About Us
The Nashville Murphy Bed Story: From General Dynamics to Mid-State Craftsmanship
Billy Simon and Pete Strayer were coworkers at General Dynamics who kept spending their coffee breaks talking about furniture instead of work. Billy had a woodshop behind his south Nashville home and years of experience as a songwriter, a craft that taught him to keep reworking something until it feels right, not just until it measures right. Pete brought the engineering mind. Between the two of them, they saw that Nashville families were running out of bedrooms faster than they were running out of guests, and that nobody local was building wall beds the way furniture used to be built. In 2014, Nashville Murphy Beds was born.
In 2019, Allan Hicks joined as co-owner and CEO. He came from the business side of the world, but what sold him was standing in the shop and watching a cabinet door get fitted by hand until it closed with a soft click. The three of them have run the company together ever since.
Still Built in the Same Nashville Woodshop
That woodshop behind Billy's house is still where every bed begins. We don't resell mass-produced wall beds, and we never will. Every custom Murphy bed we make is built by hand from real wood, with high-quality lacquer finishes, soft-close drawers, and solid construction meant to be used every day for years. We match stains and paint to your existing Benjamin Moore or Sherwin-Williams colors, so when we're done, the piece looks like it was always part of your home rather than something that got added to it.
Customization is the whole point. We build side built-ins, fold-away desks, media consoles, extended sofas, LED lighting, and USB charging into our beds, in any size from a twin nook to a king retreat. A home office becomes a guest suite when your in-laws visit. A bonus room works as a movie room by day and a bedroom by night. A spare room finally earns its square footage all year long.
How We Work With You
Billy Simon and Pete Strayer were coworkers at General Dynamics who kept spending their coffee breaks talking about furniture instead of work. Billy had a woodshop behind his south Nashville home and years of experience as a songwriter, a craft that taught him to keep reworking something until it feels right, not just until it measures right. Pete brought the engineering mind. Between the two of them, they saw that Nashville families were running out of bedrooms faster than they were running out of guests, and that nobody local was building wall beds the way furniture used to be built. In 2014, Nashville Murphy Beds was born.
In 2019, Allan Hicks joined as co-owner and CEO. He came from the business side of the world, but what sold him was standing in the shop and watching a cabinet door get fitted by hand until it closed with a soft click. The three of them have run the company together ever since.
Rooted in Middle Tennessee
We're local and we like it that way. We've built for homeowners in Belle Meade, Green Hills, Franklin, Brentwood, College Grove, Mount Juliet, and all across the greater Nashville area. Our work has been featured on WSMV's "Today in Nashville" and in Williamson County Living magazine, but the recognition we care about most comes from our customers, the families who tell us their spare room finally makes sense.
Browse our gallery to see what we've built for homes like yours, or reach out and let's talk about your space. The consultation is free, the coffee's on us if you stop by the shop, and the room you've been apologizing for might be closer to a guest room than you think.
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The Original Crew
Founder
Billy Simon
Raised on an Oklahoma farm where resourcefulness was a way of life, Billy learned the "measure twice, cut once" philosophy from a family of master carpenters. In the 1980s, the siren song of the Music City brought him to Nashville. That same creativity that fueled his career as a songwriter is baked into every custom Murphy bed we build. While Billy has recently stepped back to focus on his music and speaking engagements, his standards for beauty, efficiency, and "Gold Record" quality remain the blueprint for every project we touch.
Owner
Allan Hicks
A native of Atlanta who spent his youth in the workshop with his father, Allan brings a unique blend of high-level corporate leadership and old-school grit to our operations. After years in executive environments, Allan realized his true passion was building tangible solutions for local families. When he isn’t ensuring your installation in Brentwood or Mount Juliet is flawless, you’ll find him exploring the Germantown or 12 South food scenes with his wife. He understands that a Nashville home should be as functional as it is beautiful.