate a modified spring lift mechanism into the wooden pieces that constitute the cabinet. Wall Beds are exclusively piston lift mechanisms. These pistons are gas charged and are always integrated into the wood framing which constitutes the cabinet of the Wallbed. Other basic differences. The Piston Lift Mechanism (Wall Bed) is a newer invention than the Spring Lift mechanism (Murphy Bed). In the Murphy Bed / Wall Bed World, the main focus is space savings. The newer mechanism (piston lift) actually takes significantly less space in your room to operate. See below:

Which is Better, a Murphy Bed or a Wall Bed?

The actual answer to this may sound a little bit like I’m dodging the question, but I promise that I’m not. The answer really is “it depends on your home and situation”. Both offer a lifetime warranty and both will last you a lifetime. Some homes or apartments present difficulties for delivery. If you have a very tight hallway or a narrow set of stairs, a Murphy bed will be able to be moved into the room easier as it arrives much more disassembled. The benefit to a Wallbed is that it arrives in bigger pieces, so it requires less assembly time. There are other factors that we can help you explore too. It’s usually easier to simply have a conversation with us and we can help you decide which is better for your situation. We certainly don’t want you to have a bad experience either now or down the road with our product. We care about your experience with our product and we have the knowledge and the tools to help you make the right decision. We can help you.

How long will it take to get my Wallbed or Murphy Bed?

Nearly all of our Wall Beds and Murphy Beds are built to order. The advantage here is that you get to choose the style, color, wood type, accessories and options. This is built specifically for you. It is your very own, unique Wall Bed, built for you. This process fluctuates a little in time due to seasonal influx of business at the production facility. Generally speaking your order will arrive at your home or apartment or business 6 to 9 weeks after your order date. Please be sure to ask us at the time of your order what our production queue is at that time. If you are in more of a hurry to get your Wall Bed or Murphy bed, please look at our In Stock Specials page. This page of our site usually has a dozen or two, pre built units ready to ship within 3 business days (Monday-Friday). All items on this page ship with all of the items and options described. These units can’t be modified by changing color or size, due to the fact that they are already built. In some cases, you can add items to these units, like side cabinets or a drop down table or lights or some other option. Some options can be added to these In Stock Specials, but it may have an impact on shipping time. We’ll let you know at the time of your order how any additions may impact that shipping time.

Will my Ceiling Fan interfere with my Wallbed when it comes down?

The quick answer is No. We’re quite confident that you will not have a problem with this…but I can hear your thoughts now…Your room is different and your ceiling fan is low and the concerns may go on. I can tell you in two decades of building and shipping Wall Beds and Murphy Beds, we have not hit a fan yet. I know that you may still be thinking that your room is an exception so let’s do this. Please measure from the floor to the tip of your fan blade and write that dimension down, next measure from the tip of the fan blade to your wall and write that dimension down. Now you can give us a call toll free 866-877-7803 and we can help you now by how much your Wall Bed or Murphy Bed will clear your fan. The reason I’m not just telling you what will work is that every room is different and every Wall Bed and Murphy Bed is different. For instance, if you choose a 20” deep option on our Tuscany (Piston Lift) Wallbed, the foot of the bed will pass at a different point from your fan than if you ordered a Queen size Remington (Spring Lift) 16” deep unit. You can trust me when I say, that we will not send you a problem, just help us know where your fan is and we can help you feel confident that the bed won’t hit it. We care very much about your experience with our product, so we’re very careful about making sure you won’t have a problem on your end.

What is the thickest mattress that I can use in my Wallbed?

I’ll answer a series of questions concerning the mattress here. Let’s start with the Thickest Mattress question. Thickest Mattress All of our Wall Beds and Murphy Beds are designed to carry a mattress up to 12” thick with the exception of the Bookcase Wallbed, which cannot exceed 11”. If you go thicker that 12” then the metal leg won’t clear the end of the mattress and the bed will jam as you go to close it. The Wall Bed or Murphy Bed will stay cocked open a little.

Can you modify my bed to hold a thicker mattress?

Yes, if you select a Wall Bed (Piston Lift), then we can modify your bed by making the side boards deeper than standard. Assuming that we don’t make a deeper headboard, in this case, which is our standard mode of operation, then this will provide extra room for thicker mattresses. If we make your sideboards 17” deep and don’t modify the headboard, this will leave room for a 13” mattress. If we make your sideboards 18” deep and don’t modify the headboard, this will leave room for a 14” thick mattress. For every inch we add it the depth of your sideboards it will create 1” extra space for your mattress. Now there are some other things to take into account here too. A thicker mattress is heavier than a thinner mattress. This means that if you use your thicker mattress the lift weight of the bed will be greater than if you used the thinner mattress. I’m sharing this with you, simply so you’ll be aware. Where mattresses are concerned, we’ve spent much time working in conjunction with Serta Mattress Company to design and engineer mattresses that will not only fit, but lift at the correct weight. They’ve also been engineered to handle the dynamics of a Wall Bed and Murphy Bed. As your mattress stands on end for hours a day, day after day, it could develop a slump at the head of the bed. This occurs as springs and foams slump toward the floor due to gravity. Our mattresses will not do this as they are engineered specifically to avoid this issue. Ask us for more details when you call 866-877-7803. We can give you the best information, so you can make an informed choice.

How high will the top of my mattress be when the bed is in use?

Assuming that you’re using an 11” thick mattress, our Spring Lift Mechanisms will put the top of your mattress 20 3/8” from the floor. For every inch your mattress is narrower or thicker it will make one inch difference in the height of the mattress in your situation. Assuming that you’re using an 11” thick mattress on our Piston Lift Beds, your mattress will be 20 1/2” from the floor to the top of the mattress. To give you a better judge of how high that is, be aware that a dining chair or a sofa sits 18” high in almost all cases. This mattress will be just a bit taller than your sofa or dining chair. Since every situation is just a little different, if you have a concern about the height of your mattress from the floor, just ask us at the time you call 866-877-7803. We can help answer your specific questions.

Can you modify my bed so that my mattress will sit higher from the floor?

Yes, we can modify our Piston Lift beds so that the mattress will sit higher from the floor. This modifications requires two things. First, we must make the locking legs longer than our standard 7”. The longer the leg the more negative impact it will have on the leg hinge. Longer legs cause the leg hinges to droop and wear out quicker. Secondly we have to make your sideboards taller than usual. This in and of itself is usually no problem as long as your ceilings will accommodate the extra height…again this is not usually a problem. Lastly the gap between the floor and the bottom edge of the face of your Wallbed will be bigger than usual. We just want you fully aware of what these modifications will do so that you have no surprises on your end. Call us and let us work you through the details at 866-877-7803.