what great ideas and inspiration. I have always like alcove beds to me they are a hideaway for enormous dreams in small places.

just looking at an alcove bed makes me want to catch some zzzzzzzzzzzzzzs. these are wonderful.

In college, we had bunk beds in the dorm and we bought fabric and sewed weights into the bottom so they would hang straight, then we hung one from the ceiling and tucked the other under the mattress of the top bunk. We added a panel to the end of the bed to block that side. Instant alcove beds for the penniless college student!

My husband and I are apt searching in SF and there are a lot of studios with "sleeping alcoves." Although many realtors seem to advertise them as a bonus, I was brushing them off as nothing more than a closet to sleep in. Now that I see how it can function, I have all sorts of ideas! Propping up the bed higher adding extra storage underneath is a great idea.

I love this post.....gorgeous and cozy beds... makes never want to leave the bed....

they look good..but i get claustrophobic easily

sigh...I've always wanted a little "nook" like those! Definitely not happening in our condo for the time being....future dream home bookmark!

I've always wanted an alcove bed. Seems so cozy! I didn't know there was such a variety to be had. hmmm..

my favorite has always been this one (last two photos of the post):

http://sunnysblog.typepad.com/mornings_light/2009/07/light-white-more-swedish-apartments.html

These are soooo cool! Reminds me of when I was little and we use to build "forts". I love it!

This is one of the coolest things I've ever seen on Apartment Therapy! What a brilliant idea, and looks not too difficult to execute! Please MORE things like this!

sunnygirlsf, cannot log onto your favorite alcove beds.

Anyone have a thought about how best to make an alcove bed that has only one open side?

If I were still single and sleeping alone, I would love an alcove bed -- I used to fill up the unused side of mine with books, anyway, so at least being walled in would give the book piles some stability!

Outside of very rigid and limiting space considerations, however, I will never again ask two adults to sleep in a bed that both people can't roll out of. Our current 500-sf apt layout doesn't really allow for a bed with two open sides, and while I will survive until we move again, I hate it.

emmy1218 - my friend had to down size and lives in a studio, it does have a eating nook which helps but he is use to the alcove closet sleeping.. I have to say he made it work and it looks great.

i saw this apartment for rent its the same layout as my friends-
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/2090310426.html

i thought this was cute on house of turquoise
http://www.houseofturquoise.com/2010/12/craig-kettles.html

I think they're a great idea if you don't have to share a bed! These are really cool :)

While these beds are fun and gorgeous, I have to agree with Pythia. Based on my experience, an alcove bed or even a bed pushed up against one wall is a nightmare for two on a regular basis. And once the initial thrill of building or designing one of these is gone (and it WILL be), the difficulty of making the bed asserts itself. Romantic and lovely for one tidy person, and good ideas if you absolutely HAVE to do this for space reasons. But basically...I vote no.

I have a little sleeping alcove and I made it that way with a curtain, a room divider and my headboard against the wall. I love it. Its my little 'sleeping spot'. :)

isn't the second one from an Anthro catalogue about a zillion years ago?

I call these reading nooks but anyway, awesome. Thanks for posting this.

The octagon one is beautiful...I don't really like small places but I may go into treatment to get rid of that problem if I could have that alcove bed...

I don't know what it is, but alcoves are an instant draw. Every time I move into a new place I look at the closet in my bedroom and think, "could I fit my bed in there?".

I love alcoves. They remind me of my surrogate grandmother who called her alcove space a "hidey hole" - she loved to escape there to read.
I love the bunk bed alcoves that are featured in the December issue of Elle Decor. They would be perfect for my twin granddaughters!

I'd love one, complete with book shelves...

My boyfriend probably would say it's not a problem, either, but he's not the one sleeping on the inside! Nothing makes me feel 80 years old more than having to clamber, awkward and stiff from sleeping, over his sleeping form in order to stumble to the bathroom in the middle of the night. And hungover? Freaking forget it. I want to wake up, sit up, and put my feet on the floor.

As reading nooks, however, alcoves seem very enviable! How would you make sure they were well enough lit for comfortable page turning? Wall sconces, maybe?

Re: making the bed--I wouldn't bother making a bed like the ones that would be difficult! Just tug off the duvet, fold it up and cram it in the drawer if you want it to look tidy, and toss it back on the bed when it's time to sleep. Or just leave it rumply. The well-enclosed and embellished alcoves look best in a heap.

Take a peek at pictures number 11 and 12 to see the charming beds my husband made in our cottage in Seabrook, WA.

http://www.seabrookcottagerentals.com/vacation-rental-home.asp?PageDataID=21375

The only trick with these little nooks is what to call them!?! We speak of our Scandinavian inspired cupboard beds.

Everyone who rents our place leaves notes about how much their kids LOVED the 3rd floor beds! =)

Does anybody know a good source for the wall lamps shown in the first (blue nook) bedroom?
I have been trying to find something like that for our non nook bed time reading....

when we visited my german grandmother (oma), she would turn her love seat around and push it against the wall to create a little sleeping nook... i slept there until i was too tall, and my little brother took his turn... thanks for reminding me, AP

I have a weird love of Alcove beds... they seem to frame out your sleeping space and accent it, but still make it separate enough so the room can function without being just for sleeping (separation of spaces thing always seems so good for better sleep quality).

They also remind me of the beds in Hook... LOVE!

I LOVE THIS. I'm looking at apartment to move into that will hopefully have a ::fingers crossed:: large enough walk-in closet that will fit a mattress to make an alcove bed. Undoubtedly, this will making living in a postage stamp sized studio apartment a better use of space.

@warponey, they're Artemide Tolomeo wall lamps. Sometimes you can catch them on sale at DRW and other retailers.

@warponey, they're Artemide Tolomeo wall lamps. Sometimes you can catch them on sale at DRW and other retailers.

Thanks Nigel,they were there.