7 Ways to Get Rid of the Bed

For LifeEdited, Graham describes his sleeping requirements: The apartment should have at least a queen size bed, ideally raised off the floor. Or should the bed just go away? Like this article? "Our beds are empty two-thirds of the time.Our living rooms are empty seven-eighths of the time.Our office buildings are empty one-half of the time.It's time we gave this some thought." While Bucky notes that beds are used for a third of the time, we are asleep for much of that. One thing that designers never talk about when they put in alcove or bunk beds is that they are hard to make; there is nothing easier than walking around a conventional bed at conventional height. Another Italian version of a loft bed that probably costs as much as buying a bedroom, but will help you make the most of small spaces, is the spectacular Tumidei line, which is full of interesting ideas. But perhaps the best solutions are those which are adapted to the particular situations and needs. Like this article?

BEDUP: The Space-Saving Bed that Falls From the Ceiling TreeHugger loves the Murphy bed concept; it's a great way to live comfortably in less space, since you don't need a bed when you're awake, and don't need the living space when you're asleep. We've seen some great examples, including the bed/desk/closet combination, this sofa/bed combo, and this elegant version, integrated with shelving. Still, most Murphy's require a clear area to fold down into, which either requires a daily ritual of furniture-moving or sacrificing otherwise useful space for the bed's footprint. But if the bed came down from the ceiling... You could leave your stuff where it is, putting the bed above it.

Lofted bedrooms by Tumidei On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays when I’m not blogging over on Real Simple magazine’s website, my counterpart Holly from decor8 graces the community with her insights into the design world. Last week, she wrote about Tiramolla Loft Bedrooms, and I was awestruck. The lofts are created by the Italian company Tumidei, are perfect for small spaces, and are incredibly inspiring: Thank you, Holly, for the great post! All images are from the Tumidei website. Less is the New More: Making the Most of Small Spaces Good Design For Living in Small ApartmentsAs people migrate to smaller spaces, good design helps a lot. This is something they figured out in Europe long ago, that if you don't have a lot of horizontal room you can go vertical. Tumidei in Italy makes some of the nicest stuff, like this unit with lots of storage under the bed. This unit just raises the floor high enough for beds to slide under. This one looks a bit clinical, but has two single beds plus a pull-out double bed in between. None of this stuff is cheap, nor, as far as I can tell is it available in North America, but there are ideas here that demonstrate how people can share a space and still get a little privacy, a good place to work and a lot of storage in a very small envelope. Like this?

5 Ways to Artfully Light up a Small Apartment With Energy-Efficient LEDs This LifeEdited rendering looks from the bedroom and living room to the dining area and in to the kitchen. In a small apartment, lighting is of the utmost importance. A regular stream of high-falutin' eco lighting ideas have always graced TreeHugger's pages. Yet apart from the CFL (which has its many detractors and environmental drawbacks), environmentally-friendly lighting technology hasn't exactly gone mainstream...until now. The promise of LEDs is truly astounding, and since they are on the cusp of hitting the sweet spot between design, availability and affordability, TreeHugger founder Graham Hill is using them for the 420-square-foot New York apartment he is renovating as part of the LifeEdited project. Here are five choices that combine adaptability with clean design. The Goal In the LifeEdited apartment -- which boasts good windows yet no skylights -- spaces flow into each other and are necessarily multi-purpose. How do you think we did? 1. EcoSmart E26 LED Downlight. 2. 3. 4. 5.