I don't know how much I would actually want to "lift my bed up" to get something as in the lower picture(seems like a lot of work...), but I do like the one in the top picture- great storage idea and very aesthetically pleasing. Reduces the dependence on sidetables and keeps the space looking clean.

I bought a platform bed years ago for my studio apartment and continue to regret not spending the extra money for one with storage underneath. Its just a waste of space otherwise. When space is limited in a small apartment its a good place for seldom used items or out of season stuff. If I wasn't hoping to move in the not too distant future I'd buy a new one that lifted up.

I don't really care for the bed with storage on the sides/floor. It looks cluttered to me and I have a small dog who would have too much fun with it all anyway.

another thing...because the one bed lifts up, you'd have to keep it away from the wall for headboard space...correct? (unless you have it in the center of your room too like their model). I guess the storage makes up for the floorspace you lose...

...and thanks jimkk for bringing up the point about regreting your bed. I didn't think about the impact of the lack-of-storage, and I've been looking at for a new bed lately. I'll take that regret into consideration as I shop.

I'm buying one of these beds. the orchidea. and i'm really happy with it. i don't know how they do it but the headboard doesn't move noticeably when you lift up the mattress to access the storage space.
the problem if anything is that their mattress selection is not that great. I'm going to get a mattress from another store potentially messing up the bed's "look" because the beds are shown with 9 inch mattresses and 11 inches is standard. kind of a racket.

There's a store on 6th or 7th Ave in Chelsea that has a storage bed like this in the window. I store a bunch of stuff under my bed already. I just bought a bedskirt and shoved all sorts of thin boxes and stuff under it. It's not as nifty, but it works just fine for me. It'd be nice to not pull everything out when I go diving under there to look for something, but I don't know if this bed is really worth having. What would you actually store under there anyway?

Mary... I have the same situation, but saw a great idea in ReadyMade magazine where you take old dresser drawers and put them on casters so that you utilize the space beneath the bed, but can slide out the drawers as necessary. Right now, it takes an act of superhuman strength for me to pull things out (one arm lifts the bed, the other pulls out the stuff) and I would love an alternative. I'm now just hunting for drawers.

I saw that too! It looked so much better than those plastic rolling rubbermaid-type boxes you can buy at the sotre. Unfortunately, I have three inches between the floor and the bottom of my mattress, so drawers are out and I've saved every long thin box that I've seen.

I have this bed, sans storage, I bought it before this model, but I am happy. It's beautiful and I love being able to clean the upholstry and also consider getting a second color. It's so great to be able to change the color of the bed.

jimkk—

Why don't you saw (or have sawn!) a rectangular hole (or holes) that nicely fit(s) some yummy storage baskets? You could then slide them in and out, and you'd have more storage space.

The Flou bed that opens is terrific! Just bought one and I love it. No, it doesn't need to be in the middle of the room. The frame of the mattress is on a suspension system that lifts easily -- just hit the release button and it pops up with a light tug-- very ingeniously designed. (Frame is separate from the "head-board.") Also, the enlcosed space stays clean, unlike underneath a bed. When I get tired of the look, I just have to order new covers for the base and the head board. Lots of useful storage for linens, pillows, blankets, etc. I also store the leaves from my dinning table -- laid flat so the don't warp and no more banging into them with the vacuum cleaner.

I own the Flou Nathalie bed. It has excellent storage underneath which is easily accessible without much effort. My husband and I like being able to adjust the firmness independent of each other. We also bought one of the Flou mattresses, pillows, duvet and cover...the whole magilla.

We used to have a Thomasville Kilimanjaro bed with pillow top mattress and I had storage boxes underneath. This system is much better in every way...looks and function. No more getting on my knees to pull out the storage drawers and much sleeker look.

Granted I will not be able to afford to buy another bed anytime soon, but I won't need to...this one is the end all be all MOAB (mother of all beds).

I looked at flou beds because like many other readers, i needed to utilize the storage capacity under my bed to the fullest- And rather than paying a couple of grand for an over designed bed with minimal storage by flou, I opted to build my own to suit from: http://www.storagebeds.com/ and bought the components to make my own. This online store sells the lift mechanisms and plans to build a storage bed you and talor design to meet your own needs- For example, i'm going to raise the height of the bed to fit standard storage bins, build an upolstered headboard, and stain the wood to match my decour myself. Seems like alot of work, but most manhattan lumber shops will cut all the lumber based on dimensions you give them, so all you have to do is assemble & customize it- FWIW, JWN

I love Flou beds and beddings! But the line is way out of my price range. EQ3's Bossa bed is like a combination of the 2 beds pictured above: a lift-up storage mechanism with built-in bookshelf storage along either side of the "platform" base. Yeah, it's made of veneered particleboard, but I believe it's priced in the $600-700 range. So you can get a similar look (with lesser quality materials) for a fraction of the Flou price. Also, I believe most of EQ3's pieces are delivered unassembled; but I'm told they can deliver assemble for and additional charge. (I can find out the exact retail price if anyone's interested; There's a showroom around the corner from my office.) http://www.eq3.com/cat-eq3/3090-405-2-storage.html

"...deliver ASSEMBLED for AN additional charge."

I bought the bed pictured on AT about a year ago - the storage actually works incredibly well. Or worked, I should say. I met my now-husband two months after I met my now-broken bed. It's a good thing the storage boxes I had underneath that thing were sturdy, because when our amorous bucking brought the ceiling down I thought we'd smash my heirloom x-mas ornaments, but we totally lucked out. So yeah, caveat emptor, baby!

(Hilarious, Regina!) FYI - I had EQ price out the Bossa storage bed (it's not obvious on the website but the lift system is additional). With tax and shipping, they quoted me a little over $1,000. Holdeverything.com's Chelsea and Cooper beds with underbed drawers are nice alternatives, but I think quality is about the same as EQ3 and the Cooper drawers can probably only hold one big pillow each. I think in the end, storage beds with the suspension systems seem to yield the most amount of storage space.

I'm late on the reply to this but I noticed that all the Flou beds are either singles or doubles. What adult wants to sleep on a double bed no matter how good it looks?

I have the storage bed in a queen size. I ADORE it.. so it comes in all sizes - a friend is considering the king. The only issue is that my mattress does not look ideal .. You really need a very thin matress to make the bed look it's best. I think I will cave and get a really thin mattress. The people at the FLOU store in Soho are really fantastic. They got mine to me with custom fabric in just under 4 weeks.

I saved for two years and bought the storage bed pictured above. It's amazing. I now have a linen closet and dust-free out of season storage under the bed! And Flou customer service is great. If that one person above bought a bed and busted it, (1) I'm doubtful it was a Flou since they're sturdier than most beds out there, and (2) if it actually is from Flou, I'm pretty sure Flou would replace it since they stand by their products. Sure, it's crazy expensive, but, as with IKEA, with Flou, you get what you pay for.

I was seriously considering buying one of these beds but they're just a little over my budget. I finally found a beautiful bed with storage underneath I paid around $1500 for it. It's a queen size in a dark cherry finish, it's got big drawers and cubby holes. So far it's held up very well, it's a nice sturdy bed. Here's where I found it: My adult storage bed

Anyway, I love it and it was definitely needed! Our room is small so the extra storage worked perfectly.