Smaller homes are very common these days. Smaller lots, the result of very expensive real estate, mean less buildable space for each home in the suburbs. The situation is even more squeezed in the city.

People may work and live in existing buildings converted to apartments. Whatever can be used to help space be more efficient is valued.

He wanted to be able to entertain young ladies in his apartment. There was only one problem with this. Proper young women would not enter a young man’s bedroom during this period. Because of this, Murphy developed a way to hide the bed during his entertaining, so it was not a bedroom.

The best part of the Murphy bed was that it provided a way to automatically and easily store a bed out of sight, then bring it back down when it was needed again. The bed, fully made up, would flip up on end and then be closed away in a closet until it was time to go to sleep.

Murphy patented his idea in 1900 and put it into production. People heard about the Murphy bed and decided to take advantage of their space-saving qualities. In 1906, the San Francisco earthquake occurred and Murphy beds became still more popular.

The quake damaged much of the city. As a result, the available living space was reduced. What space was left had to be used in an efficient way. Murphy’s invention helped people to do this.

Murphy moved this flourishing business to New York in the 1920s. It is still there, and still producing beds. More and more people living in cities and apartments means that Murphy beds are useful and popular. These are so well made that many of the original Murphy beds produced are still in use today.

Efficient use of space is prized in many different areas. In these spaces, such as hotels and hospitals, offices, fire stations, and apartments, Murphy beds are popular and frequently used.

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