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Murphy bed mattresses: thickness, weight and how to measure the cabinet

The cabinet decides the mattress. Measure the cabinet.

1measure INSIDE the frame, rail to rail2broomstick across, measure to the base3closed: how thick can it be?
Inside width of the frame, then the depth of the cabinet with the bed closed, then the mattress's real thickness with a broomstick across it.

The limits

One maker's beds take a mattress up to 12 in (30 cm) thick1 and between 50 and 100 lb (23–45 kg) for a queen1. too light and the bed will not stay open; too heavy and it may not close properly1. other makers set other limits: ask the maker of your bed1.

How to measure the thickness that counts

closed: how thick can it be?

A mattress pillows up in the middle, so its edge is not its thickness: lay a broomstick across the mattress and measure from the base to the stick, so the centre pillowing counts1. Compare that to the cabinet's inside depth with the bed closed, minus the straps or the bedding you keep on it.

Width and length

measure INSIDE the frame, rail to rail

Inside the bed frame's rails, at both ends, the smaller number. Most wall beds are built for a standard size — check the size chart — but a built-in or an older cabinet may not be, and that is when it is made to measure.

Want it made in Canada? Matelas Personnel makes odd shapes in Montréal →

Sources

  1. Murphy Bed Mattress Guide (Wilding Wallbeds) — read on 2026-10-08