Murphy beds with shelves — Storage that does not move when the bed does
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A Murphy bed with shelves puts open storage into the same assembly as the bed. It is the most-photographed version of the category, because open shelves are what make a wall bed read as joinery rather than as a large box with a mattress in it.
It is also the version where one detail decides whether you enjoy it or resent it: whether the shelves stay still when the bed moves, or travel with it.
Two arrangements exist. Fixed shelves sit in side towers or a bridge above the bed, stay put when the bed comes down, and can hold anything. Rotating or pivoting shelves are built into the bed front and swing as the bed does — clever, but everything on them must be secured or it falls. Fixed side shelves are the safer buy and the more useful storage; rotating shelves are a display feature. Either way, measure the total assembly width, not the mattress, and check shelf thickness: thin particleboard sags permanently under books.
Fixed shelves against shelves that move
Fixed: side towers and bridges
Shelving in columns either side of the bed, or a run across the top tying them together. The shelves are part of the cabinetry and never move, so they behave like any bookcase. This is the arrangement worth having if the shelves are meant to store things.
The cost is wall. Each tower is typically 16 to 24 inches wide, so a queen assembly goes from about 60 inches to somewhere between 92 and 108. A bridge across the top costs no wall but needs height above the bed’s swing clearance.
Rotating: shelves on the bed front
Some designs build shelving into the face of the closed bed, on a pivot that keeps it upright as the bed rotates down. Closed, you see a bookcase; open, the bookcase has swung to the side or turned to stay level.
Mechanically these are genuinely clever and they cost no extra wall at all. The catch is that everything on them is subject to a quarter-turn of motion every time the bed is used. Books wedged tight are fine. A vase is not. Treat these shelves as display, not storage, and buy the fixed kind if you need the latter.
Measure the assembly, not the bed
This is where the money is lost, because a wall bed cannot casually be returned once it is bolted to a wall.
A listing for a “queen Murphy bed with shelves” states a queen mattress and, separately, an overall width. Your wall has to satisfy the second number, and it has to satisfy it in usable wall — a light switch, a door swing, a radiator or a window reveal inside the run removes that width as surely as a corner does.
Two more clearances to check on the drawing:
- The bed’s arc. The mattress swings out past the cabinet face as it descends. A bridge shelf set too low, or a tower with a door left ajar, is in that path.
- Shelf depth against the closed bed depth. Side towers are often deeper than the bed cabinet, which is fine, but it changes how far the whole thing projects into the room.
| Arrangement | Extra wall | Extra ceiling | Can it hold real weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side towers, fixed | 32 to 48 in for a pair | None | Yes, if the shelves are thick enough |
| Single side tower | 16 to 24 in | None | Yes |
| Bridge above the bed | None | 12 to 18 in | Yes, but awkward to reach |
| Rotating shelves in the bed front | None | None | Display only |
What makes a shelf good
Shelving is where cheap furniture shows itself fastest, and a sagging shelf never recovers.
- Thickness. Under about 3/4 inch, a shelf spanning 20 inches or more will bow under books within a couple of years. The specification usually states it; if it does not, that is itself informative.
- Span. A wide tower with no centre support asks more of the shelf than a narrow one. Two narrow columns often outperform one wide one.
- Adjustable or fixed. Adjustable shelves sit on pins in a drilled column, which means the sides are substantial enough to drill and the shelf can be moved when what you store changes. It is usually a sign of a better-built unit.
- A back panel. A shelf unit with a proper back resists racking. A frame with an open back relies entirely on the wall fixing to stay square.
- Edge banding. On engineered panel, intact edges keep moisture out of the core. A raw edge on a shelf that holds a plant will swell.
Which material does what, and how to read the words on a listing, is set out in what engineered wood actually is.
Loaded shelves change the fixing job
A tower full of books is heavy, and it is usually bolted to the wall in its own right as well as to the bed cabinet. That means more fixing points and more studs to locate — an assembly spanning 100 inches crosses six or seven on standard 16-inch centres, and the maker expects you to use the ones they specify.
The bed mechanism’s own load is unchanged by the shelving. What changes is that the mechanism now lives inside a structure that is also carrying storage, so racking anywhere in the assembly shows up as a bed that folds badly. Get it plumb and get it anchored.
The mattress limit still applies
Shelves or not, every cabinet states a maximum mattress thickness, because the mattress folds into the case with the bedding on it. Buy the cabinet, read its number, then buy the mattress — it is the most common reason a newly installed bed will not close, and it has nothing to do with the storage.
Is shelving the right addition?
If the room lost its bookcase to the bed, yes, and an integrated unit looks far better than a wall bed with a separate bookcase shoved beside it. If what you actually need is clothes storage, closed side cabinets are the better buy — open shelves and folded clothing are not friends. If the room needs seating rather than storage, look at Murphy beds with a couch, which need the most floor of any version.
And if the wall is tight, remember that shelving is the part you can always add later as a separate piece of furniture. The bed is not.
Before you order
- Stud finder Towers are bolted in their own right; find every stud the assembly crosses
- Tape measure Overall assembly width plus door swing at the ends of the run
- Spirit level Two towers out of plumb show against each other immediately
- Furniture anchor straps Sensible backup on tall loaded shelving, alongside the maker’s fixings
What to buy
For closed storage instead of open shelves, see Murphy beds with storage. For the bed without any of it, start at the queen wall bed, and for how the category fits together, how Murphy beds work.
Questions we get asked
Can you put shelves above a Murphy bed?
Yes, if there is height above the bed’s swing clearance. The bed arcs higher than its closed height on the way down, so use the swing figure from the listing rather than the cabinet height.
Do the shelves on a Murphy bed move with the bed?
Depends on the design. Side towers and bridges are fixed. Shelves built into the bed front pivot as the bed rotates — anything on them needs to be secured.
How much extra wall do shelves add?
A pair of side towers typically adds 32 to 48 inches to a queen, taking the assembly to around 92 to 108 inches overall. A bridge adds none.
Will the shelves hold books?
Fixed shelves will if they are thick enough — look for about 3/4 inch or more, and shorter spans. Rotating front shelves are a display feature and should not be loaded.
Can I add shelves to a Murphy bed later?
Matching towers are often sold as an add-on, so yes — but check the finish batch, because wood-effect panels shift between production runs.
Are shelves worth the extra over a plain wall bed?
When the room has lost its storage to the bed, usually. When you already have a bookcase, a plain bed plus that bookcase is cheaper and can be rearranged later.
