Who invented Murphy Beds?
The Murphy Bed was born of necessity by William Lawrence Murphy – to impress the young lady he was falling for.
The history of the Murphy beds dates as far back as the late 19th century. What initially started in an attempt to impress the woman he so loved metamorphosed into a brand of different types of top quality solid wood beds, wall beds and wall-saving beds.
It all started when the Inventor, William Lawrence Murphy began thinking of ways to make his then one-room apartment appealing, so he could impress and win the heart of the young opera singer he so loved. Despite his limited finances, the visionary found a way to neatly stow his bed into his closet – a move that saw him transform his one-room apartment from a bedroom into a living room. It’s safe to say that Murphy’s ingenuity was top notch as he eventually won the heart of the lady, whom he married in 1900.
Today, the Murphy beds are increasingly becoming a household brand, here in the US. The beds are carefully designed such that they can be folded into a cabinet. This only means that with the Murphy beds, you can decide to create a bed or hide a bed depending on your needs and that of your entire household.
According to marketing experts, the Murphy wall beds were not only of top quality but were also timely enough to solve the problem of housing shortage brought on by large population spurts in the country that resulted in the building of smaller homes. The Murphy solid wood beds are therefore a perfect choice for people in smaller houses to manage their spaces better since these beds can be folded and hidden in the closet to convert a sleeping porch, a bedroom or a dressing room into a living room area during the day.
Over the years, William Murphy’s invention has remained impressive and continued to make many curious. Robyn J. Einhorn, the National Museum of American History’s Assistant Collection Manager, researched on Murphy’s bed place in American history for her second Master's thesis. Besides, the Murphy beds have made us laugh in films like Police Academy II {1985), and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988) as well as in animated sitcoms like Family Guy.
William Murphy first patented his bed in 1911 but by the 1920’s newspaper advertisements for apartments were seriously using the murphy beds as a selling point.
To date, the Murphy beds have remained in high demand as they continue to fill a need in living spaces in different types of accommodations, including apartments and suburban homes. The Murphy beds may be pricier, but rest assured they are of top quality and give absolute value to your money.
