Murphy Bed Bookcases | Height and Depth

Chris Davis | Furniture Designer
Oct 10, 2017
3 min read

Our Murphy Bed bookcases are hand built one at a time so customizing them can be a simple process on our end. For the customer, being custom designed with all those choices, can be overwhelming. There can be an infinite amount of Bookcase combinations. I am wanting to layout some of the more common design features to make it easier to choose the bookcases that compliment your murphy bed and fit the style of your space. In this series, I want focus in on the height and depth of the bookcases.

Function vs. Style

First you must consider function. What is the purpose of the bookcase? Are you wanting to showcase only books and knickknacks? are you needing to house equipment like printers?

Most books need about 10"-12" of shelf depth. Anything deeper than that may "swallow" what you are wanting to display. For books keeping the depth at a minimum is best.

You may need a little more depth if you plan on using the space for printers, a monitor, sound system, or a large display piece. Let our designers know what you plan on using the bookcase for and we will guide you and what would work best.

Height and Depth

The height and depth of a bookcase really work together. There are really two common heights to bookcases in relation to the Murphy bed cabinet. The bookcases can be the same height as the Murphy bed cabinet or they can be shorter (very rare cases we have made them taller). Along with that there a different depths of those cabinets. Using a combination of height and depth can change the overall look.

Shorter and pushed back

The first and most common height is to make the bookcases shorter and pushed back from the face of the Murphy bed cabinet. This give the piece a step or pyramid look to it with the Murphy bed being the center.

If crown molding or any other top molding is used it breaks up the crown and gives the piece a more complex look. Instead of having one crown set, you have three. The bookcase crown will terminate into the side of the Murphy bed cabinet with the center crown wrapping around on all three sides.

Same Height and Flush Front

The second bookcase height would be to make the bookcase the same height as the Murphy bed cabinet and flush it with front. Both the height and the face is appears to be the same depth. Being the same height give the unit a heavier or larger feel. It also has a "built in" look to it.

One consideration is the length of the top molding. If crown or some other type of top trim is being used on the bed, it is normally one very long piece that will span the entire width of the unit. For example a queen size Murphy bed and two 24" bookcases could have a crown piece 118". That is one large piece of crown and shipping something that long could effect shipping cost by being over-sized.

Same Height and Outset

Also with the same height bookcase we can bring the face of the bookcase out past the face of the Murphy bed Cabinet. We normally use this in conjunction with the outset lights. The lights overhang the front by about 5" and we design the bookcases to do the same. If you are wanting to add a printer or other piece of equipment that requires extra depth, this is a perfect solution. Normally we build the outset bookcase at a depth of around 18".

I listed three of the most common bookcases that we build, but it is not exhaustive list. As mentioned earlier being custom produces endless possibilities. Have an idea? Let our designers work you on that perfect design for your space.

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