How Does a Murphy Bed Work? Pistons, Pivot and Legs Explained

Last updated October 2026 by the Forward Furniture team

A Murphy bed looks like a tall cabinet until you pull the handle. Then a full bed swings out of the wall and lands on its own legs. It feels a little like magic the first time, but the mechanism is simple once you see the parts.

This guide walks through what happens at each step, what is inside the cabinet, how the pistons work, and how vertical and horizontal beds differ, with real sizes from the beds we sell. Our wall beds start at $1,424.99 for the Heidi Twin, and you can compare every model in our Murphy bed collection.

In this guide

• How does it work, step by step?
• What is inside a Murphy bed?
• How do the pistons work?
• Pistons or springs?
• Vertical vs horizontal
• Why it is anchored to the wall
• How the mattress stays on
• Is it hard to open?
• Which one is right for you?
• Questions

How Does a Murphy Bed Work, Step by Step?

Here is what happens when you open a typical piston wall bed, like the ones we carry.

1. Release it. If the bed has a lock or safety catch, open it. Then pull the handle on the front panel.
2. Guide it down. The frame pivots at the bottom of the cabinet. The pistons resist the fall, so the bed lowers in a slow, controlled arc instead of dropping.
3. Legs meet the floor. As the frame comes level, fold down legs swing out to hold the foot end. On the Wallie they flip down on their own.
4. Sleep. The mattress sits on slats or a mesh base, held by a strap that kept it in place while the bed was upright.
5. Close it. Lift the foot end. The pistons push with you, the legs fold back, and the bed swings up into the cabinet. Engage the lock if your model has one.

The whole thing takes a few seconds. The front panel you see when it is closed is the underside of the bed frame, which is why a Murphy bed cabinet looks like a plain wardrobe.

What Is Inside a Murphy Bed?

Every wall bed has the same core parts. The details change from model to model.

• The cabinet: the box that is fixed to the wall. On our wall beds it is laminated engineered wood.
• The bed frame: usually steel, with flexible wood slats or a mesh base under the mattress. No box spring is needed.
• The pivot: the hinge point at the bottom of the cabinet that the frame swings around.
• The lift system: a gas piston on each side that links the cabinet to the frame.
• Legs: fold down supports for the foot end of the bed.
• The mattress strap: holds the mattress on the frame when the bed is upright.
• A lock or catch: keeps the bed shut. The Claremont and Pur Horizontal have one, and the Lumina with Desk has a safety catch for the desk.

Simplified diagram, not to scale. A horizontal bed works the same way but pivots along its long side.

The maker's diagram for the Key West above shows these parts up close: the cabinet attaches to wood studs or masonry, the mechanism mounts to both the floor and the wall, and a dual piston system and mattress strap do the rest.

How Do Murphy Bed Pistons Work?

A gas piston (also called a gas spring) is a sealed steel tube with a rod sliding in and out of it. According to the SUSPA gas spring FAQ, read October 2026, the tube is filled with compressed nitrogen at 10 to 230 bar, and a little oil inside lubricates the seals.

The gas pushes the rod outward all the time. On a Murphy bed, that push is set up to work against the weight of the frame and mattress. Three things follow from how the pistons are built.

• The push gets stronger as the rod goes in. SUSPA explains that pressing the rod in shrinks the space for the gas, so the pressure and the force rise. That is how the piston tracks the changing load as the bed swings.
• They are sized to a weight. That is why each bed lists a mattress weight range. Our vertical wall beds call for a 60 to 90 lb mattress, and our horizontal Claremont and Pur Horizontal call for 35 to 70 lb.
• Temperature changes the push. SUSPA puts it at about 3.5% for every 10 degrees Celsius, so a bed in a cold cottage feels heavier than the same bed in a warm condo.

Pistons are also the part that wears over time. Our guide to how long Murphy beds last covers piston lifespan and what cold rooms do to it.

Do Murphy Beds Use Pistons or Springs?

Both exist. Many wall beds use gas pistons, and some, often custom built ones, use a bank of steel coil springs instead. Here is how the two compare.

General comparison. Piston facts from the SUSPA gas spring FAQ; our models from each product page.

For a home buyer, the practical point is the weight range. With pistons, buy a mattress inside the range on the product page and the bed will feel balanced.

Vertical vs Horizontal: How Does Each One Fold?

A vertical Murphy bed stands on its end and folds down lengthwise, so the head of the bed is against the wall. A horizontal Murphy bed lies on its side and folds down sideways, so the long side of the bed is against the wall. The mechanism is the same; the space it needs is not.

Queen sizes from the maker's spec on each product page. Ceiling for horizontal beds is our reading of the closed height (all under 67 in). Prices are the lowest size in stock, from our catalogue, read October 7, 2026.

Two numbers from that table tell the story. A vertical queen goes from about 20 inches deep when closed to about 92 inches when open, so it uses about four and a half times the floor depth. It also needs a ceiling over 7.5 feet. A horizontal queen stands about 64 to 67 inches tall, so it fits under a window or a sloped ceiling, but it is wider and opens to about 69 inches.

For the full room math, including clearance around the open bed, see our Murphy bed dimensions guide, or shop horizontal Murphy beds if your ceiling is low.

Why Does a Murphy Bed Have to Be Anchored to the Wall?

When the bed is open, the frame, mattress and sleeper all sit out in front of the cabinet. That weight pulls on the top of the cabinet like a lever. The wall anchor is what stops the cabinet from tipping forward, so it is part of the mechanism, not an extra.

• Our vertical wall beds must be anchored to the wall, and the maker shows the cabinet fixed to wood studs or masonry.
• The Heidi full and queen should go into at least two wood studs.
• The Wallie twin does not need to be attached to the wall; its double and queen should be.
• The maker's guide on the Nebula and Key West photos also says the bed is not for children or pets under 50 lb (22.7 kg).

Most people use two people or a qualified installer. Our guide to Murphy bed installation costs in Canada breaks down what that costs.

Want to skip the wall anchor altogether? Our guide to whether a Murphy bed can be freestanding lists which beds can stand on their own.

How Does the Mattress Stay On a Murphy Bed?

A strap. When the bed is folded up, the mattress is standing on its end, so a strap across it holds it to the frame. You can usually leave a fitted sheet on, too.

A regular mattress works, as long as it fits three limits on the product page:

• Size: a standard 54 x 75 in full or 60 x 80 in queen on our vertical beds.
• Thickness: 8 to 12 in on our vertical queens, 8 to 10 in on the horizontal ones, or the bed will not close.
• Weight: inside the piston range above. No futons.

Our guide on whether Murphy beds need a special mattress goes through sizes and types that fit.

Is a Murphy Bed Hard to Open?

Not when it is set up right. Because the pistons carry most of the weight, a balanced bed should need a steady pull, not a heave. If it feels heavy or it drops fast, check these first:

• The mattress is outside the weight range for the pistons.
• The room is cold, which lowers the piston push.
• The pistons are worn and need replacing as a pair.
• The cabinet was not installed level and square.

If you would rather skip the wall altogether, a cabinet bed works differently: it is freestanding, has no wall anchor and folds forward out of a low chest. The Olivia cabinet bed holds 750 lb. Read how a cabinet bed works to compare the two mechanisms.

Which Murphy Bed Is Right for You?

Start with the room, then the mechanism takes care of itself.

• Ceiling over 7.5 ft and a narrow wall: a vertical bed like the Nebula or Key West.
• Low or sloped ceiling, or under a window: a horizontal bed like the Claremont, Pur Horizontal or Heidi.
• A home office: the Lumina with Desk, which folds a work surface away before the bed comes down.
• No drilling allowed: a freestanding cabinet bed instead.

Murphy Beds to Compare

Prices are read from our catalogue on the day this guide was updated.

Nebula Murphy Wall Bed
From $2,149.99

Vertical, twin pistons, brushed nickel handles.

Key West Murphy Wall Bed
From $2,328.99

Vertical, steel frame, mattress strap included.

Lumina Murphy Wall Bed with Desk
From $2,759.99

A desk by day, a bed at night, with two LED lights.

Claremont Horizontal Wall Bed
From $2,119.99

Folds sideways and locks shut; for low ceilings.

Heidi Grey Horizontal Murphy Bed
From $1,424.99

Our lowest priced wall bed, in twin, full and queen.

Want to feel how a fold away bed moves before you buy? We keep the Olivia cabinet bed on our Kelowna and Calgary showroom floors, so you can open and close one yourself.

How Murphy Beds Work: Common Questions

Do Murphy beds need electricity?

No. The pistons are sealed gas springs, so the bed opens and closes by hand with no power. Some models add lights or a power grommet, like the Lumina and Pur Horizontal, and those need an outlet.

Can a Murphy bed fall on you?

A properly installed bed is anchored to the wall and its pistons slow it down. Keep it locked when closed, use a mattress inside the weight range and check the anchor once or twice a year.

Do you need a box spring for a Murphy bed?

No. Our wall beds have flexible slats or a mesh base, so the mattress goes straight on the frame.

How long does it take to open a Murphy bed?

A few seconds. Release the lock if there is one, pull the handle and guide the bed down until the legs reach the floor.

What is the difference between a Murphy bed and a wall bed?

Nothing. Wall bed is another name for a Murphy bed, a bed that folds up into a cabinet fixed to the wall.

Find the Right Wall Bed for Your Room