Wall Beds are typically manufactured using one of two types of material: melamine or wood veneer. We offer both options to fit your preference, decor and budget. What is the difference? We’ll break it down, showing the benefits and some examples, so you can decide which material will work best for your project.

What is melamine?

Melamine is a hard resin used to cover a substrate such as particle board, MDF or plywood. The manufacturer typically bonds a decorative paper to the material underneath through a heated manufacturing process. The result is a plastic-like building material that looks like wood grain or other color or texture, depending on the look of the decorative paper used.

Melamine Benefits

There are many advantages to selecting melamine for your Wall Bed. Primarily, Wall Beds made of melamine are very cost effective and come in a variety of colors and patterns.

• Consistent coloring and grain pattern
• Durable for commercial use
• Easy to clean
• Variety of color and prints
• Cost effective

See a few beds from our melamine series:

Rustic Series

Raised Panel Laminate Series

What is wood veneer?

A wood veneer is a thin layer of hardwood – usually less than 1/8th of an inch – bonded to plywood underneath. This process allows furniture makers to create beautiful pieces with a real wood look at a more cost effective price point. As the outer layer of a wood veneer is real hardwood, it can be sanded (very carefully with the grain), stained and painted.

Wood Veneer Benefits

There are many benefits to purchasing a Wall Bed made with wood veneer. The main benefit is that is is less expensive than solid wood, but still has the look of a solid wood piece. It is also very durable.

• Unique colors and grain structures of each piece
• Real wood feel
• Can be made from hundreds of types of woods
• Sustainable and more economical than all hardwood
• Stained to match supplied samples
• Higher price than melamine because of finishing processes, but can still be economical depending on application

See a few beds from our wood veneer series:

Arcadia Series

Barrington Series

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is wood veneer more durable than melamine?

A: Both materials are durable; the melamine is a plastic like material and the wood veneer is wood strips glued together, both on particle board or plywood.

Q: Can I get a special color?  

A: While melamine is available in hundreds of choices (WBM offers standard choices, but others are available), wood veneer can be any choice of wood species with the finish colors to match your sample or any of our standard samples, giving you an almost unlimited amount of color variations and grain patterns.

Q: What colors or wood species are available?  

A: Melamine is available in solids, patterns and woodgrains with a few standard choices shown on each laminate page under color selections. Wood veneer is available in almost any type of wood species (birch, maple, oak, cherry, etc.) and then stained to match a few standard choices available on our color selections page of wood veneer series or you can send us a sample to match. We will create a strike-off sample and send back for your approval.

Q: Why is there a price difference?  

A: Melamine is man-made material of many color choices, eliminating a finishing processes. Wood veneer is made from wood strips glued to plywood with an unfinished look. WBM sands, color finishes and clear coats the product to match your furniture, thereby creating a longer labor process than melamine.

Wall Beds Manufacturing

We have grown to be one of the largest suppliers of murphy-style wall beds in the country. We are proud of the fact that not only are our wall beds in homes all across the U.S. and the world, they are also used by several of the finest hotels and vacation resorts, motels, apartment management companies, fire stations, colleges and universities, retirement communities, hospitals, and healthcare and assisted living facilities throughout the world.

At Wall Beds Manufacturing we only use quality products – from the materials that go into building each and every custom made wall bed, to the finishes, hardware and plush mattress you rest your head on.

Have more questions? We’re happy to help. Contact a design expert at Wall Beds today!