The Original Murphy Bed Since 1900

The adage that "necessity is the mother of invention" clearly holds true in the invention of the Murphy Bed.

William L. Murphy, who was born in Stockton, California, in the late 1870's, moved to San Francisco at the turn of the century where he met his future wife. He lived in a one-room apartment which had a standard bed taking up most of the floor space. Because he wanted to entertain, he began experimenting with a folding bed, and applied for his first patent in 1900.

The "Murphy Door Bed Company" came into being that year, making it one of the oldest furniture companies in America with almost 100 years of continuous manufacturing and marketing.