The comedic possibilities of a Murphy bed — those hinged mattress-frame configurations that pivot vertically behind a door — have been plumbed by film stars from Charlie Chaplin (One A.M., 1916) to Mel Brooks (Silent Movie, 1976). But the space-saving contraptions are making a comeback, writes Terri Akman for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Murphy beds — also called wall beds, pull-down beds, and fold-down beds — were named for their inventor, William Lawrence Murphy. He called it an “In-A-Door” bed in 1908, but his intended label didn’t last.

In the Huntingdon Valley home of Raman and Marlene Sidhu, an onsite office was targeted as an apt site for a Murphy bed.

The Sidhus hired a Phila. cabinet maker to install it, repurposing a set of built-in cabinets.

The revival of the here-again, gone-again sleeping apparatus is pandemic related; numerous homeowners found themselves juggling space for both slaving away at a computer and slumbering away under the covers.

Queries for Murphy beds has sprung by 2,081 percent on Houzz, an online home design site.

Marlene Sidhu is very pleased with the flexibility the installation enables for the household. “It functions very nicely as my everyday office and then a guest room when we need it,” she said.

More on the revival of the Murphy bed is at The Philadelphia Inquirer.