A Murphy bed in NYC is a floor-plan decision, not a furniture choice. Here is what every New York apartment owner should know before they anchor one to the wall.
In a city like New York City, where more people live in limited land space, apartments and small living spaces are in high demand. Space-saving solutions like multi-functional furniture, wall beds, Murphy beds, and optimized storage solutions help residents get comfortable despite their small living spaces.
If you plan to live in NYC and want a Murphy bed for your apartment, here’s everything you need to know before buying one.
Key Takeaways:
- Why Murphy beds are popular in NYC
- The best Murphy beds for your New York apartment
- How to maximize space in your place
Upgrade your New York City living with a smarter space-saving solution.
INDEX
The Popularity of Murphy Beds in NYC
What NYC Apartment Buildings Actually Require
Borough and Building Type: What Fits Where
Product Showcase
Maximizing Space in Your NYC Apartment
Frequently Asked Questions
Final Words
The Popularity of Murphy Beds in NYC
Murphy beds are popular among NYC residents for two main reasons—space-saving features and versatility. You can raise your Murphy bed against a wall for versatility and conceal it before you use it again for the night, letting you save space and use the room for other activities. That is the difference between a cramped studio and a multifunctional space with a workspace, a dining area, or room for a yoga mat.
Every space counts since most apartments in NYC have limited space, making Murphy beds an ideal addition. Here are other reasons why Murphy beds are popular in New York City:
Limited Floor Space
According to the data published by World Population Review, New York City has a population of more than 7 million people as of 2024. The city is densely populated, with only a limited amount of land for housing. It creates a demand for apartments with a small square footage compared to other areas of the state.
High Cost of Living
NYC is expensive, from food and entertainment to utilities. Housing takes up a considerable chunk of your money, with furnished studios costing almost $5,000 a month for rental alone. That’s why Murphy beds are a solution if you want a bed in your small apartment.
Urban Mobility
People living in huge cities like NYC prioritize a lifestyle with easy access to work and entertainment areas. Smaller apartments call for lesser maintenance expenses, allowing residents to save money for other payables.
What NYC Apartment Buildings Actually Require
Before you buy, here is what you need to check.
Wall anchoring and stud requirements
Every Murphy bed anchors into the wall studs using four lag bolts. For most NYC apartments with drywall over wood or steel framing, this is standard. Pre-war buildings with plaster-and-lath walls need a stud finder rated for dense materials and, in some cases, toggle bolts rated for masonry if you are anchoring into a structural brick wall. If you are in a newer construction high-rise with metal studs, confirm the studs can hold a wall bed before you drill.
Weight and load
The Lori Bed holds up to 2,000 lbs of live load (mattress plus sleeper). No New York residential floor has a problem with that. The anchoring load on the wall itself is what matters — check with your building if you rent in a landmarked or unusual construction.
Landlord approval
Most NYC leases allow "reasonable modifications," including anchoring furniture to walls, as long as you patch the holes when you move out. Pull your lease, check the alterations clause, and send your landlord a one-line email confirming the alteration. Most approve. Some co-ops and condos require a written alteration agreement for anything that bolts to a wall — check your house rules before you order.
Permits and building codes
For a standard residential Murphy bed, no DOB permit is required. You are installing furniture, not modifying the structure. The exception: if your building is subject to a fire egress requirement that restricts placement near windows or exits, your wall bed cannot block that path when lowered. Alcove studios and converted one-bedrooms are the most common places this comes up.
Patching when you move out
Four lag bolt holes are trivial to patch with spackle and touch-up paint. Budget 30 minutes and a $10 tube of spackle when your lease ends.
Borough and Building Type: What Fits Where
Not every Murphy bed solves every NYC layout. Here is the quick match.
- Manhattan studios and alcove studios. The vertical queen is usually the answer. In an alcove studio, the wall bed lives in the alcove, and the main room stays a living room full-time. Vertical orientation keeps the wall footprint narrow.
- Pre-war one-bedrooms. Plaster walls and oddly placed radiators are the constraints. A horizontal queen along a long wall — with the radiator clear of the bed frame — works well in pre-war layouts where ceilings are high, and walls are solid.
- Brooklyn lofts. High ceilings and exposed brick are common. Vertical queens look purposeful against brick and leave the loft feeling open. Loft dwellers often pair a Murphy bed with a sofa for a true convertible great room.
- Queens and upper Manhattan two-bedrooms. If you have a home office that doubles as a guest room, a horizontal twin or queen lets you keep the desk and bookshelves intact and drop a bed down when family visits.
- Micro studios (under 400 sq ft). Vertical twin or vertical queen, depending on your height. The goal is floor space for a table, a workspace, and room to move.
Ordering a Murphy bed in Dallas is one thing. Getting one into a 14th-floor walk-up-adjacent elevator building on the Upper West Side is another.
Every Lori Bed ships free to New York addresses, including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. The bed arrives in multiple boxes, not one oversized crate. No tools required beyond a drill for the wall anchors. No assembly service needed.
Ready to reclaim your floor space? Lori Beds ships free to every New York zip code with no assembly service required.
Product Showcase
If you need a wall bed for your NYC place, you should buy this:
The Lori Bed
Size: Queen Vertical
Price: $3,949
Size: Queen Horizontal
Price: $3,949
Size: Twin Vertical
Price: $3,399
Size: Twin Horizontal
Price: $3,399
Available Colors: Daybreak, White, and Mocha
The Lori Bed is an excellent addition to small spaces, especially in New York City, with its natural wooden build, 24/7 functionality, and user-friendly purchase and assembly.
This bed is built to last years. It’s made with HPL, which gives unmatched durability and strength to support weights up to 2,000 lbs. It has a tuck-down headboard that’s perfect for transforming spare rooms into guest rooms. When put in an upright vertical position, you can use it as a functional storage area or a part of your home office, complete with a desk and cabinets.
Buying horizontal Murphy beds, vertical beds, and twin beds from LoriBeds is risk-free. We offer a 60-day money-back guarantee and a lifetime warranty for all hardware and parts. Add to that our pain-free assembly process that doesn’t use special tools, so it won’t be hard to set up the bed whenever you want!
Breaking Down the Lori Bed by Color
The Lori Bed has three available colors. Let’s see how each color can cater to your taste.
Daybreak
A light, sun-washed woodgrain with warm undertones and a soft surface texture. Daybreak brings an airy, modern feel to the room and is the right call for bright, minimalist interiors, and any NYC space where you want the bed to feel open rather than heavy.
White
A clean, modern HPL white with the same reinforced PVC edging and lifetime warranty as the other finishes. Pairs well with minimalist Manhattan interiors and white-walled rentals where the bed should blend into the wall rather than stand out.
Mocha
A deep, espresso-toned woodgrain with rich brown hues and a soft matte texture. Mocha adds warmth and a grounded presence, which makes it a strong match for traditional, transitional interiors, and modern condos where you want the bed to read as a piece of real furniture.
Before you add to cart — compare all configurations and finishes side by side on our Murphy beds collections.
The Lori Mattress
This mattress is perfect for your Murphy bed as you settle down in NYC.
Size: Queen
Price: $1,849
Dimensions: 60” W x 80” L x 10” H; 77lbs
Size: Twin
Price: $1,299
Dimensions: 38” W x 75” L x 10” H; 50 lbs
This mattress is tailor-made to suit Murphy beds. Comfortable and durable, the medium-firm feel of this mattress caters to almost all kinds of sleepers.
Breaking Down the Lori Mattress by Layer
The Lori Mattress is a multi-layered mattress that perfectly fits your space-saving beds. Here’s how each layer can help you sleep comfortably at night:
- The organic cotton cover has a rayon layer that prevents fire spread, wards off dust mites, and repels microbes.
- The cooling memory foam has a cooling gel that contours the body and melts heat into thin air so that you can sleep more comfortably.
- The medium-memory foam spreads your weight evenly throughout the bed.
- The pocketed coils give targeted support and keep you and your sleeping partner steady whenever one of you moves.
- Firm edge coils provide stiffer support on the edges, which keeps the bed plump, stable, and durable.
- Hand-tufting holds all the layers together and makes sure the mattress lasts longer, especially when storing it upright.
Living in New York City means every inch counts. Get a Murphy bed and transform your space.
Maximizing Space in Your NYC Apartment
As you settle and build your life around New York City, you stack up several things over time. From appliances, furniture, and clothing to personal items like books, your apartment might get too cluttered.
Here’s how you can maximize every square footage in your apartment:
Use Multi-Functional Furniture
Buy and use furniture that serves more than one purpose. It can be a bed with a sofa, pull-down beds, hideaway beds, and even convertible chairs. Convertible beds can easily be transformed into a sofa and a bed whenever you want. Cabinet beds can double as a storage unit and a bed simultaneously. Using a wall bed with a sofa needs less space, too. These items don’t take up much floor space when you store and put them aside.
Use the Vertical Space
Vertical space keeps the clutter off the ground. Attach shelves or tall storage units to store clothes, decorations, and books. You can customize your wall-mounted beds to utilize the vertical space when tucking.
The vertical Queen-size Lori Bed keeps a slim footprint when stored upright, freeing up floor space for everyday living while maintaining a clean, built-in look. It’s a practical solution for multipurpose rooms, guest spaces, or smaller apartments where flexibility matters.
Utilize Under-Bed Storage
Choose bed frames with built-in storage drawers or hidden beds that have another storage underneath. You can store your bedding and seasonal clothing in these spaces.
Try Wall-Mounted Storage
Walls can be a good idea for storing items. Put hooks and racks for storing coats and jackets. Use wall-mounted shelves for keeping kitchen utensils. Wall-mounted storage keeps your things away from the floor.
Organize Your Closet
Your closet can be hard to declutter, especially if you’re just stacking items carelessly. Use hanging shelves, stackable bins, and closet organizers to store your shoes, clothes, and accessories accordingly.
Use Entryway Storage
Keep your shoes away from your primary area in the apartment by installing a wall-mounted shoe rack. Include some hooks to hang your coats, caps, and jackets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you put a Murphy bed in an apartment?
Yes. Four lag bolts into wall studs count as a reasonable modification under most NYC leases. Patch the holes with spackle when you move out.
Are Murphy beds allowed in Manhattan apartments?
Yes. No NYC building code blocks installation. Co-ops and some condos may require a written alteration agreement, so check your house rules first.
Do you need a permit to install a Murphy bed in NYC?
No. It is a furniture installation, not a structural modification. No Department of Buildings permit required.
Can Murphy beds be delivered to high-rise apartments in NYC?
Yes. The Lori Beds ships free to all five boroughs in flat-pack boxes that fit a standard doorway and residential elevator. No freight appointment needed.
How much weight can a wall-mounted Murphy bed hold?
The Lori Bed is rated for 2,000 lbs of live load. Stud quality and wall type matter more than the rating itself.
Final Words
Purchasing a Murphy bed NYC style is essential when settling there. These wall beds offer more floor space when you tuck them against the wall. They are also handy in creating an instant guest room upon pulling them down.
Enlist the help of a professional when you want to install these space-saving beds. They can help you with the installation process. You may need permits to install your bed and ensure it abides by the local building codes, including fire safety and accessibility.
If you want to buy our space-saving beds, email us at info@loribeds.com. You can also go to our contact page on our website or call 888-457-2577 for more details.
Turn your NYC space into a flexible, multi-use room.
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