More Space Place Helps People Organize Their Homes

GAINESVILLE (Wednesday, July 13, 2005) - Imagine a retractable bed hidden behind a bookshelf, or a closet where anything and everything has its place. Or a garage in which you can actually park your car.

Space-saving solutions are what More Space Place is all about.

Bill and Carol Kirk opened the store in the Oaks Mall Plaza in April, and have gradually found a following and a customer base. "We wanted to go slowly, one step at a time," Bill Kirk said.

But now they're ready to get their products in the hands of homeowners, be they in townhomes, condominiums, apartments or full-size houses. Businesses could also benefit.

The specialty of the business is the Murphy bed, which retracts into a cabinet. It is the brainchild of William Murphy who, in 1894, tried to make his one-room apartment a more socially acceptable place to court his wife-to-be. Etiquette back then forbade entertaining in a room with a bed.

More Space Place was founded as Murphy Bed Centers of America in Jacksonville in 1987 to modernize the 1890s version of the Murphy bed, with one retail outlet.

As of 2003, when it spun off from parent GTW Space Systems LLC, there were 24 stores, with corporate headquarters in Largo. By the end of 2005, there will be nearly 40 franchises around the country.

With the Murphy bed as the lead product, the entire line includes wall beds, side beds, panel beds, entertainment centers, home office workstations, closets, pantries and garage organizers.

Mattresses are specially constructed to be stored vertically, rather than horizontally, and are in all sizes; twin, long twin, double, queen and king, some with pillowtops. Each has a thin box spring Bill Kirk calls a "bunkie."

Prices vary with the size and style of the furniture. The full-wood units are the most expensive, with a cherry wood Murphy bed and cabinet costing $6,000 or more; a black laminate selection can cost $1,200. Bill Kirk said closet systems can run from $50 to $75 per linear foot, plus delivery and setup in the home. Most units can be delivered about four to six weeks from ordering.

Terrie Towers, who with her husband designed and built a 5,000-square-foot home west of Trenton last fall, was one of the Kirks' first customers. The master bedroom suite had a walk-in closet about 10 by 15 feet, and she was trying to obtain closet organizing shelves from The Home Depot.

"They weren't able to totally satisfy us, so they recommended we work with (the Kirks). He had just started the business, and installed the system himself to get acclimated to it. We've been self-employed all our adult lives, and appreciated that."

The closet opens into the bathroom, and the cabinets seem to transition into the other room. "I like a clean, built-in look, and I liked the the fact that the closets have doors on them, and you can shut them," Towers said.

The Kirks bring to the business a lifetime of interests. Bill, who has always loved woodworking, was assistant store manager at The Home Depot for 12 years. He earned a degree in business administration from the University of Florida.

Carol, a Florida State University graduate who has lived in Gainesville for 25 years, has 10 years of retail experience.

Their 17-year-old son, Jamie, a senior at Eastside High School's International Baccalaureate program, also helps out at the store.

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