Comparison
Murphy Table vs. Murphy Bed With Table: Not the Same Purchase
A Murphy table is a fold-down table, usually for dining, that closes into a wall cabinet or flat panel. A Murphy bed with table is a wall bed whose front carries a desk or table that stays level while the bed folds down over it. The first is a few inches deep and goes up in an afternoon; the second is a piece of bedroom furniture about the size of a wardrobe.
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The short version
Buy a Murphy table if you need a place to eat or work in a small kitchen or hallway: Costway's drop-leaf version folds to 3.0 inches. Buy a Murphy bed with table only if the room must also sleep someone: Expand Furniture's queen model stands 15.75 inches deep closed plus a 21.65-inch desk, needs two people for three to four hours and sits in the premium price class.
Short verdict
Both names borrow from the Murphy bed, but they solve different problems. A Murphy table gives you a dining or work surface that disappears against the wall. A Murphy bed with table gives you a bed that disappears, and a desk or table on its front so the room still works by day. If nobody has to sleep in the room, you want the table. If someone does, the table alone will not help, and the bed is a far larger project.
What a Murphy table is, and what Amazon sells under the name, is covered on the Murphy table page. The four basic designs of wall tables are compared under folding wall table vs. drop-leaf vs. Murphy table.
Side by side
| Point | Murphy table | Murphy bed with table |
|---|---|---|
| What folds away | the table top | the bed; the desk stays in place |
| Main use | meals or work for one or two | sleeping, plus a desk by day |
| Example | COSTWAY drop-leaf, 31.5 x 23.5 in open | Expand Furniture Panel queen, desk 29.5 in high |
| Depth when closed | 3.0 in folded (Costway) | 15.75 in, plus 21.65 in for the desk (Expand) |
| Depth when open | 23.5 in (Costway) | 86.7 in with the bed down (Expand) |
| Installation | hinges and screws into the wall | two people, about 3 to 4 hours; anchors for your wall type (Expand) |
| Lead time | not stated by Costway | Hover single: 16 to 18 weeks custom production (Expand) |
| Price class | depends on the model | premium |
The differences point by point
What stays on the wall all day
A folded Murphy table is a flat board: Costway states 31.5 x 21 x 3.0 inches folded. A Murphy bed with table is a cabinet as tall as a door. Expand Furniture lists its Panel queen model at 83.46 inches high and 64.96 inches wide, and its single Hover model at 79.8 inches high and 44 inches wide. That is a wardrobe-sized piece in the room, not a table on a wall.
What happens to the things on the table
A Murphy table has to be cleared before you fold it. On a bed with table, the desk is designed to stay in use: Expand says the Panel desk stays level as the bed lowers, so paperwork can stay, and that the Hover table levers down on a mechanism that lets you leave items overnight. This is the main reason to choose the bed version for a guest room that doubles as an office.
What the wall has to carry
A Murphy table hangs from the wall alone, so its screws have to go into studs, a ledger board across studs, or masonry. The wall-bed pages we read put the responsibility on the buyer: Expand says wall mounting is required for the Hover model and that you need anchors suited to your wall. Why the fixing usually limits the load is explained under weight capacity.
Effort and time
Costway's table goes up with hinges and screws. Expand gives three to four hours with two people for the Panel queen and three to five and a half hours with two people for the Hover single, plus mattress limits: under 10 inches for the queen and under 9.5 inches for the single.
Take the Murphy table if …
- you need a dining spot or a laptop surface in a kitchen, hallway or studio,
- the room already has a bed, or nobody sleeps there,
- you want something you can mount yourself on studs or a ledger board.
Take the Murphy bed with table if the room must sleep someone and work as an office by day, and you have the floor for the open bed: Expand states 86.7 inches of depth for the Panel queen when open. If you only want the desk and cabinet without the bed, a Murphy desk is the smaller step, and if you would rather build a dining version yourself, see how to build a Murphy table.
Pick by situation
If you need a fold-away dining spot for two → COSTWAY Drop-Leaf 31.5 x 23.5
View(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · check price & delivery on AmazonIf you want a desk with storage on the wall
If you want to build a cabinet-style table
COSTWAY Drop-Leaf 31.5 x 23.5
A drop-leaf top deep enough for two place settings that folds to 3 inches against the wall.
Why here: The fold-away dining option with maker data: 31.5 x 23.5 inches open, 3.0 inches folded and 66 lb maximum according to Costway, which does not name the wall.
Best for: Small kitchens and studios where two people eat or work at the wall
- 23.5 in deep when open – room for two plates facing each other
- Folded size 31.5 x 21 x 3.0 in according to Costway
- Two ways to fold: drop one leaf or both
- Maker states a 66 lb maximum load
- Costway does not say which wall or fasteners the 66 lb rating assumes
- The supplied expansion screws are generic – plan your own fasteners for studs or masonry
- MDF top: wipe spills, do not leave it wet
- Type
- Drop-leaf top on a wooden support
- Top size
- 31.5 x 23.5 in (open)
- Folded depth
- 3.0 in (Costway)
- Load rating
- 66 lb max (Costway)
- Mounting
- Hinges and screws; studs not mentioned
- Material
- P2 MDF, pine, metal hinges
For two people at a kitchen wall, the other options are in the kitchen and dining guide.
Questions people ask
Are Murphy beds still a thing?
Yes. Wall-bed makers still sell them, including versions with a desk or table on the front. Expand Furniture, for example, lists thirteen wall-bed desk and table models in one collection, some of them sold out, with queen and single sizes and piston lift mechanisms.
Can I leave things on the table when the bed comes down?
On the models we read, yes. Expand Furniture says the desk of its Panel queen bed stays level so paperwork can stay, and that the table of its Hover single bed levers down on a mechanism that lets you leave workbooks and items overnight. Check the manual of the exact model for what may stay on it.
Is “Murphy table” a brand name?
We use it only as a descriptive term. Both names go back to the Murphy bed, and a federal appeals court held in 1989 that “Murphy bed” is a generic term for a type of bed. One kit maker uses “The Murphy Table” with a trademark sign on its site; we found no registration and do not treat it as a brand.
Is a Murphy bed with desk the same as a Murphy desk?
No. A Murphy desk is a shallow wall cabinet whose front folds out into a desk, with shelves behind it – no bed. A Murphy bed with desk is a bed cabinet with a desk on its front. The desk-only units are compared on the Murphy desk page.
Sources
- Expand Furniture: Panel – Desk Queen Murphy Bed (maker page, closed depth, desk depth, pistons, assembly)
- Expand Furniture: The Hover Single Vertical Wall Bed with Table Desk (maker page)
- Expand Furniture: Wall Bed Desks & Tables collection
- Costway: 31.5 x 23.5 Inch Folding Wall Mounted Table for Small Spaces (maker page)
- Murphy Door Bed Co. v. Interior Sleep Systems, 874 F.2d 95 (2d Cir. 1989)
- The Murphy Table: maker page of the fold-down table kit
Keep reading
- Buying guideMurphy tablesWhat a Murphy table is, why most Amazon listings with the name are desks, and which wall-mounted fold-down table to buy for a kitchen or dining nook instead.
- ComparisonTable types comparedFour wall-table designs compared – folding brackets, drop-leaf, Murphy table and fold-out legs – plus how a gateleg table differs, with what carries the load.
- Buying guideMurphy deskWall-mounted Murphy desks compared: cabinet depth, desk load, monitor space and which walls the listings allow – HOMCOM, Tangkula, YUSING and Armocity side by side.
- How-toDIY Murphy tableBuild a DIY Murphy table: plan the cabinet on your studs, hinge the top at the right height, add a locking fold-down leg and a latch that keeps it shut.
- Buying guideKitchen & diningWall-mounted folding dining and kitchen tables compared: which top is deep enough for two, how far it folds, what the load rating assumes and how to mount it.
Who writes here
wallmountedfoldingtable.com Editorial Team
Fold-down tables, desks & workbenches
We are the editorial team at wallmountedfoldingtable.com. We compare maker spec sheets, manuals, retailer data, building codes and anchor data for wall-mounted folding tables and turn them into plain-English advice – with sources on every page. We do not run lab tests or load tests, and we say so openly.
- Maker specs, manuals & codes compared
- Sources on every page
- No lab tests – stated openly
- Publisher details in the imprint