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The Not-So-Basic Bed
Adjustable beds and hospital beds
After hospital stays, people sometimes miss the versatility of the beds they used there. To enjoy such fine-tuned comfort at home, you can purchase a bed at a hospital-supply outlet. Furniture stores often carry adjustable beds, which are less institutional-looking modifications of hospital beds. These usually bend at the head and foot but don’t elevate.
Platform beds. This style is raised one or more steps up from floor level, and it may incorporate storage space below. Whether you decide on a built-in platform or a movable one nailed together out of lumber or plywood, it can be surfaced with wood, wallboard, or even carpeting to match or contrast with the wall or floor.
Because the mattress sits directly on the platform instead of on a box spring, a platform bed is often firmer and lower than other beds.
Loft beds
Another use of the term “platform” refers to a high, loftlike structure reached by a ladder or stairs. Such a structure can save space dramatically in a high-ceilinged room and allow working, storage, or relaxing space below.
If the loft is freestanding, it can be built from either plywood or a combination of sturdy posts and structural floor framing. A wall-attached unit is like a second floor suspended above the existing one.
Bunk beds and trundle beds
As beds to serve guests, bunk beds and trundles save space during the day, yet give a restful night’s sleep. Either is also a workable every-night bed, if you’re gymnastically inclined.
Bunk beds are typically used in kids’ rooms, where a certain sense of adventure is often welcome. The upper bunk should have a sturdy guardrail—one on each side, if the bed is not placed against a wall.
A trundle bed, normally the size of a twin bed, wheels out from underneath another bed to sleep a sibling or an overnight guest. The mattress stays flat, so it remains comfortable longer than one that must be folded and compressed.
The futon
Whether it’s rolled out at night on the floor or set atop a wooden slat frame, a futon makes an effective bed for studios or other small spaces. In Japan, the futon mattress was originally fashioned from cotton batting inside a heavy fabric casing; Western futons usually have an added layer of foam and/or other padding for greater longevity.
The Murphy bed idea
Patented in 1905, the original Murphy bed was such a success that its name has become a generic term. The classic Murphy pivoted up into a closet, was reasonably easy to operate, and freed floor space for other daytime uses. Manufacturers today make Murphy-type beds that tilt into bookcases and various cabinet frameworks. Some beds are hinged at the head, others at the side.
After hospital stays, people sometimes miss the versatility of the beds they used there. To enjoy such fine-tuned comfort at home, you can purchase a bed at a hospital-supply outlet. Furniture stores often carry adjustable beds, which are less institutional-looking modifications of hospital beds. These usually bend at the head and foot but don’t elevate.
Platform beds. This style is raised one or more steps up from floor level, and it may incorporate storage space below. Whether you decide on a built-in platform or a movable one nailed together out of lumber or plywood, it can be surfaced with wood, wallboard, or even carpeting to match or contrast with the wall or floor.
Because the mattress sits directly on the platform instead of on a box spring, a platform bed is often firmer and lower than other beds.
Loft beds
Another use of the term “platform” refers to a high, loftlike structure reached by a ladder or stairs. Such a structure can save space dramatically in a high-ceilinged room and allow working, storage, or relaxing space below.
If the loft is freestanding, it can be built from either plywood or a combination of sturdy posts and structural floor framing. A wall-attached unit is like a second floor suspended above the existing one.
Bunk beds and trundle beds
As beds to serve guests, bunk beds and trundles save space during the day, yet give a restful night’s sleep. Either is also a workable every-night bed, if you’re gymnastically inclined.
Bunk beds are typically used in kids’ rooms, where a certain sense of adventure is often welcome. The upper bunk should have a sturdy guardrail—one on each side, if the bed is not placed against a wall.
A trundle bed, normally the size of a twin bed, wheels out from underneath another bed to sleep a sibling or an overnight guest. The mattress stays flat, so it remains comfortable longer than one that must be folded and compressed.
The futon
Whether it’s rolled out at night on the floor or set atop a wooden slat frame, a futon makes an effective bed for studios or other small spaces. In Japan, the futon mattress was originally fashioned from cotton batting inside a heavy fabric casing; Western futons usually have an added layer of foam and/or other padding for greater longevity.
The Murphy bed idea
Patented in 1905, the original Murphy bed was such a success that its name has become a generic term. The classic Murphy pivoted up into a closet, was reasonably easy to operate, and freed floor space for other daytime uses. Manufacturers today make Murphy-type beds that tilt into bookcases and various cabinet frameworks. Some beds are hinged at the head, others at the side.
