Are Murphy beds comfortable? Yes, when the mattress is a good one that fits the cabinet. Are they safe? Yes, when the mechanism is sound and the cabinet is fastened to the wall framing. The recalls that make the news are almost all about beds that came off the wall. Alpha Closets & Murphy Beds Inc builds its Murphy beds around original “Murphy Bed” mechanisms and standard mattresses 11 inches deep or less.
This guide covers what decides comfort, what the federal recall record shows, and what to ask before you buy.
Are Murphy beds comfortable?
A Murphy bed (also called a wall bed) folds up into a cabinet or wall when you aren’t using it. The name started as a brand.
Comfort comes down to the mattress. Lori Beds, a Murphy bed maker, puts it this way: “Murphy beds can be comfortable like regular beds if you use a high-quality mattress.” That is a seller’s view, but it matches how the bed works. You sleep on a mattress, not on the cabinet.
The catch is fit. The mechanism limits how thick and heavy that mattress can be.
Which mattress fits a Murphy bed?
The mechanism sets the limit. Lori Beds warns that “a mattress that is too heavy or too thick can affect how the bed opens, closes, and stays secured.” (A mechanism is the pivot, springs or pistons that lift and hold the bed.)
Limits differ by maker:
| Source | Mattress thickness it states |
|---|---|
| Wilding Wallbeds (seller) | “Some are limited to a 6” or 8” pad, while most only fit a basic 10” mattress.” |
| Murphy Door (seller) | Standard mattresses “up to 12 inches thick” |
| Alpha Closets & Murphy Beds | Standard mattresses 11 inches deep or less |
So the useful question is not “which brand of mattress”. It is “what depth was this bed built for”. A thin mattress is a comfort trade-off, which is why the depth limit is worth asking about before you order, not after.
Firmness is separate, and it is personal. The Sleep Foundation says “Side sleepers do best with Medium Soft to Medium Firm mattresses” and “Back sleepers do best with a Medium Firm to Firm mattress with light to moderate contouring.” Pick for how you sleep, then check that it fits the cabinet.
Ask the seller which mattresses the bed is meant for.
What do the recalls say about Murphy bed safety?
Murphy beds are heavy, and the failures on record are about the frame leaving the wall. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recalled several.
- Bestar, April 2022: “In July 2018, a 79-year-old woman died after a Bestar wall bed fell on her, injuring her spine.”
- Cyme Tech, September 2022: the CPSC said “The wall beds can break or detach from the wall and fall onto those nearby, posing serious impact and crush hazards.” It reported “146 reports of the beds falling or breaking including 62 injuries.”
- FUFU&GAGA, December 2025: the maker received “two reports of the wall beds falling during assembly when the wall beds were not anchored to the wall.”
- Rockler hardware kits, 2018: “The hardware kits used to secure the wooden wall enclosures to the wall studs do not provide sufficient bracing support.”
Those are four recalls, not a verdict on every bed. They do show where the risk sits: the frame, the hardware and how the cabinet is attached.
What keeps a Murphy bed safe?
Lori Beds, a maker, says to secure “the bed cabinet to the wall using three L brackets to ensure they are anchored into wall studs.” A stud is a vertical framing member inside the wall.
This is not an installation guide, and you shouldn’t treat it as one. Mounting is a job for the maker’s instructions and a trained installer. Two things are worth knowing as a buyer:
- The cabinet’s fastening to the wall is a safety feature, not a finishing detail.
- Lori Beds also says that “supervising children and pets around the Murphy bed, especially when lowered and folded, is crucial to prevent accidents.”
At Alpha, the installers are company employees, and the beds are built in Alpha’s own cabinet shop in Gulf Breeze. Alpha has installed over 2,000 Murphy beds. If you are comparing sellers, ask each one who mounts the bed and what it is fastened to.
Should you buy a kit or a professional build?
Alpha’s own view on DIY kits is that the risk is missing parts, and that the kits are very heavy. The recalls above point the same way: two of them involve hardware or assembly. If you do buy a kit, follow the maker’s instructions exactly and don’t assemble it alone.
A professionally built bed trades price for a mechanism, cabinet and mounting handled by one team. Alpha’s typical lead time is 4 to 8 weeks from deposit to installation.
Questions to ask before you buy a Murphy bed
- What mattress depth was this bed built for, and can I see the limit in writing?
- How is the cabinet fastened to the wall, and who does it?
- What mechanism does it use, and who made it?
- If a part is missing or fails, who comes out?
- Has this bed or its hardware been the subject of a recall? You can search the CPSC recall list by product name.
Murphy bed comfort and safety questions
Are Murphy beds as comfortable as regular beds?
They can be, with a good mattress that fits the cabinet. Makers say comfort depends on the mattress, and the cabinet limits how thick it can be.
Are Murphy beds dangerous?
Recalls show beds can fall when the frame, hardware or wall attachment fails. A bed that is built well and anchored to wall framing, with the maker’s instructions followed, is a different case from a recalled kit.
What mattress thickness fits a Murphy bed?
It depends on the bed. Sellers state limits of 6 to 12 inches. Alpha’s standard is mattresses 11 inches deep or less.
Want a Murphy bed that fits your wall?
Comfort and safety both come from the same place: a mattress the bed was built for and a cabinet fastened to the wall by someone who knows the mechanism. Alpha Closets & Murphy Beds Inc designs and builds Murphy beds in its own cabinet shop in Gulf Breeze. Call (850) 934-9130 or see the Murphy beds page to start.