Murphy Cabinet Bed vs. Futon – Which Works Better for Your Space?

Murphy cabinet beds and futons can both provide sleeping accommodations without dedicating a room permanently to a conventional bed. The most important difference, however, is what each piece of furniture does for the room when no one is sleeping.

### Futons: Seating and Sleeping in One

A futon functions as a sofa during the day and converts into a bed when needed. This makes it especially useful when the room needs comfortable everyday seating as well as occasional sleeping accommodations.

Because the futon remains in the room as a sofa when closed, it continues to occupy floor space—but that space remains useful as a seating area.

For a living room, family room, apartment, guest room or other space where seating is important, this dual function can be a major advantage.

### Murphy Cabinet Beds: Sleeping Space That Folds Away

A Murphy cabinet bed serves a different purpose. Instead of becoming a sofa when closed, the sleeping surface folds into a compact furniture-style cabinet.

This allows much of the floor area used by the open bed to become available again.

That can make a cabinet bed particularly useful when a guest room also needs to function as a home office, exercise room, art studio, hobby room or other activity space.

The tradeoff is simple: unlike a futon, the cabinet bed does not provide sofa seating.

### Think About the Room During the Day

After helping customers choose space-saving furniture since 2003, we have found that one of the most useful questions is:

**What do you need this room to do when nobody is sleeping?**

If the room needs a sofa, a futon provides useful seating every day and a bed when needed.

If you would rather keep the floor open for working, exercising, creating, or other activities, a Murphy cabinet bed allows the sleeping area to be largely reclaimed after the bed is closed.

### Sleeping Comfort Matters Too

Comfort depends on the particular futon mattress or cabinet-bed mattress, its construction, and the sleeper's individual preferences.

Quality futon mattresses are available in different materials, thicknesses and comfort levels. Murphy cabinet beds use folding mattresses designed to store within their cabinets.

If the bed will be used frequently, mattress comfort should be considered separately from the furniture's space-saving function.

### Which One Should You Consider?

Neither design is the right answer for every room.

Choose based on how the room needs to function when the bed is not being used:

**Need seating?** A futon provides a sofa and sleeping surface in one piece of furniture.

**Need open floor space?** A Murphy cabinet bed stores the sleeping surface inside a compact cabinet, leaving more of the room available for other activities.

Understanding that basic difference can make choosing between the two much easier.

Continue exploring our Murphy Cabinet Bed Buying Guide for information about sizes, mattresses, room measurements, features and other space-saving sleeping solutions.