Folding bed, built-in wardrobe - a godsend for modest spaces

A folding bed built-in in a wardrobe, a bed is a wardrobe-transformer or, as it is now called, a built-in sleeping module is purchased mainly by those who need to visually expand the space and get a real square of usable area in small and medium-sized rooms. Whatever the reason - the need to combine several functional areas within one small room, create an extra bed or a backup module for sleeping with periodic use, a bed wardrobe-transformer will help to solve all these problems. Highly functional innovations of modern furniture can help us not only save space, but also get fairly durable pieces of high quality furniture that are easy to operate.

In the conditions of small-sized dwellings or spaces of medium sizes, but designed for large families, saving usable space becomes a top priority. And if you can install a bunk bed in a children's room, designed for two, then in a bedroom that is forced to play the role of a living room during the day, this design cannot be dispensed with - you need to hide a sleeping place. Some 15-20 years ago, folding beds were not in great demand due to the low reliability and strength of the structures, serious restrictions on weight and small assortment. Nowadays, almost every owner of an apartment or private house can afford to find his own option or order an individual manufacture.

Advantages of beds integrated in the wardrobe:

• obvious savings in usable space;
• the possibility of arranging a berth on several square meters in a room that performs several functional tasks;
• ease of operation (and transformation) of modern models;
• the bed, built into the closet, when folded, aesthetically imitates the facade of the closet, which fits perfectly into the existing interior;
• modern swing systems, which are the basis of the folding bed mechanism, are simple in design, reliable and durable, which significantly extends the life of the transformer cabinet;
• installation of both single and double module is possible.

The disadvantages of folding beds include the following:

• if due to production defects or regular violation of simple rules of use by the mechanism, it will be broken, then the entire sleeping module can be considered unsuitable;
• there are restrictions on weight (they have been significantly simplified recently due to the appearance of more durable structures, but nevertheless borders exist);
• the impossibility of mounting the built-in sleeping module to the walls of drywall - only brick or concrete surfaces with a perfectly smooth and even texture;
• most manufacturers insist on installation of a transforming bed by installation specialists, otherwise, the company may void its warranty or significantly reduce the period of trouble-free operation.

According to its technical characteristics and the loads imposed on it, the folding bed should be firmly held at the base. Obviously, it makes sense to expect high reliability, wear resistance and strength from a piece of furniture that performs at least two functions. It is such requirements that apply to all functional systems and elements of transformer modules.

A cabinet with a built-in folding bed is a whole base of functional elements:

• the metal frame (most often from the hoist) at the base of the module is made of tubes with a diameter of 2 to 5 cm;
• as a lifting mechanism for changing the position of the transformer, a German silent and easy-to-slip system of elements is used;
• as a support for the mattress, a lamellar system is used, consisting of 12 to 24 elements. The lamellas can be made of wood or be products of light aluminum alloy;
• the bed in the sleeping transformer module is equipped with extendable legs or an integral platform to ensure stability;
• as a rule, the bed is equipped with special straps for fixing the bedding (the finished bed will appear in the living room or office with just one movement of the folding mechanism);
• the style of execution of the cabinet doors (in the case of the purchase of a ready-made furniture solution) meets modern requirements and is presented in a fairly wide range of color and texture solutions.

Some ready-made solutions with a bed built into the closet are not equipped with a mattress and you will need to purchase it separately. In this case, it must be borne in mind that the thickness of the mattress should be no more than 25 cm, so as not to impede the bed from taking upright position and fixing in a closet or niche.

The classic model of folding beds is a product of the vertical type. The longitudinal folding bed can be a single, one and a half and a double bed. For rooms of a small area, but with sufficiently high ceilings, this option for a sleeping place “hidden” in a closet may become optimal. When assembled, the design looks like an ordinary wardrobe with a facade that fits the interior of your room. The cabinet becomes a berth after using the lifting-folding mechanism.

Usually there are products for children and teenagers in the line of models of manufacturers of folding beds (depending on the capabilities of the room and the needs of customers, you can find an option for any occasion). In this case, the depth of the transformer cabinet does not exceed a value of 45 cm. Well, the width of the cabinet will depend on the size of the bed you need.

The folding bed is mounted to the wall with its end side, the construction of the lifting mechanism is also located there. With the help of a lift, the bed quickly and unobstructed moves into an upright position - and now your bedroom already looks like a living room or study.

Inside the cabinet, you can integrate the backlight for comfortable reading before bedtime.

There are models in which the bed in an upright position hides behind a shelf with shelves, which also have a swing-out mechanism.

In some cases, it is more advisable to integrate a folding bed into a niche created from drywall (but the product itself is attached to a brick or concrete wall).

As for models of horizontal type, their design differs significantly from the options with vertical lift. The bed, built into the cabinet horizontally, differs not only in appearance, but also in the principle of folding.

Horizontal folding bed is available only in the single module version. A cabinet for such a model requires much smaller sizes, which means that a room with any ceiling height is suitable.

One of the most common cases when you need to install a cabinet with an integrated sleeping module is the presence of a single room, which should be a living room during the day and transform into a bedroom at night. In some cases, the only room in the apartment acts as a nursery and / or office. In conditions of austerity of usable space, a transforming bed becomes a necessary and sufficient solution for optimizing the available quadrature.

A similar situation exists in studio apartments, where not only the living room and bedroom are combined in one room, but also the kitchen, hallway and other functional segments have a common quadrature (only the bathroom is isolated).

On sale there is a considerable number of models of built-in folding beds that will organically look in any interior. Most often, the cabinet itself and its facade are executed in a neutral solution (white, gray, black). The surface of the facade has no decor or inserts, executed concisely, universally. The external part of the bottom of the bed is the front part of the cabinet.

Such a model is most often supplemented with open shelves or book shelves (on both sides or on one side, depending on the location of the transformer bed and room facilities).

But there are folding vertical models, "hidden" behind the swinging cabinet doors (or "accordion" doors). But similar models are less popular. As a rule, such a performance can be seen in custom-made furniture complexes.

A vertical bed can also be integrated in a wardrobe with sliding doors.

Even less commonly used are “sliding” doors. If the folding bed is presented in a double version, and you cannot make swing doors, you can use such an original, but practical way.

The bed in the office, most likely, is not the most popular option for using transformer furniture in the framework of living spaces, but it is quite common in very spacious dwellings. Sometimes it is more convenient to spend the night directly in the office in case of prolonged work than to get to the bedroom with the risk of waking the household up. The bed is built into the closet, which fits perfectly into the overall picture of the room. It can be either a part of a bookcase or an imitation of a surface for a picture or a panel.

In cabinets, horizontal models of transforming beds are most often used. They are compact, designed for one berth, require less usable space and are able to fit seamlessly into furniture solutions for the home office.

But in some cases, the installation of a vertical folding bed can be justified. Here is an example of using a vertical berth integrated in a built-in wardrobe with smooth facades.

In the children's room, the availability of free space for games and creativity, sports and just active activities is a priority for creating an interior. Therefore, in conditions of a small square of the premises, it is advisable to use a sleeping place, a niche built into the closet of a mile. Most often, in the nursery or room for a teenager, models of horizontal transforming beds are used ...

But the vertical arrangement of the folding convertible bed can be part of the plan for the rational use of the useful space of a small room.

In some cases, in a children's room it is necessary to establish a berth for one of the parents, but at the same time not to spend the useful space of the room. For episodic use, both a model with vertical folding (with a sufficient ceiling height) and a horizontal transforming bed are suitable.

But there is also the opposite possibility - the installation of a folding bed for the child in the parental bedroom.

In private houses or large apartments, a folding bed can also be built in the closet, which is located in a utility room - a hall, a corridor, a space near the stairs and even in the laundry room. This option for arranging a berth is suitable for occasional use by late guests. After all, most often the owners of the home ownership do not have the opportunity to allocate a separate room for receiving guests, because it is obvious that most of the time the room will not be operated.

We bring to your attention examples of embedding two or more folding beds in rooms of various modifications. This way of sleeping can be useful both in dwellings with a large number of households as a permanent place to sleep, and as a temporary solution to suburban, country houses. Here is a standard approach with the execution of two vertical folding mechanisms on one wall ...

A similar arrangement, but already built-in sleeping modules of horizontal type ...

In some cases, it makes sense to use different ways of embedding beds in a convertible wardrobe (both horizontal and vertical). But for such methods of creating sleeping places, the room should have a sufficiently large area.

And an unconventional option is a folding bunk bed, each level of which is designed for one person.