Clever Murphy Bed Ideas for Your Home Office or Guest Room

Have you ever found yourself wishing for more space in your home? Whether it’s the challenge of fitting in a comfortable workspace or creating a cozy guest room, I’ve got some clever ideas for you. 

Imagine a home office that magically transforms into a guest room with the help of a Murphy bed. Or picture a guest room that doubles as an efficient workspace during the day. 

In this post, we’ll explore smart design ideas to turn your home office into a guest room effortlessly.

Turn your Home Office into a Guest Room with a Murphy Bed

A Murphy bed is a really cool type of bed that you can fold up and hide against the wall when you’re not using it. This is great because it saves a ton of space, making your room feel bigger and more open. It also adds a lot of smart solutions to your space by giving you extra options.

Your home office is a place where you work during the day, but what if it could also turn into a comfy guest room at night? With a Murphy bed, you can easily achieve this room transformation.

What’s great about a Murphy bed is that it’s a very comfy solution for your guests and works well especially when guests stay for a longer time! Instead of a boring old air mattress or a stiff sofa bed, they get to sleep on a real, cozy bed. 

And the best part is that your room still looks just as stylish as before. No need to sacrifice your room’s aesthetics for some extra snoozing space.

You might be worrying that Murphy beds are way too expensive, but what I love about Murphy beds is that there’s an option for every budget. 

Murphy beds also come in all sorts of options. You can choose to keep it simple and go the DIY route, or you can go for a custom-built Murphy bed that fits your room like a glove.

Clever Murphy Bed Ideas for Different Settings and Styles 

Now we’re at the fun part! I’ve compiled some Murphy bed ideas here so you can explore all the different ways you can work, relax, and snooze using these amazing space-saving beds. 

Murphy bed as home office backdrop

This Murphy bed looks great as a home office backdrop. It blends in seamlessly with the storage cabinets in the wall, and it doesn’t disrupt the continuity of the design.

If you’re into something more subtle, this kind of design would work well for your space. When your guest comes over, simply move the desk and chair away, and fold down the bed. Ta-da! 

Murphy bed with nightstand / mini closet

I love this one! Just like the previous idea, it looks like the Murphy bed here is usually kept hidden as a part of this storage wall.

I also like how thoughtful and intentional the design is. When the Murphy bed is folded down, the cabinet is still accessible, and your guests can use it as a nightstand + mini closet in one! It’s a very functional guest room.

A Murphy bed with separate doors

This one’s really interesting. Instead of having a door attached to the bed frame, this Murphy bed is sitting inside a cabinet with double doors enclosing the whole set up.

With this kind of Murphy bed, you could easily place this wardrobe anywhere in your home that you want to turn into a temporary or emergency guest room! And when you need it, all you need to do is open the doors.

Murphy bed and desk combo

This is a great example of a Murphy bed and desk combo. Because the built-in desk is out of the way, you wouldn’t have to move anything around to access the bed. So it’s super easy to just fold it down and set it up. 

And because of that, this home office can also function as a guest room office!

Murphy bed with open shelves and surprise decor

You could leverage open shelves like this one to keep the space looking well-decorated, whether your Murphy bed is in or out. And when it’s closed, the bed will look more hidden since it’s part of a built-in shelf.

I also love the little surprise you get when opening the bed: there’s a beautiful painting on the wall, complete with its own gallery light!

Murphy bed in a professional home office

Here, you can clearly see how spacious and comfortable this home office is when the Murphy bed is tucked away. That’s the great thing about Murphy beds; unlike regular beds, they don’t take up space when you don’t need them!

I love how they put handles on the Murphy bed to make it look like a cabinet. And the entire place looks so clean and professional with a cool home office vibe, which helps to hide the fact that it is also a guest room. 

Murphy bed with wall decor and pull-out side table

To spice things up when unfolding your Murphy bed, you can also add your own headboard or wall decor. Most ideas we’ve seen so far haven’t had any headboards, so now you don’t need to worry if headboards are important for your comfort!

And if you like the idea of adding storage cabinets around your Murphy bed, you could also add a pull-out side table like this one to complete the bedroom experience, whether you place one in your home office or the guest room.

Murphy bed with aesthetic wall design

I really like the uniqueness of the design in this one. The vertical shiplap and the art on the wall still makes it look like a well-designed bedroom and not just a bed that you pulled down.

That’s why Murphy beds are so great — they really don’t have to take away the aesthetics of the room, as long as you get creative!

Horizontal Single Murphy bed in console table

I think this is the most creative one so far. You may have thought that Murphy beds only come in double; well, check out this single-size Murphy bed! And it is a horizontal Murphy bed instead of a vertical one, which is more common.

This one’s a really good addition to this home office / drawing room. You can easily transition between work and rest with this Murphy bed. 

And when it’s hidden away, it looks like a console table for decor. It’s a perfect placement.

Built-in Murphy bed with wooden desk and cabinets

I absolutely love the look of this Murphy bed. The consistency of the wooden cabinets looks really good. You can see how everything blends so well together, with the bookshelves, cabinets, and office desk.

Queen-size Murphy bed in small console table

I like the simplicity of this one. Instead of being hidden in floor-to-ceiling storage cabinets or bookshelves, this Murphy bed is inside a console table. 

I thought this was a very smart idea because they were able to fit a full/queen-size bed twice so it fits inside a relatively smaller cabinet!

This is an easy way to turn your home office into a guest room! And when not in use, it still functions as a console table for placing decor and other knick-knacks.

Tips and Tricks for buying a Murphy Bed

When finding or creating your own Murphy bed, you’ve got some great options to choose from. 

If you’re looking for a hassle-free experience, check out closet companies that offer Murphy bed solutions. They’ll not only design a Murphy bed that fits your space perfectly, but also handle the installation process. It’s going to be a breeze for you with all the customization you want. However, this option tends to be the most expensive.

On the other hand, if you’re the hands-on type and enjoy a bit of DIY, there’s good news for you too. You can find Murphy bed kits available in the market. These kits come with all the necessary components and instructions, so it’ll be easier to craft your very own transforming bed.

Another option that sits in between in terms of pricing is buying ready-made Murphy beds, such as this one at Wayfair or this one at Amazon, they both look pretty modern. You’ll have less opportunities to customize it to your specific needs, but it is a great balance of ease and affordability.

Murphy Bed Alternatives

If you’re not quite ready to jump on the Murphy Bed train yet, maybe you can check out some of these alternatives to a Murphy bed before buying your own.

I’ve found that the IKEA Finnala Sleeper Sofa can be a pretty good alternative to a Murphy bed. Murphy beds are great for multi-functionality, but they can be a bit complex and sometimes pricey. The Finnala is another clever solution that doesn’t break the bank.

The IKEA Finnala Sleeper Sofa also works double duty. It’s a comfy sofa that you can chill or work on, and then when you’re feeling tired, it can transform into a bed where you can rest. It’s like having two pieces of furniture in one!

Murphy beds are great, but they usually take up a lot of wall space, and you have to do a little maneuvering to fold them up and down. The sleeper sofa is simpler – just remove the cushions, pull out the mattress, and you’ve got yourself a bed. 

Additionally, the vertical Murphy bed takes a good amount of vertical space, and often requires an at least 7-foot ceiling. So if for whatever reason there’s not enough height in your room, a sleeper sofa can be a good option.

Another alternative would be these modular beds, sometimes called day-beds. If you prefer keeping things simple, the Hemnes day-bed would be your best choice. 

It’s like having a sofa and a bed combined. There are no folding mechanisms involved, so it’s much less complex than a Murphy bed or Finnala. You just have to pull out the bottom drawer, rearrange the mattress, and your bed is ready.

Then there’s the budget factor. Hemnes day-beds usually come with a friendlier price tag compared to both Murphy beds and sleeper sofas. So if you’re watching your wallet, it can be a real winner.

Clever Murphy Bed Ideas for Your Home Office or Guest Room Summary

Were you inspired by these clever Murphy bed ideas? I hope you’re excited to transform your home office into a guest room, or spice up your existing guest room with a unique sleeping solution!

And if this post helped you realize that Murphy beds aren’t your thing, hopefully you were able to get some new inspirations from the Murphy bed alternatives I mentioned.

Please share your Murphy bed ideas or inspo with me. I’d be happy to explore new ideas with you! 🙂