Foldaway beds make bedrooms redundant

[PARIS] The long-established trend towards loft-like living means that having a bed in the middle of your living space is now considered a lifestyle choice, like an open kitchen or a wall-free bathroom. Cohabitation-related sound and privacy issues notwithstanding, many one or two- person households now prefer to keep their interior spaces open plan with an integrated sleeping area instead.

For years, one of the best ways to achieve the open-plan bedroom has been to install a Murphy bed - a hinged bed that folds vertically into a wall closet when not in use. Various legends have it that in the early 20th century, William Lawrence Murphy applied for a patent on the device, which he devised to turn his bedroom into a parlour to make it socially acceptable for him to entertain ladies. (Or, less salaciously, maybe the idea was for him and his wife to entertain in their modest home.) Either way, the Murphy bed surged in popularity in the 20s and 30s when buildings like those in Tudor Ci…