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A spare bed takes up a lot of floor, and most small homes cannot give that up. Guests still come, though, and a living room still needs space to move.
That is where murphy beds for small spaces earn their keep. By day the bed folds into a cabinet, and the room becomes a desk, a play area, or just open floor. By night the bed comes down in a few seconds.
The cabinet can also do a lot more than hide a mattress. In the eight rooms below, the bed shares a wall with a built-in desk, sits behind warm wood panels, or tucks inside a painted arch. Some add shelves on top. Others add mirrors, lights, and small ledges where bedside tables would be.
Each idea comes with a short note on why it works and a quick visual you can save for later. Look at the colors, the storage, and how much floor is left in each room. Then borrow the details that fit your own space and skip the rest.
Start with number one and keep scrolling.
1. A Horizontal Murphy Bed With a Display Shelf on Top
Low ceiling or a big window on the wall? A horizontal Murphy bed can fit better than the tall kind.
- The cabinet is wide and shallow, so the bed folds up sideways instead of standing on end.
- The top of the cabinet turns into a shelf for frames, books, and a camera.
- White paint keeps the box from looking heavy next to the window.
- Deep blue curtains and a navy and mustard pillow give the room one clear color pair.
Once the bed is folded away, the wood floor is yours again. Leave a little space in front so the legs can swing down before you push a lamp against it.
2. Share One Wall With a Built-In Desk and Glowing Shelves
Guests do not need a whole room when the desk can do double duty. Here the desk runs along one wall with drawers underneath and open shelves above. The Murphy bed sits in its own white cabinet right beside it. Warm strip lights under the shelves keep the corner calm after dark.
To copy the idea:
- Line up the desk and the bed cabinet on the same wall.
- Paint both the same white so they read as one built-in.
- Add lights under the shelves and put them on a dimmer.
- Keep a round rug in the middle so the floor still feels like a living room.
Check that the desk chair can roll back before the bed comes down. That one test saves a lot of bumped knees.
Recreate this office and guest corner
3. Frame the Bed With Tall Cabinets and Built-In Ledges
Tall cabinets on both sides make a bed look planned, even in a narrow room. This soft sage green set wraps the bed on three sides and leaves just enough wall for one big piece of art.
Shelf across the top. Books, a bowl, and a trailing plant sit up high and out of the way.
Ledges at mattress height. Small flat shelves built into the cabinet sides hold flowers and a candle, so no bedside table is needed.
One warm color. A terracotta throw and a few green pillows stand out because the cabinets stay calm.
The room feels bigger because nothing sticks out.
Paint the cabinets a soft, muted color.
Use built-in ledges instead of bedside tables.
Keep the top shelf to a few items.
Bulky nightstands that block the cabinet doors.
Cabinets in a color that fights the bedding.
A crowded top shelf that feels heavy.
4. Round Every Edge in a Kid’s Built-In Bed Nook
Soft shapes make a small bedroom feel gentler. This kid’s room uses blush, grey blue, and warm beige, and almost nothing in it has a hard corner. The headboard is a row of padded rounded panels. Two big painted circles sit on the wall behind it. An oval shelf cut into the cabinet holds toys and books, and light up star and moon shapes glow on the side wall.
The bed in this photo reads as a regular platform bed, but the same curves would look great wrapped around a Murphy bed cabinet.
💡 Quick Tip
Pick one shape and repeat it three times. In this room it is the arch and the circle, on the headboard, the wall, and the shelf. More than one shape starts to look busy.
Keep the colors close in tone too. When blush, grey, and beige sit at the same softness, the room stays quiet even with so many details.
5. Paint the Wardrobes and the Bed Nook the Same Deep Green
When the doors, the walls, and the arch are all one color, storage stops looking like storage. Here tall olive green wardrobes stand on both sides of an arched recess, and the bed sits inside it. The arch curves right over the headboard, which makes the sleeping spot feel like a little alcove.
The fun is in the small stuff. A wavy raised trim runs down the door edges. The knobs are tiny bunny shapes. The headboard is scalloped and striped, with a red edge that picks up the playful mood.
Dark paint can make a small room feel tight. This one stays open because the ceiling is light and the floor is pale, with a jute rug on top.
6. Stack Closed Cabinets and Spotlights Above the Bed
Look up first in this bedroom. A warm wood band wraps over the bed with a row of closed cabinet doors, and small downlights are set right into it. The bed itself sits in a clean white recess, so the wood frames it like a picture.
A few things worth noticing:
- A tall mirror strip beside the bed bounces light back into the room.
- A floating bedside unit has one open shelf for books and one drawer for chargers.
- The pillows mix a plain green velvet square with chunky textured ones, so the bed has depth without much color.
All of that storage lives above and beside the bed, not in the middle of the floor.
Frame the bed space with a wood tone band that runs across the top and down both sides.
Fit closed cabinets inside the band for spare bedding and off season things.
Set small downlights into the underside so the bed gets soft light at night.
Add a narrow mirror at one side and a floating bedside unit at the other.
7. Open Shelves or Closed Cabinets Over the Bed?
This small guest room uses both. Wood tone open shelves hold woven balls, a basket, a small plant, and a few books. Above them, plain white cabinet doors hide everything else. Below, the bed has a blue fabric headboard and two patterned pillows in mustard and grey, with a jute rug and a chunky wood side table beside it.
If you cannot decide, the table below sorts it out fast.
| Open shelves | Closed cabinets |
|---|---|
| Look: light and styled | Look: clean and quiet |
| Holds: books, baskets, a plant | Holds: spare bedding, luggage |
| Upkeep: needs dusting | Upkeep: wipe the doors |
| Best placed: at eye level | Best placed: up high |
The winning move here is the split. Open shelves sit lower where you can reach them, and the closed doors take the high spots.
8. Hide the Bed Behind Wood Panels With a Zigzag Edge
Warm wood panels with a small zigzag edge frame the whole bed wall in this room. The tall wardrobe beside it has a long slim handle, and a cubby below holds books and a plush bunny, with two drawers under it. When the bed is down, it shows a sage green cover and soft curved side pieces. A single framed print hangs on the wall above.
Two details do the heavy lifting:
- The bed box is the same wood as the wardrobe, so the two read as one piece of furniture.
- A round woven rug sits half under the bed, which keeps the floor soft and the shape friendly.
Pick one wood tone for every panel. A second shade here would break the spell.
When the bed box and the wardrobe share one wood, the Murphy bed looks like furniture first and a bed second.
Final Thoughts on Murphy Beds for Small Spaces
A small room does not have to choose between a real bed and a real floor. Every room above gives up a little wall to get the whole floor back during the day.
Take the pieces that suit yours. Maybe it is the shelf on top, the matching paint, the built-in ledges, or one steady wood tone. Measure the wall and the floor in front of it before you buy anything, because the bed needs room to swing down.
Save this post to your board for murphy beds for small spaces, and come back when you are ready to plan your own wall.
Keep Reading: More Bedroom Aesthetic Ideas
- Daybed Room Ideas: 7 Cozy Nooks That Sleep a Guest
- Apartment Decorating Ideas for Renters: 9 Looks That Feel Like Home
- Whimsical Kids Bedroom Ideas: 10 Magical Looks to Copy
- Browse all bedroom aesthetic ideas
Amelia has decorated four rented flats and one small terrace in London. She writes about making ordinary rooms feel warm on a real budget, and tests lighting and layout ideas in her own home before recommending them.
