Is a Murphy Bed Good for a Studio Apartment? 5 Layouts and Real Sizes

Last updated November 2026 by the Forward Furniture team

In a studio, the bed is the biggest thing in the room, and it sits in the middle of everything. You eat beside it, work beside it and have friends over beside it. A bed that folds away changes the whole room for most of the day.

This guide shows five ways to lay out a studio with a fold away bed, how much floor each bed really takes, and which one suits a renter. Every size comes from the maker's spec on our product pages, and every price is from our live catalogue. If you already know you cannot drill into the walls, start with our cabinet beds.

In this guide

• Is a Murphy bed a good idea for a studio?
• Murphy bed or cabinet bed for a studio?
• How much floor does the bed take?
• 5 studio layouts with a fold away bed
• Twin, full or queen in a studio?
• Can you put a Murphy bed in a rented apartment?
• What living with one is like every day
• Which bed is right for your studio?
• Questions

Is a Murphy Bed a Good Idea for a Studio Apartment?

For most people in a studio, yes. A regular bed is there all day, even though you only sleep in it at night. A fold away bed gives that floor back. Here is when it makes the most sense:

• You work from home and need the room to feel like an office in the day.
• You have people over and would rather they sit on a sofa than on your bed.
• The studio is small, so one big piece of furniture decides the whole layout.
• You want the room to look tidy without making the bed perfect every morning.

It is less of a fit if you will not fold it away. A bed that stays open every day is just a bed with extra steps. Be honest about your habits before you buy. Our list of Murphy bed disadvantages covers the trade offs in full.

Murphy Bed or Cabinet Bed for a Studio?

Both fold away, but they hide in different places. A Murphy bed, also called a wall bed, folds up into a tall or wide cabinet that is fixed to the wall. A cabinet bed folds into a waist high chest that stands on its own.

• Cabinet bed: no drilling, the folding mattress comes with it, and the top works as a TV stand or a shelf. It moves with you when your lease ends.
• Wall bed: takes your own regular mattress, which suits sleeping on it every night. It must be anchored to the wall.

In a studio you sleep in the bed every night, not just when a guest visits. That makes the mattress matter more. Our cabinet beds use a 5 or 6 inch folding foam mattress. A wall bed like the Claremont takes a standard mattress 8 to 10 inches thick. For the full side by side, read cabinet bed vs Murphy bed.

How Much Floor Does a Fold Away Bed Take in a Studio?

Take a 400 sq ft studio as an example, a room about 20 by 20 feet. A queen mattress alone covers 33.3 sq ft, about 8 percent of that floor. Add a 30 inch path on both sides and at the foot and the bed zone is closer to 92 sq ft. That is the space you win back when the bed folds away.

We worked out the floor each bed takes closed and open, from the maker's specifications on each product page (width, depth and open length):

Floor closed = width times closed depth. Floor open = width times the open length the maker lists. Sizes are the maker's specs on our product pages. The 400 sq ft studio is a worked example.

What the numbers say:

• Closed, the Olivia takes 10.4 sq ft, about 2.6 percent of a 400 sq ft studio.
• It gives back 25.6 sq ft each day it is closed, about the size of a small rug.
• The Stow Twin is the smallest closed at 7.1 sq ft, and only 42.7 inches wide.
• Wall beds are shallow but wide. The Heidi Grey twin is 15.75 inches deep, but it needs about 80 inches of wall.

5 Studio Apartment Layouts With a Fold Away Bed

Measure first. You need the open length of the bed plus a path to walk past it. One maker spec we carry, for the Nebula, asks for about 30 to 36 inches of clearance around the open bed. Then try one of these layouts:

1. Bed wall facing the sofa. Put the cabinet bed on the wall across from the sofa and use its top as a TV stand. The Midtown Queen works as a console and is only 22 inches deep closed.
2. Under the window. A low bed fits under many windows, so measure from the floor to the sill. The Olivia is 40 inches tall closed, and the Heidi Grey twin is 44.25 inches.
3. Office by day. The Lumina with Desk has a desk on the front of the bed. Work at it all day, clear it, then fold the desk up and pull the bed down.
4. A sleep corner. Open the bed into the corner farthest from the door and the kitchen, so you can walk in without stepping around it.
5. Storage wall. Put the bed beside the closet so bedding goes straight from the shelf to the bed. The Midtown drawer is 55.9 inches wide and 9.4 inches tall for sheets and pillows.

For a step by step on measuring, our guide will a cabinet bed fit shows where to put the tape. For more ideas that hide a bed, see our hideaway bed ideas.

Twin, Full or Queen in a Studio?

A bigger bed is nicer to sleep on, but it needs more wall and more open floor. Here is a simple way to choose:

• Twin: one sleeper in a very small studio. The Stow Twin is 42.7 inches wide closed and costs $2,171.99 with its mattress.
• Full: one sleeper who wants room to spread out. The Stow Full is 57.7 inches wide and costs $2,294.99. Its cabinet box weighs about 130 lb.
• Queen: two sleepers. The Stow Queen is $2,417.99, and the Olivia comes in queen or double.

Check the open length too. The Stow beds reach 76.8 to 81.5 inches into the room when open, and the Olivia reaches 83 inches. For every size side by side, see our Murphy bed dimensions guide.

Can You Put a Murphy Bed in a Rented Apartment?

You can, but a wall bed needs to be fixed to the wall, and many leases ask you to get the landlord's okay before you drill. Here is what each type needs:

• Cabinet beds like the Olivia and the Stow need no wall mounting at all.
• The Heidi Grey twin is the lowest wall bed here, 44.25 inches tall closed. Its full and queen sizes should be fixed into at least two wood studs.
• The Claremont and the Lumina must be anchored to the wall. The Lumina queen stands 85.8 inches tall and needs an 83.5 inch anchoring wall.

If you are not sure, ask in writing before you buy. Or skip the question with a cabinet bed. Our post on whether a Murphy bed can be free standing goes deeper on this.

What Living With a Fold Away Bed Is Like Every Day

A guest uses the bed a few nights a year. In a studio you use it every night, so the daily routine matters. Plan for these things:

• Bedding: on a cabinet bed, the pillows and duvet go in a drawer or the closet. On a wall bed, straps hold the made bed in place when it folds up.
• Clear the top: anything on top of a cabinet bed has to come off before it opens. Keep it to a lamp and a plant.
• Mattress: if you sleep on it every night, pick a wall bed with a regular mattress, or try the cabinet bed mattress first.
• The lock: the Claremont has a lock that holds it shut when it is folded up.

Wondering about comfort? Read are cabinet and Murphy beds comfortable. Wondering about how long they last with daily use? See how long Murphy beds last.

Which Fold Away Bed Is Right for Your Studio?

Prices are live from our catalogue on the day this page was built. Sizes are the maker's specs.

A quick way to choose:

• You rent or move often: a cabinet bed.
• You sleep on it every night and own the place: a wall bed with a regular mattress.
• You work from home: the Lumina with Desk.
• Your best wall is under a window: the Olivia or a sideways wall bed.

Fold Away Beds for a Studio

Olivia Cabinet Bed
Preorder, charged in full at checkout: see the current price

Freestanding hardwood chest, queen or double, tri fold mattress included.

Stow Full Cabinet Bed
$2,294.99

Acacia wood chest, 57.7 inches wide, gel memory foam mattress included.

Midtown Queen Cabinet Bed
$2,833.99

Grey barn door console, 22 inches deep, with a storage drawer.

Claremont Horizontal Murphy Bed
From $2,119.99

Folds down sideways and takes your own mattress.

Lumina Murphy Wall Bed with Desk
From $2,759.99

A desk by day and a wall bed at night.

Want to try one first? The Olivia is on the floor at our showrooms, so you can open and close it yourself and see how much room it leaves.

Studio Apartment Murphy Beds: Questions

Is a Murphy bed good for a studio apartment?

Yes, for most people. It folds away by day so the room can be a living room or an office. It works best if you will fold it up most days.

Can you use a Murphy bed every day?

Yes. In a studio you sleep in it every night. For nightly use, a wall bed with a regular mattress is the most comfortable choice.

Do you need to drill to install a Murphy bed?

Wall beds must be fixed to the wall, so yes. Cabinet beds like the Olivia and the Stow stand on their own with no drilling, which suits renters.

How much space does a Murphy bed need in a studio?

Closed, the beds we compared take about 7 to 12 sq ft of floor. Open, plan for the bed's full length plus about 30 to 36 inches to walk around it.

What size Murphy bed is best for a studio?

A full suits one sleeper in most studios. Pick a twin for a very small room, or a queen if two people sleep in it.

More small space picks are in our guest bed options for small spaces and our list of Murphy bed alternatives.

Find a Fold Away Bed for Your Studio