Carol and Bill Kirk sit atop one of the Murphy beds that they showcase in their store, More Space Place in the Oaks Mall Plaza on West Newberry Road.

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.

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 2006, there will be over 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."

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.