Living minimally means you start to reevaluate everything in your life. What am I wasting my time on? What am I wasting my money on? Inevitably you will look around your home and think, “What is the biggest waste of space in my home?” One of the leading culprits become apparent very quickly…the bed!
Beds are obviously extremely functional and an absolute necessity in every home, but a bed can take up a huge amount of highly valuable floor space. This is especially true for your child’s room since they tend to be smaller and beds can pretty much monopolize the entire space. So the solution is to just shrug and just accept defeat right? NEVER!!!!!
Transformation beds are a great solution to this problem. A transformation bed is essentially a bed that functions as one piece of furniture during the day and then transitions to a bed when you are ready to go to sleep in the evening. It can be a couch, desk, dining room table or even just a cabinet that is flat against the wall and out of the way. It is like having your own transformer right in your home!!!
And I know what you are thinking…these are just Murphy beds right? A little bit, but not exactly. Murphy beds are notoriously uncomfortable with thin mattresses that cause back aches. Many of these new transformation beds take the exact same mattress as your normal bed so you can be space efficient without losing comfort.
Here are a few companies currently selling transformation beds.
Resource Furniture
Resource Furniture originally introduced me to the wide world of transforming furniture. They make some beautiful furniture with clean, simple designs that transition incredibly smoothly. Check out the desk/twin bed transition in the video below. Notice how effortlessly the woman is able to make the transition and watch how the shelf above the desk becomes the foot of the bed without having to remove any objects. Brilliant!
If you are lucky enough to live in one of the cities with a Resource Furniture showroom I highly recommend you go. It is like a playground for adults that love design. It really is more like a magic show than a showroom…everything miraculously becomes a bed! See that sofa…not for long! Poof! Bed! Now look at that bookcase…spin it around and…Abracadabra! Bed! There is an assortment of materials and looks and you can probably find something that would look beautiful in your home.
Now the downside. I went to price out their standard Swing bed for my home and was shocked to discover a price tag inching toward $20,000! That is more than a new car or the cost of getting married at zero gravity!!! Do not get me wrong. I still think the products from Resource Furniture are top-notch and extremely well-made. If you have the budget I say go for it! For me, the cost was outside of my budget and not Cost MNML in my life.
Expand Furniture
I soon found a company based out of Vancouver called Expand Furniture. They deliver a very similar product to what Resource Furniture offers for a more affordable price. There were less options in terms of finishes, but overall the designs are almost identical. The quality is definitely not up to the same level and the white, glossy finish will scratch and chip fairly easily. One note is that Expand Furniture does not provide installation so you will either need to install it yourself or hire someone to install it for you. The representative I spoke to did say they would Skype with you to provide any guidance during the estimated 8-hour installation process.
Murphy Bed Express
The biggest obstacle with both Resource Furniture and Expand Furniture was that everything was pre-made and not customizable. Anyone who has ever bought furniture for a specific room knows there are ideal dimensions and everything you want is always an inch or two too big for the given space. Each individual room has improvements that can be made like more light and more storage and the pre-made beds do not allow for these types of additions. So for the next stage in my pursuit for the perfect transformation bed, I sought out a local Murphy bed store.
In New York I was able to find a local shop called Murphy Bed Express. I gave them the floor plan for my apartment and showed them the type of bed I wanted and they were able to create a great bed for about a third of the price as Resource Furniture. Since the piece was custom, I could get it to fit the exact dimensions I needed and was able to add a bunch of custom features like shelving, recessed lighting, and a hidden side table.
This shop is not specific to New York. Looking around the country, most cities have a Murphy Bed shop that can create a high-quality, custom, transformable bed for a lower price than the pre-made stores. The key is to get out there and tell them specifically what you want and work with them to make it happen!
Casa
BONUS BEDS!!!
Technically these are not transformation beds, but the beds at Casa Kids are pretty amazing. They are customizable elevated beds that combine custom features like additional seating, closet space, desks, end tables, and everything else you will need for your kid’s room. One feature that I love is the option for stairs leading up to the beds. They provide additional storage (they have drawers inside of them) and, more importantly, a much safer way to get in and out of bed for the kiddos. It may occupy a bit more room, but in this case, it is worth the square footage to not have to worry.
