Vertical or horizontal Murphy bed?
The short answer
A vertical bed folds down with its head against the wall: a tall cabinet that takes less wall. A horizontal bed folds down sideways: a wide, lower cabinet that leaves the wall above it open and suits a sloped ceiling.
- A vertical bed takes the least wall, but it needs the height.
- Horizontal is wide and low (a Queen is 85-7/8″ wide but only 66-7/16″ tall), so it fits under a sloped ceiling and leaves the wall above it open.
- A vertical bed comes further into the room when it is down: 87″ for a Queen, against 67″ for a horizontal Queen.
- Every door style is built both ways, in all four sizes.
Two ways to fold
A vertical Murphy bed, sometimes called a wall bed, folds down from the wall with the head of the bed against it, the way a bed usually sits in a room. The cabinet is tall and narrow for the bed it holds.
A horizontal Murphy bed, sometimes called a side bed, folds down sideways, so one long side of the bed is against the wall. The cabinet is wide and, in every size but King, low.
Both come in Twin, Full, Queen and King, and every door style on our Murphy beds page is built both ways. Which way to go is about your wall and your room, not about the style you like.
How much wall each takes
A vertical bed takes the least wall. A vertical Twin’s cabinet is 44-7/8″ wide and a vertical Queen’s is 65-7/8″; even a vertical King is 81-7/8″. In exchange it stands tall: 82-1/8″ for a Twin or Full, 87-1/8″ for a Queen or King.
A horizontal bed is the other way round. A horizontal Queen’s cabinet is 85-7/8″ wide and 66-7/16″ tall; a horizontal Twin’s is 80-7/8″ wide and 45-3/8″ tall. A horizontal King is the exception: it is 83-1/8″ tall, nearly as tall as a vertical bed.
If your wall is narrow and your ceiling is a standard height, vertical usually wins. If your wall is long but the ceiling is low or slopes, look at horizontal.
Low and sloped ceilings
Because a horizontal Twin, Full or Queen is lower, it fits where a tall cabinet can’t: under a sloped ceiling in an attic room or bonus room, or below a shelf or artwork you want to keep. The wall above it stays open.
A vertical bed needs the full height of its cabinet clear, floor to top, across its whole width. Measure the ceiling in more than one place before you choose; How to measure for a Murphy bed walks through it.
How far it comes into the room
When the bed is down, a vertical bed reaches further out from the wall, because its whole length comes into the room: 87″ for a vertical Queen. A horizontal bed only comes out by its width: 67″ for a horizontal Queen.
In a narrow room, that difference can decide it. Measure from the wall to whatever is across from it, and leave room to walk around the end of the bed.
How it sleeps
Both are real beds on a real mattress. A Queen takes the same 60″ × 80″ mattress whichever way it folds, up to 12″ thick including any pillow top, with no box spring. Only the way it folds is different.
Side cabinets beside each
Side cabinets come in three heights, and any of them can stand beside any bed. By default they match their bed: beside a vertical bed a tall cabinet is as tall as the bed (87-1/8″ beside a Queen) so the tops line up; beside a horizontal bed a low cabinet is 28″ tall with a finished top.
See both before you choose
Every bed has its own page, and each one is built both ways, so you can open the vertical and the horizontal version of the same style side by side. On a bed’s page you choose the size, the pulls and the color, add side cabinets either side, and see the price as you build, with a 3D view and a plan drawn with its measurements.
Put your wall’s numbers next to the plan. If one way leaves you a few inches short, the other often fits. And if you are stuck between colors, our color samples are mailed out before you decide.
Questions we get
Which should I choose, vertical or horizontal?
Vertical if your wall is narrow and the ceiling is a standard height: it takes the least wall. Horizontal if the wall is long but the ceiling is low or slopes, or you want the wall above the bed open.
Do all the door styles come both ways?
Yes. Every door style is built as a vertical and a horizontal bed, in Twin, Full, Queen and King.
Is a horizontal bed shorter to sleep on?
No. It takes the same mattress as a vertical bed of the same size. Only the way it folds is different.
Can I put a tall side cabinet beside a horizontal bed?
Yes. Any of the three side cabinet heights can stand beside any bed. By default they match the bed, but you can choose another.
Ready to plan yours?
Every bed is priced live on its page, built to the measurements you give us.
