I don't have a murphy bed - however, we rented a place in Colorado last year that had one in one of the rooms. The town house had been renovated recently - the furniture was all new.

We didn't need to use that room for sleeping - but I wanted to try out using the murphy bed. It was very easy to pull down/lift up because the bed used was type of hydraulic pistons on each side of the bed. The mattress was comfy also (I didn't sleep on it - but I did take a little nap one day).

I would definitely consider using one if I needed an office in one of the bedroom (I have a study downstairs) + sometimes needed to use it as a guest room.

I'd rather have a sofa bed. That and the Murphy bed both require open space to pull out, but you can't do much of anything on the back of the Murphy. The sofa at least goves you seating when not used for guests.

I'd vote for a Murphy bed. In response to sushipup2's comments, there are Murphy beds now that include a sofa (or desk/table) in front that doesn't have to be moved when opening the bed. I had a Murphy bed in my previous 2 bedroom home, where the 2nd bedroom was mostly an office and occasional guest room. The M bed took up relatively little space when closed. The only thing is it had to be bolted to the wall (mine was a vertical configuration). I stayed in that room for 3 months when I renovated my house, so I can also vouch for the comfort of the standard mattress. I was considered removing it when I sold the house 8 years ago, but it turned out to be a selling point for the buyer.

If you don’t have overnight guests very often, a sofa bed can actually be a better fit than a murphy bed — especially in an 11×14 room that also doubles as your office.

Murphy beds aren’t bad, but they do take up an entire wall, need hardware installed, and you still have to pull the whole thing down every time someone stays over. A good modern sofa bed full size is way less annoying, still gives you a full guest bed when you need it, and keeps the room feeling like an office/living space the rest of the time.

For a WFH setup, having a sofa instead of a closed murphy cabinet usually makes the room feel more usable day-to-day. You can put the desk on one wall, the sofa bed on the other, and keep the center open.

So unless you expect guests to stay multiple times a month, I’d lean sofa bed over murphy — easier, cheaper, and more flexible for everyday use.

I put a Murphy bed in 15 years ago in our old house and loved it bc you can put a comfortable mattress in it. I had several sofa beds, futons etc that were awful to sleep on. Your guest will thank you? We are about to put another one on our guest room that we want to use as an exercise room. This is after buying a queen bed frame and having it for 3 years.