| In the early 1900's, a man by the name of William | | | | pretty much too bad. Kind of like when Henry Ford |
| Murphy came up with a new type of bed. The bed, | | | | said, choose any color you want as long as it's black. |
| which gets its namesake from its inventor, is called | | | | In the case of the working professional, not being |
| the Murphy bed. Shortly after being patented, the | | | | able to blend the cabinet in with the rest of your |
| bed became very popular, and soon Mr. Murphy was | | | | furniture, is a complete deal-breaker right there. So if |
| opening up show rooms all across the United States. | | | | price and customization are the problems, what's the |
| So what was it about the Murphy bed that made it | | | | solution? Luckily these days, there are quite a few |
| so popular? It was the fact that the bed could do a | | | | companies building quality Murphy bed hardware kits. |
| disappearing trick, and retract into a closet, when not | | | | If you look closely at a Murphy bed, the original ones |
| needed. This allowed the owner to use the room for | | | | folded up into a closet. Modern designs, use a |
| things other than just the bedroom. | | | | freestanding cabinet, which may or may not mount |
| Today, the Murphy bed has all but disappeared from | | | | to the wall, and inside contain the hardware that |
| the American home. This is somewhat of a sad fact, | | | | allows the bed to hinge up into the cabinet. So when |
| because I think many people, could be well served by | | | | you buy a hardware kits, it includes the hinges or gas |
| using a foldaway bed. This includes people living in | | | | struts (kind of like on the back of a hatch-back car), |
| small apartments, and also people who might want to | | | | and incidental things like screws, bolts, and nuts etc. |
| have a guest room, but also need to use that room | | | | As for the wooden cabinet, that's where sweat |
| for a different purpose. And if you're a working | | | | equity comes in. In other words, you'll build it. So |
| professional, having a foldaway bed built into the | | | | while it's a little more involved than just ordering one, |
| cabinetry of your office, could provide you with a | | | | the possibilities for customization are nearly endless. |
| good nights sleep on those days when you have to | | | | For example, let's say you have a lot of artwork in a |
| work late. There are just a couple problems | | | | particular room, and so you don't have space for a |
| however. | | | | tall freestanding cabinets. By using a hardware kit, |
| One problem is price. A basic model, meaning just a | | | | you could build the bed so that it folds up sideways. |
| simple cabinet and folding frame, can set you back | | | | Other examples of customization include desks and |
| around $2000 for the queen-size model. Moreover, | | | | sofas that fold away once the bed comes out. |
| you can expect to pay hefty shipping fees along | | | | As far as price goes, these hardware kits are about |
| with the base price. And speaking of shipping, that | | | | 1/10 the price and come in a small enough package |
| price doesn't include set up and more often than not, | | | | that shipping shouldn't be more than 20 or $30 and |
| doesn't even get the bed to your front door. That | | | | often times, you can find free shipping. Of course |
| means, when the delivery man shows up, you will be | | | | you still have to buy the wood, but by providing your |
| responsible for getting it out of the back of the | | | | own labor, you can keep the price quite low. The bed |
| truck. | | | | I built was a little over $600, not including the |
| A second problem is customization. If you don't like | | | | mattress although you could build it for even less if |
| the look of any of the available cabinets, well, that's | | | | you use a very simple design. |