When we say wall beds we immediately think of the Murphy bed. It’s been named after William Lawrence Murphy and legend has it that he came up with the idea when he was living in a one-room apartment, driven by the desire to be able to entertain without making it seem like he’s inviting the guests into a bedroom but rather into a parlor. In the recent years, the design evolved to also include features such as lighting, storage or to be part of complex and multifunctional structures.

Wall beds are mainly meant to be space-saving and this makes them perfect for small homes and apartments, hotel rooms, mobile homes and college rooms. Their practical side is emphasized by companies such as Studiomama which redesigned the interior of this tiny house in London. The furniture was custom-designed and it includes a fold-out bed, a standing desk and extendable benches. They took the challenge of transforming this tiny space into a comfortable and inviting home head on and the project was a big success.

Wall beds became more popular in the early 2010s because of the economy as people started to renovate their small homes rather than move into bigger spaces. Of course, small and budget-friendly doesn’t have to mean cheap and ugly. In fact, the micro homes designed byCocoon9 show the exact opposite. These are prefabricated structure which, despite being small, manage to pair efficiency and luxury in harmonious and very rewarding ways.

The secret to living comfortably in a tiny home is almost always multifunctional furniture. When Rosa and Robert Garneau designed this 650 square foot space they knew they had to make the most out of every little corner so they chose to keep the walls uncluttered and to maintain an open and airy feel throughout. This was achieved by using features like a Murphy bed, secret storage compartments and multipurpose furniture everywhere. {found on dwell}.

Multifunctional furniture is also useful when transforming or repurposing a space. For example, Waataa redesigned a trio of commercial spaces into apartments. The apartment are located in Lisboa, Portugal and despite being small they’re look very fresh, bright and open. That’s thanks to all the space-saving custom furniture designed for them. The blue module featured here is particularly interesting. It looks very clean and compact but it hides a lot of secrets, including a fold-down bed.

In 2014 Petr Hajek Architekti designed a very interesting residence in the Czech Republic. The house is not a compact block but rather a flower, with each room oriented towards a different view of the garden. Each room faces a tree and some spaces are pretty small. To avoid a cluttered look, the architects gave this room a very minimalist design. When the wall bed is folded up the room looks almost completely empty and the focus is on the view.

A Murphy bed was also used where redesigning a residence originally designed by Frank Gehry in the 70’s. The house was transformed by Dan Brunn Architecture, the goal being to follow a minimalist aesthetic and to create a structure that can serve both as an art studio and gallery space while also maintaining its status as a stylish home.

For an artist, solitude can be inspiring. At the same time, comfort is important for everyone so how can you combine these two concepts? Spheron Architects seem to have an answer. They designed a micro apartment located in London and they managed to make it look minimalist without making compromises when it comes to comfort or style. The apartment measures only 26 square meters across and is used by an artist. It serves as a home and workspace and it’s been designed using custom and multifunctional furniture which fits inside wall units that are hidden behind large mirror panels, leaving the rest of the room empty. Only a modest desk and a chair remain.

Living as a family in a small apartment is not easy but if you can somehow manage to make it seem less small then suddenly size doesn’t seem like such a big problem and the space can even become cozy. When finding an affordable apartment in New York that’s also spacious proved to be impossible, a family of three chose instead to move into a 675 square foot apartment and to give it a complete makeover. The folding beds proved to be a great idea, allowing them to save a lot of space both in the master bedroom and in the kid’s room and at the same time to create an L-shaped living space by separating the sleeping area with a sliding door. Find the whole story on dwell.

With two kitchens and a rooftop deck, this loft apartment in Toronto. is perfect both as a home and as an art gallery. It’s used for entertainment all the time while its cozy little bedroom stays private. The fold-up wall bed prevents the room from always looking full and cluttered. {found on dwell}.

Simplicity equals happiness and this is the concept that inspired the LifeEdited project. The contest generated a lot of great designs, including this one which offers a great solution for allowing a space to serve both as a living area and as a sleeping area. The transition from day space to night zone is quick and simple. As the wall beds fold up the sectional is revealed and the space becomes a lot more open and airy.

Ever heard of Nano? A Nano Studio is a micro apartment designed for students. It’s part of a project which aims to build 70 such studios in a complex that includes facilities such as games and fitness rooms, music practice rooms, study lounges, meeting areas and storage units. The project is centered around the ideas of convenience, comfort and low cost. The studios are equipped with bathrooms, kitchens and a mix-use study and sleeping space which consists of a fold-down bed that can be converted into a desk.

This Murphy bed looks a bit unusual here. It’s embedded in a large unit that stretched across the entire wall and it’s here for when guests stay over. It’s an ingenious idea, considering how long and narrow the entire apartment is. Dividing it into small individual rooms would have been a lot less practical.

The challenge of incorporating all the aspects of a large space within a small studio apartment inspired the Normal Projects agency to think outside the box. Actually, the box was a great inspiration source. The team was in charge of renovating a 450 square foot apartment in New York. They chose to build a single oversized unit along one of the walls and to pack it with all the functional components of the apartment such as a Murphy bed, a nightstands, a closet, a library, a kitchen storage area and even a home office.

Clei is a company known for its space-saving furniture designs and the focus on multifunctional modern creations, one of which is this ingenious wall bed system, part of the Resource Furniture line that was presented at ICFF 2015. The design is both stylish and functional. As the Murphy bed is lowered, it sits over the sofa and the shelf becomes a support frame. The cool thing is there’s no need to even take anything off the shelf during the process.

The Habitat in Motion is another Clei creation. It’s a movable wall system designed to be multifunctional so it can transform a room allowing it to serve as a multipurpose space. It can go from bedroom to living room in an instant thanks to the fold-down bed and there’s also a large desk, a modular bookcase and plenty of storage included in the design. Check out more highlights from Salone del Mobile 2017 for inspiration.