How much space do you need for a Murphy bed? A vertical queen projected 84.25 to 96.6 inches from the wall when open across 14 listings with clearly labeled, internally consistent dimensions. Six horizontal listings projected 63.5 to 76.21 inches, while five freestanding cabinet listings projected 81.7 to 83.1 inches.
That is the bed’s open projection, meaning the published open depth from the wall. It is not the full room depth you need. You still have to add a walkway, then check the ceiling, windows, doors, furniture, baseboards, and the route into the room.
We collected 46 queen listings from 14 brands. The headline ranges use only listings with clearly labeled, internally consistent dimensions. We did not buy, install, or independently measure these beds.
The short answer: room depth by Murphy bed type
The table below separates the published open projection from a planning allowance at the foot of the bed. The 30- and 36-inch additions come from Dimensions.com’s queen bedroom layouts. They are planning guidelines, not manufacturer requirements or universal code minimums.
| Type | Published open projection | Open projection + 30 in | Open projection + 36 in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vertical queen, N=14 | 84.25–96.6 in | 114.25–126.6 in (9.5 to 10.6 feet) | 120.25–132.6 in (10.0 to 11.1 feet) |
| Horizontal queen, N=6 | 63.5–76.21 in | 93.5–106.21 in (7.8 to 8.9 feet) | 99.5–112.21 in (8.3 to 9.4 feet) |
| Freestanding cabinet, N=5 | 81.7–83.1 in | 111.7–113.1 in (9.3 to 9.5 feet) | 117.7–119.1 in (9.8 to 10.0 feet) |
If a listing leaves out the open projection, a limited estimate may help you decide whether the model is worth asking about. In 11 of 13 hard vertical records, open projection fell within closed depth + 68.5–74 in. The two outliers were a deep desk-and-tower model and a rotating system. Across the six hard horizontal records, the offset was 47.8 to 54.5 inches.
Treat those offsets as a screening tool, not a substitute for a published open dimension. Ask the seller for the model’s open projection before ordering.
To filter the collected models by your own wall width, ceiling height, and floor depth, use the queen Murphy bed fit finder.
Queen Murphy bed dimensions vary more than the label suggests
The dataset contains 46 queen listings. We classified 27 as hard records and 19 as soft records. A record was flagged soft when dimensions were unlabeled, contradictory on the same page, approximate, inferred from orientation, or readable only from an image.
Of the 27 hard records, 25 published an open depth. The comparison tables below use those 25 records: 14 vertical wall beds, 6 horizontal wall beds, and 5 freestanding cabinet beds.
Vertical queen wall beds
| Brand | Model | Closed height | Closed depth | Open projection | Max mattress |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource Furniture | Penelope | 86.625 | 13.75 | 84.25 | not stated |
| Expand Furniture | Hover Compact | 84.5 | 15.75 | 85.8 | 10 |
| Expand Furniture | Panel | 91.1 | 15.7 | 86 | 10 |
| Wallbeds Company | Elm | 90 | 17 | 86 | 12 |
| Wallbeds Company | Meadow | 90 | 17 | 86 | 12 |
| Lori Beds | The Lori Bed | 84.1 | 15.6 | 86.3 | 10 |
| Wallbeds Company | Cascade | 92 | 18.5 | 87 | 12 |
| Murphy Bed Depot | The Home Office (with desk) | 90 | not stated | 90 | 10 |
| Wilding Wallbeds | Park City | 88 | 16 | 90 | 12 |
| Wilding Wallbeds | Dakota | 87.25 | 16 | 90 | 12 |
| Bestar | Boutique | 87.9 | 20.3 | 92 | 12 |
| Bestar | Audrea | 87.9 | 20.3 | 93.3 | 12 |
| Resource Furniture | LGM (rotating) | 86.6 | 13.75 | 95.6 | not stated |
| Bed & Room | Porter (with desk and towers) | 93.75 | 33.5 | 96.6 | not stated |
The vertical models used for the range differed by more than 12 inches when open. A queen mattress label does not tell you the cabinet depth, mechanism, or distance the completed bed reaches into the room.
Horizontal queen wall beds
| Brand | Model | Closed height | Closed depth | Open projection | Max mattress |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource Furniture | Circe | 86.625 | 13.75 | 63.5 | not stated |
| Expand Furniture | Hover Horizontal | 72.68 | 15.75 | 66.46 | 10 |
| Lori Beds | The Lori Bed | 65.9 | 15.6 | 66.9 | 10 |
| Bestar | Oasis | 66.6 | 20.3 | 68.1 | 10 |
| Wilding Wallbeds | Park City | 70.75 | 16 | 70.5 | 12 |
| Lori Beds | YouLift 2.0 | 65.9 | 24.9 | 76.21 | 12 |
Horizontal models used less floor depth in this sample, but they required more wall width. The hard horizontal records were about 83 to 87 inches wide closed, compared with about 65 to 73 inches for the hard vertical records.
Queen cabinet beds (freestanding)
| Brand | Model | Closed height | Closed depth | Open projection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sold at Costco | Borealis | 40.6 | 25.6 | 81.7 |
| Murphy Bed Depot | Daisy, Poppy, Clover, Sagebrush | 41.1 | 23.7 | 83.1 |
These five products are a separate category from wall-mounted beds. Their published dimensions support a footprint comparison, but not a claim that every cabinet bed has the same installation, mattress, moving, or floor requirements.
The room problems product dimensions do not show
A product can fit the wall on paper and still fail in the room. The cases below are individual examples from Reddit posts and owner reviews, not a survey of Murphy-bed buyers.
Windows, ceiling height, and overhead fixtures
A tall cabinet may fit the wall width but block a window. One buyer looking for a two-adult guest bed considered “a low profile Murphy bed cabinet” because it would sit in front of a window.
Measure the window sill and trim, not only the ceiling. Then check the path the bed follows as it opens. A ceiling fan, light, soffit, beam, or sloped ceiling may sit outside the closed cabinet rectangle and still interfere with the moving bed.
Only 8 of the 46 listings collected mention the ceiling at all, and only 3 state a minimum ceiling. One listing asks for 91 inches to raise the bed during installation and 93 inches if you add its crown molding. The cabinet itself is 87.9 inches tall.
Review examples show why the missing measurement matters:
“My basement has ceilings that are just barely seven feet tall, and just about all of the queen-sized vertical murphy bed options I found online simply wouldn’t fit.”
“Although the ceiling fan/light is a ceiling hugger, we were concerned a vertical queen would be too tall and hit the fan while opening.”
“Ours is under a drop ceiling. There is one step that has you screw something in from the top, so we couldn’t do that step.”
These quotes come from one brand’s review set. They identify checks to make, not the rate at which a problem occurs.
Furniture that cannot move
The open bed has to share the room with everything that remains in place. One studio resident wrote that a regular Murphy bed might block a wardrobe and interfere with a non-movable mini-split. Another wanted a layout where daytime furniture would not need to move every night. A third described a rectangular room that felt cramped with a large computer desk.
Draw the room twice: once with the bed closed and once with it fully open. In the open plan, include the desk chair, wardrobe doors, drawers, entry door, HVAC equipment, and the route from the door to the bed.
Baseboards and the wall-condition gate
Only 14 of the 46 listings mention baseboards. Some list a notch or an accommodation range; others give no useful information.
“Our baseboards are 10 inches and needed extra cut out to accommodate.”
“My trim is much taller and ornate, so I had to modify with a contour gauge and a jigsaw.”
Those are individual installation experiences, not instructions. Before buying, compare your baseboard height and profile with the product’s published allowance. If the page does not explain the wall, floor, or trim requirements, ask the manufacturer or a qualified installer before ordering.
The same rule applies to wall construction. Plaster, lath, masonry, unusual partitions, and walls where the structure is unclear require model-specific confirmation. This article does not diagnose the wall or recommend anchors, tools, loads, or fastening methods.
The route into the room
The room may be large enough after installation but impossible to reach with the boxes and panels. Individual reviews in the Lori review set described stairs and carry-in constraints. We use those examples to identify a delivery-route check, not to estimate how often the problem occurs.
“I live in NYC in a second-floor walk-up, and I definitely needed help from a roommate to bring the boxes upstairs.”
“The only reasonable way to move this bed from an upstairs shop to a downstairs bedroom is to take it apart and reassemble it.”
Measure the front door, hall turns, stairs, elevator, room door, and the clear assembly area. Those checks are separate from the final open footprint.
How to measure the room before choosing a model
1. Measure the usable wall width
Measure the wall from obstruction to obstruction. Subtract doors and casing, windows and trim, switches, outlets that must remain accessible, radiators, HVAC equipment, and fixed shelving.
Use the product’s overall closed width, including side cabinets or towers. Do not substitute mattress width.
2. Measure the ceiling and swing path
Measure floor to ceiling at the exact installation wall. Mark ceiling fans, lights, soffits, beams, sprinklers, slopes, and crown molding in front of the cabinet.
A closed height that fits under the ceiling does not prove that the product can be assembled or opened there. Use the manufacturer’s required minimum ceiling or installation clearance when it is published.
3. Mark the published open projection
Find the model’s open projection or open depth. Tape that distance on the floor from the wall.
If the number is missing, use the offset estimate only to decide whether the product is worth further research. Confirm the actual value before purchase.
4. Add a planning walkway
Add the circulation space you want at the foot of the bed. The 30- and 36-inch examples in this article are planning references. Your room, doors, and access needs may require a different allowance.
5. Overlay doors, furniture, and daily use
Open every door and drawer that shares the area. Place the desk chair in its working position. Check whether a wardrobe, mini-split, sofa, table, or stored item enters the bed footprint.
Walk the route you will use when the bed is open. A product fails the room if the bed technically opens but removes an essential path or requires an unplanned furniture move each night.
6. Check product requirements and the delivery route
Read the manufacturer’s wall, floor, trim, mattress, and clearance requirements. Measure the path from the building entrance to the final wall and make sure there is a clear staging area.
Wall assessment, anchoring, tools, assembly time, and fastening steps belong in our separate Murphy bed installation guide. Stop and get model-specific advice when those requirements are unclear.
Vertical, horizontal, or cabinet: let the room decide
| Strongest room constraint | Type to examine first | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Low ceiling or an overhead fixture near the wall | Horizontal | Closed height, swing path, and the wider wall requirement |
| Shallow floor area in front of the wall | Horizontal | Published open projection and walkway |
| Narrow usable wall | Vertical | Overall cabinet width and side-unit width |
| Wall mounting is not available | Freestanding cabinet | Manufacturer requirements, open projection, mattress, delivery, and floor conditions |
| Existing thick mattress must be kept | Wall bed with a published mattress limit | Thickness, weight, bedding retention, and open projection |
This table is a starting point. It does not rank quality, comfort, durability, or value. If the room also needs a workstation, use the separate Murphy bed with desk guide to measure the desk, chair, equipment, and conversion path.
Dimensional filter examples for common room constraints
The lists below are filtered by published dimensions only. They are dimensional examples, not rankings or recommendations. We have not tested them, and fitting a room does not prove that a bed is well made or comfortable. Recheck the current product page before making a decision, or use the fit finder.
Low ceiling: examples passing the closed-height filter
Vertical models:
- Lori Beds The Lori Bed (84.1 in)
- Expand Furniture Hover – Compact (84.5 in)
- Murphy Door Simple (86.44 in)
Lower horizontal models:
- Lori Beds The Lori Bed, horizontal (65.9 in)
- Lori Beds The YouLift 2.0 Bed, horizontal (65.9 in)
- Bestar Oasis Horizontal, horizontal (66.6 in)
Shallow room: examples with the smallest published open projection
Across the horizontal records:
- Resource Furniture Circe, horizontal (63.5 in)
- Expand Furniture Hover – Horizontal, horizontal (66.46 in)
- Lori Beds The Lori Bed, horizontal (66.9 in)
For a vertical bed:
- Resource Furniture Penelope (84.25 in)
- Expand Furniture Hover – Compact (85.8 in)
- Expand Furniture Panel (86 in)
Narrower wall: compact published vertical widths
- Bestar Boutique, vertical (64.6 in)
- Bestar Audrea in White, vertical (64.8 in)
- Wallbeds Company Elm Murphy, vertical (65 in)
If a 12-inch mattress must fit: published-limit examples
These listings state a 12-inch mattress limit:
- Wilding Wallbeds The Park City, vertical (12 in)
- Wilding Wallbeds The Dakota, vertical (12 in)
- Bestar Audrea in White, vertical (12 in)
- Bestar Boutique, vertical (12 in)
- Wallbeds Company Cascade, vertical (12 in)
- Wallbeds Company Elm Murphy, vertical (12 in)
- Wallbeds Company Meadow Murphy, vertical (12 in)
- Lori Beds The YouLift 2.0 Bed, horizontal (12 in)
- Wilding Wallbeds The Park City, horizontal (12 in)
If wall mounting is not available: freestanding cabinet examples
The freestanding cabinet records in the collected set were:
- Murphy Bed Depot Daisy (83.1 in)
- Murphy Bed Depot Poppy (83.1 in)
- Murphy Bed Depot Clover (83.1 in)
- Murphy Bed Depot Sagebrush (83.1 in)
- Borealis (Costco) Borealis Cabinet with Mattress (81.7 in)
Confirm each product’s current assembly, mattress, floor, and delivery requirements. Do not assume that “freestanding” means light, movable after assembly, or suitable for every rental; confirm those points with the seller.
Frequently asked questions
How much space does a queen Murphy bed need?
In our hard-spec sample, 14 vertical queens projected 84.25 to 96.6 inches from the wall when open. Six horizontal queens projected 63.5 to 76.21 inches. Add the walkway and access space your room needs.
How much ceiling height does a vertical Murphy bed need?
The hard vertical cabinets ranged from about 84 to 94 inches tall closed, but cabinet height is not the full requirement. Check the manufacturer’s minimum ceiling and the swing or installation path. Only 3 of the 46 listings collected state a minimum ceiling.
Do you have to remove baseboards?
That depends on the model and your trim. Only 14 of the 46 listings mention baseboards. Compare your baseboard height and profile with the manufacturer’s published allowance, and ask before ordering when it is not stated.
Can you use your own mattress?
Only when the mattress meets the model’s limits. Across the listings that published a thickness limit, the range was 10 to 13 inches. Check thickness, weight, and any bedding restrictions on the current product page.
How far does a Murphy bed stick out when open?
The published open projection in our hard-spec sample ranged from 84.25 to 96.6 inches for vertical queens, 63.5 to 76.21 inches for horizontal queens, and 81.7 to 83.1 inches for the five cabinet beds.
How we checked the 46 listings
- Collection: 46 queen listings covering 14 brands, collected from manufacturer, Costco, and Wayfair pages in September 2026.
- Quality grading: 27 hard records and 19 soft records. We flagged dimensions that were unlabeled, contradictory, approximate, inferred, or readable only from an image.
- Range samples: vertical N=14, horizontal N=6, cabinet N=5. These are seller-published dimensions, not independent measurements.
- Open-projection coverage: 25 published an open depth among the 27 hard records; 42 of all 46 collected listings had an open value recorded, including soft records.
- Walkway calculations: the 30- and 36-inch room-depth columns are arithmetic additions based on a linked planning reference, not product requirements.
- Owner evidence: review examples come from 3,233 Lori Beds reviews. The review set is highly positive, self-selected, and limited to one brand. We use it to identify checks, not to estimate the rate of those issues across the market.
- Reddit evidence: linked posts are individual room-fit cases. They are not prevalence evidence.
- Download: queen-murphy-bed-specs-2026-09.csv contains every collected listing, including flagged records and exclusion notes.
- Hands-on limit: we did not buy, install, or independently measure the products. See our Editorial Policy.
- Commercial relationship: at the time of writing, Compact Edit has no affiliate relationship with any brand on this page.
