An email from Timothy: I've been living in a cozy studio apartment in the Hollywood Hills for over three years now and I still haven't figured out where to put a full sized bed. For the last three years I've been sleeping on a 3" thick sleeper sofa mattress that I fold up during the day so I can have easy access around my apartment. I can't ditch my 8' long sofa because it's vintage 1950's Danish teak (and doubles as a daybed) and I also have another obnoxiously large 6' teak credenza to match it. The mattress as of now is in an alcove about 30" deep, with a threshold at about 8. I really would like to put a Murphy bed in, but (A) I can't drill into the hardwood floor and (B) I don't want the bed in a cabinet...(continued)
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Dude, you're asking a lot out of that space without sacrificing any furniture!!! ;)
Does the desk currently behind the sofa or dresser fit in the alcove where the mattress is now?
I think the angled placement of sofa with desk behind is eating up a lot of space.
If I were you, I'd put a real bed running the longest side hugging the living room/kitchen wall, and dress it as a day bed. Desk can then be its head- or foot board.
I would like to suggest that you position the credenza on the wall where the television currently sits... perhaps you can sit the tv on top? It seems like you really love the piece and it would be a lot easier to showcase in the room this way. With that you could position the bed where the credenza currently sits... facing out into the room or along the wall if the end comes too close to the couch. You could always get a screen to act as a partition between the front door and the bed.
Your floorplan is very similar to my studio. I have the sofa in the middle of the room, facing the long wall toward the kitchen; the TV and desk can go on that wall. Then the bed can go on the short wall on the side by the bathroom, so you can sit in bed and look out at the balcony.
This is exactly how my place is set up, and it helps break up the space into living/sleeping areas, and also keeps you from walking right in the front door into the bed.
One question: why is there a club chair in the kitchen? It looks like you have plenty of room for an eat-in table. Maybe something round to break up all those flat angles?
Regarding the Murphy Beds, I am in a studio and totally sick of having my bed visible all the time. I am getting a murphy bed and have been looking in to it quite a bit.
First, they have mechanisms that bolt into the wall instead of the floor if that is an option for you.
Also, they have the mechanisms for sale that can be constructed by you (they are $200 to $300) and hidden without cabinetry (like a curtain, which was in one of the smallest coolest entries this year.)
Anyway, sorry no help on placement, but maybe these will help you not to rule out murphy beds. I would give links or be more thoughtful, but work calls.
wait, make that: put the TV and the surely awesome credenza on the long wall, opposite the sofa; then move the desk to the wall just to the left when you enter the door. Perfecto! Now your desk is much closer to your shelves, which makes a whole lot more sense.
i say get rid of the desk and get one of those desk/bed combos. basically, it puts your bed horizontally on the wall, showing a desk when not in use, then when you bring down teh bed, the desk ends up underneath. very slick. http://www.flyingbeds.com/14.Euro_BunkBed/DeskBed/DeskBed.htm
full sized bed and desk in one. yes, i know, $3700, but it's very efficient for your space...
Avocado
Can you try to dig up some links? What you describe is just what I was looking for a while backMurphy bed hardware, sans cabinetry, that bolts into the wall. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks for your responses!
The only things that I really need to keep in the room are the sofa and the credenza. The TV is being upgraded to a flat screen that will be mounted to the wall or sit on a shelf (or credenza) The desk is actually going, I just bought the space saving (and thankfully on sale) desk & chair from Chiasso (http://www.chiasso.com/store/Item.aspx?from=sale&ItemId=47236&DepartmentId=0) which has a more comfortable size of 31" x 19". so it will take up about 1/3 the space the other desk did (much to my cat's dismay)
I have not ruled out the Murphy bed, and the alcove is perferct for it with a cool curtain as the space within the alcove seems very separate from the room. I've also been looking into the bingo poof thing from DWR, and other folding foam matresses like it. I would be interested into hearing some comments as to how comfortable it is.
Thanks again,
Tim
Hey Oliver,
I think these are three companies that sell do-it-yourself mechanisms that do not need to be attached to the floor:
http://www.murphybeds.com/default.asp
http://www.wallbed.com/
http://www.murphybedmechanism.com/
And I think that AT needs a site dedicated only to studios. They create such a unique set of issues.
i printed out a copy of the layout of your place and "rearranged" the furniture. this is what i came up with: put the bed on the wall where the tv is now, place the credenza next to it, facing out towards the room. slide the (current) desk into the alcove. move the tv to the wall between the front door and alcove. place the couch in the middle of the room. this layout works (at least on paper) if your room and your tastes work with it. the credenza becomes something of a showpiece since it's visible from the front door, and blocks the bed from view, giving you a bit more privacy. if the only cable jack is on that wall by the balcony doors, might i suggest buying a long enough cable to stretch around the room and anchoring it along the baseboard with special wire retainers? (this is what i did with the living room at my place; our tv is on the opposite side of the room from the cable jack, more than 25 feet!) it's obvious that you're unhappy with your bed, so may i also suggest investing in a good, comfortable mattress and a quality bed frame? nothing beats a good night's sleep! hope i was of some help; good luck!
have you given any thought to a loft bed?
How handy are you? How high is the ceiling? You could build a large, low platform, about 2 feet high and at least the size of a double bed, open on one side (the long side or the narrow side, depending on where in the room you place it). It needs to be sturdy enough for you and some of your furniture to rest on top - the couch, the desk, etc.
Then you'd build a low trundle on wheels to house your mattress. You'd pull it out at night for sleeping, then push it back under the platform during the day. You might want a railing around the bed-end of the platform too, to prevent furniture from falling down on you during an earthquake.
It would give the room a split-level effect if done correctly. You could even build it a little higher than necessary and incorporate a step or steps. You could build it longer or wider than necessary too, and use the extra space for storage, either accessed from the side like the bed, or from hatches built into the top. Keep in mind though, the larger the platform the more expensive it'll be to build and the harder it'll be to take with you when you move.
I'd second the vote to place the bed where the credenza now sits. Your desk could go in the alcove, the credenza can move to where the TV is, and you then have so much space that you can move the chair out of the kitchen and into the living area. =)