WALL BED TURNS HOME OFFICE INTO GUEST ROOM
There are many calculations to do when planning a renovation. Here’s one: multiply the number of guests who have actually used your spare bedroom by the number of occasions on which you wished there was more space for a theatre room or pool table divided by the guilt you might feel over getting rid of said spare bedroom. A wall bed is your answer. “A lot of people, when renovating their basements, are not putting in a bedroom that’s only being used a couple of times a year,” says designer Carrie Luterbach of Custom Wall-Beds in Calgary. “Most people only have guests in their home a couple of times a year. A dedicated bedroom is a complete waste of space. We find people now are trying to keep their basements open.”
She says they have installed wall beds in huge, million-dollar homes right down to studio apartments. Many of their clients are downsizing and want that second or third bedroom they might have to serve more than one purpose.
“When the beds are closed up, they’re just 16 inches deep (40.6 cm) so it’s no deeper than having a bookshelf along the wall,” Luterbach says.
With some planning during the planning and construction phase, wall beds can be installed flush to the wall concealed by cupboard doors. However, in most applications, wall beds are installed in completely finished rooms.
While wall beds are perfect for theatre rooms, family rooms, home gyms and upper floor bonus areas, Luterbach says about 75 per cent of their customers want a bed in a home office or work station scenario.
“Even with laptops and tablets, people still want a designated area for their paperwork,” she says.
The wall bed can be integrated with built-in side lamps, decorative lighting and spaces for speakers, printers, sewing machines, televisions, video games systems and books.
Custom cabinetry that holds the bed plus matching cupboards for storage are manufactured in Calgary with a six- to 12-week turnaround. An average order is $3,000, plus or minus, with a home office package anywhere from $8,000 to $10,000.
Wall beds are often referred to as Murphy beds, after Bill Murphy of San Francisco who designed and patented the first “closet” bed in the late 1800s. The patent has been revised many times since then and the name Murphy is now a trademark.
The name “Murphy” is also in the dictionary, says Luterbach, but not all wall beds are of the same quality as a Murphy bed.
The weight of a bed can be around 90 kg, but the spring mechanism allows the bed to be brought down or put back up with two fingers. Handles for the bed are installed at a safe height.
“Murphy beds work on a leverage system. So even once a child can reach the handles, it will never just crash on people. You have to guide it down, but it just won’t come falling down,” assures Luterbach.
Murphy beds are designed for a 10 inch (25.4 cm) standard depth coil mattress. Memory foam mattresses can’t be used as the materials they contain must be kept horizontal.
Despite the built- in appearance, a Murphy bed and matching cabinetry can be disassembled and moved.
“They’re mounted into the studs with wood screws, so they don’t leave a gaping hole. But they should call us to take it down because there’s a lot of torque on the springs and that’s typically when a bed gets broken,” says Luterbach.
Custom Wall-Beds offers an online room planner to explore your available space and virtually plan a room renovation incorporating a wall bed. For details, visit custommurphybeds.com.