When some people picture a wall bed, comedic scenes from silent movies come to mind. Charlie Chaplin, the Three Stooges, and even James Bond have used these beds as comic props at one point or another. I love a good gag as much as the next person, but things have really been looking up for Murphy beds in the last few years. This isn’t 1900 anymore, and the wall bed is making quite an amazing comeback in modern homes across the country. Bay Area professionals in particular are utilizing this innovative strategy to maximize limited floor space in condos and homes across the region.

If you’re raising a family anywhere in the Bay Area, you can’t get a more picture-perfect neighborhood than Los Gatos. Old-growth trees flanking unique homes and the stunning Los Gatos Creek Trail make for a beautiful place for kids to ride bikes or draw with chalk in the driveway. 10 square miles of residential perfection sandwiched between Saratoga and Sierra Azul couldn’t be more quaint.

“Well, now that you’ve got a house, we can just have Thanksgiving at your place!”

These are the words every first-time homeowner loves—and dreads—to hear. On the one hand, congratulations: you’re an adult! On the other hand, it means all the preparation, planning, shopping, cooking, and cleaning is up to you.

I see this all the time in the Bay Area, where as many as 42% of homeowners are first-time buyers. Becoming a homeowner is really exciting, but it also means learning how to host. The holidays, in particular, tend to bring with them a lot of overnight guests. You’ll need a place to put everyone where they’ll be comfortable without creating too much clutter.