Five years ago, I built my first Murphy bed, and it was a disaster. This time, I’m building a Murphy bed for a military family using Rockler’s Horizontal Murphy Bed kit, and it turned out much better.

When space is limited, standard Murphy beds are the perfect compact solution. Also known as a wall bed, a fold-down bed, or a pull-down bed, these full-size beds tuck away into a wall, closet, or ...