I'm impressed.

Too cool!

Great design. Very clever.

Very cool but the ladder doesn't seem very safe. Shouldn't there be a hand hold above the mattress level?

genius! love the design

Cool idea, but Duane Hill is right about the precarious ladders. I also would want a more substantial rail on the top bunk.

Genious to be sure. Also looks like a faily simple diy project for a master carpenter.

*fairly*

Dear Designer,
Brilliant idea and great design! Silly price. Silly strategy. Now thousands of people have your great idea and a simple design for a DIY project.

Well, I'm the designer and want to make a couple of points here. First, I agree with DUANE HILL's comments about the need of extra hand holding as you climb up the stairs (we are working on an improved design already) and MPHEELS comments about a more substantial guard rail at the top. We have already an improved version that soon will posted on our site.
Now, regarding a DIY project, MRSLIM I wish you luck with that :). It took us quite a bit of work to develop this design and resolve all the technical issues, from the actual geometry of the rotating parts to the appropriate hardware to counter balance the weight of the beds as they open. Which by the way open and close very smoothly. Regarding the price, I know it is expensive but I'm supplying about $800 in mattresses which are included in the price and I will look into lowering the price once we are making more of them. Don't forget these are made here in Brooklyn, not in China.
In any case, I very much appreciate all you comments!

The hostel in Sweden where I used to work, had beds like this. And they looked pretty stylish as well (c'mon it's Sweden after all ;))!! I am pretty sure that they didn't cost this much too. They had metal bars that connected the two mattress instead of wooden stairs, which some people might consider being less stylish. And maybe that made a difference to the price?

Roberto, I think it's a fine design and will be even better with those safety improvements. Thanks for building locally rather than overseas.

Smart!

This is so cool. Roberto, what's the reason for the beds being narrower than regular twin size? Couldn't the whole thing just be a little taller to accommodate standard size mattresses?

I can vividly imagine my older brother luring me into this with the express purpose of folding me up inside of it. I probably would have fallen for it, too, because who wouldn't want to play in this?

Brilliant!

@Robertin, you rock! Both for this design and for your remarks! (Zing!)

Brilliant design, especially for a first round. I just saw the season finale of the HGTV show Design Star All Stars, and this would have worked perfectly in the winning design, a converted shipping container "apartment".

I do think moving to standard twin mattresses would be an enhancement, if it can be done. Bedding becomes a challenge otherwise, as well as being comfortable for bigger kids and adults. But it has tons of cool potential! Congrats!

I LOVE IT. and I wonder if I could figure out how to build it myself.

GREAT space-saving option. Painful price! My husband would say he could make these. I wonder if they're easy to replicate?

I wish AT would have photographed this great idea in a furnished room. The photos make me think prison.

@ROBERTIN, you might also want integrate some way to store/hang the bedding. I had a murphy bed and I ended up installing a towel bar so I could hang my duvet when the bed was folded. But it looked tacky because it was a run-of-the-mill towel bar and didn't coordinate with the murphy bed's design. I think having some sort of "duvet/blanket bar" would be a cool add on for this product.

Anyone objecting to the price has apparently never looked into Murphy bed hardware. It is insanely expensive and, according to my master carpenter friend, the *only* safe way to build one. I would guess hardware cost alone accounts for at least a quarter of this bed's price, perhaps as much as half (very spiffy design, by the way). All things considered, Murphy beds are just not an inexpensive DIY project.

@DUCKSTER, @SHERRYBINNH, the main reason why I did these beds 6" narrower than the standard twin size is that this room is only 5 feet wide so with a twin bed opened there was not enough space to walk around it. In my opinion, twin mattresses at 39" wide are unnecessarily wide for a child. Instead the standard 75" length can be a bit short for a growing teenager. In any case, I will be doing a version for standard twin mattresses.
@ASPRYGAL, I like your suggestion!

Impressive! These would be great in caravans and small holiday cabins.

I agree with the opinion that a regular twin size mattress is better than a custom size one. In addition, a folding desk/table addition on the bottom panel (can make it optional) will make this super super nice!

Thanks for bringing this local. This is a very tough and expensive DIY project, but $4500 is too expensive. The ones I have seen are in similar price range (from Europe) and I ultimately decided against buying. There is no need to supply the consumers with two $800 custom size mattresses - This will take out $1600 alone. Not sure if replacing some parts with metal materials can improve cost, however, I think if this bed is priced below $2000 sans mattresses and other add-ons (I don't know if this is possible in terms of turning a profit), it will be selling like hot cakes.

The only other stylish murphy bunkbeds I've been able to find are from Italy and $7,500
http://www.resourcefurniture.com/nodeorder/term/43

This is a great option if you want to stay in the city, have a small space and kids that need more space to play and study.