A bed is a microcosm of the house, a shelter within a shelter, says architect Mark Simon, who frequently designs built-in beds as part of a home’s architecture. A built-in bed saves space when it includes compact, convenient storage, and it can free the room to focus on other things like a great view or pieces of art. And there’s also a sense of security that a built-in bed can create. “Human beings like places that offer simultaneous protection and prospect,” Simon adds. The perfect formula for a good night’s sleep.
View Master The views from this built-in bed are star quality—the James River framed by walls of windows shares center stage with the owners’ art collection arrayed around the room. So architect Chris Fultz gave the bed a supporting role with simple lines and minimalist details. The bed’s mahogany foundation segues into baseboards while maple cabinets that make up the headboard match adjacent stair risers. The headboard is a composition of spring-hinged panels that pop open to reveal reading lamps on either side of the mattress, larger panels that swing open for access to shelves, and drawers that serve as bedside tables. The floor-to-ceiling headboard generates privacy for the master suite and caps the end of a long gallery around which the house is organized. Builder: McGuire, Hearn, Toms, Manakin-Sabot, Va.; Architect: SMBW Architects, Richmond, Va.; Photographer: James West.
Rustic Reverie For this “refined yet rustic” Maine camp, architect Will Winkelman included lots of wood and light. Three walls of windows light up the master bedroom’s built-in bed, which is framed with rough-hewn logs. Winkelman credits builder Henry Banks’ ability to skillfully weave in the natural logs that “give [the bed] the character and feel of being campy while the overall structure remains clean and bright.” The architect designed the bed low enough so that getting in and out of it was easy and gave it a backrest so the owners could lean back to read without hitting the bookshelves. The room itself is proportioned for easy circulation around the bed. Builder: Henry Banks, Bridgton, Maine; Architect: Whitten + Winkelman, Architects, Portland, Maine; Photographer: Brian Vanden Brink.
Bed Head This built-in bed divides an open master bedroom, mediating changes in function and ceiling height and assuring that “the late sleeper won’t be disturbed by the early riser,” says architect Mark Simon. Standing 10 feet tall, the bed’s maple headboard is just a few inches shy of being a full-fledged wall between bedroom and bath. Designed for a couple of avid readers, the headboard encourages reading under its protective canopy. Books are close at hand in discreet side shelves that turn inward for convenience and to conceal less attractive items like tissue boxes and alarm clocks. Uplights hidden atop the headboard illuminate the room’s peaked ceiling. On the flip side of the built-in unit, dresser drawers put clothes within steps of the master bath. Builder: Clarion Construction, Berlin, Conn.; Architect: Centerbrook Architects and Planners, Centerbrook, Conn.; Photographer: Peter Aaron/Esto.
