Murphy beds have been around for a long time. In fact, the first patent for one was back in 1916, by William Murphy. Production of the Murphy bed began shortly thereafter in San Francisco. A Murphy bed is a bed that hinges and can be raised against a wall. More complex designs allow the bed to fit into a wall cavity and even have storage shelves and books at the base. Since the design is more complex than a regular bed, the challenge of building one can be too much for some carpenters.

The right set of Murphy bed plans can get you off to a good start, but there are several things to look for. First, he must have enough views to show every detail of the bed. Nothing is more frustrating than having a gap in the process. I find the free plans to be like this more often. Perhaps the person who created the plans didn’t feel all the details were needed or felt you should already know.

The second thing to look for is a cut list. This is true with anything, but this type of bed has a lot of associated hardware in the construction, so having an accurate cutting list is crucial. A bill of materials as well, but make sure it also includes the hardware you’ll need. A step-by-step build process will save a lot of guesswork. We have a complicated build like this, you’ll be glad you have all the steps you’ll need.

I have built two Murphy bed from plans and I have had very good results. In both cases I used a set of blueprints that also came with the hardware kit. It is much simpler to have a set of plans that is created using a set of supplied hardware. If you’re an experienced woodworker, this might not be a big problem. However, if you are a newbie, I strongly suggest you have a murphy bed plans and hardware kit as a package. In this way the planes will be directly related to the hardware.

Enjoy the process. Building your own Murphy bed from a set of blueprints is very rewarding. Make sure you fully understand the steps outlined in the plans and are familiar with everything before you start cutting wood.