We spotted this delightful photo of a hanging bed, originally published in now defunct Cottage Living, over on Elements of Style. It looks kind of dreamy but we worry about motion sickness...
While it looks fun in theory, we doubt we'd ever actually create our own hanging bed. How about you?
For an example of a round hanging bed, check out this post. And here's a cool quasi-hanging bed, the Float Bed by Max Longin.
To see the original Elements of Style blog post, click here.


Shaw's Original Fir...
ya motion sickness... wink, wink, nudge, nudge!
I would spend my nights terrified that it would fall while I was sleeping.
Yeah, I don't think any hanky panky is goin on here....so it's not for me! ;-)
I play (he he) to hard for that.
I slept in a hanging bed in mexico one time on vacation and it was one of the best experiences ever. since its hanging from all four corners it actually doesn't move as much as you think it might. its been my dream since to one day have a porch with a hanging bed on it....ahhhhh one can dream. i'd say the anchoring of all the weight would definitely be the biggest concern.
My grandparents have one as a daybed in their old summer house. All the kids used to LOVE it. I don't know if anyone ever slept the whole night on it, but ljh is right, it doesn't move as much as you'd think. Of course we wanted to use it as a huge swing, but it took some effort to really get it going... then once you stopped actively swinging, the bed stopped moving right away.
I don't think I'd want to take up with a pile of vomit next to me because of motion sickness..
so glad i'm not the only one giggling...
Had a hanging loft bed in my early swinging single bachelor college days. It was all about wild rides back then.
But it was incredibly comfortable too. Your chances of falling out of bed aren't any more than with a stationary bed. And the floor isn't any farther away. ~:o)
That bed appears to be well hung...
...quite unlike my 2nd Ex-Husband.
Channel your Auntie Mame and go for it!
"So easy to sweep under!"
Someone did this on Trading Spaces a long time ago. I was a youngin and I thought it was totally ridiculous. This one looks much better, but I'm still not a fan.
inner ear problems here... so no! :-(
i couldn't even sleep on a waterbed at my uncle's house years ago when i was visiting and came down with the flu.
I'm too young to give up sex. Maybe later in life.
Hanging beds (and seating) are still common in many parts of India, and are VERY comfortable. The ones that hang from all four corners, like the one pictured here, don't sway very much. You would be surprised.
I would LOVE to have one on a sleeping porch. You know, one of those second story screened porches in the south, positioned to catch the breeze. I think it would be delightful. Not sure if I would like it as the full time bed, but it would be easy to set the Roomba off under!
I'm also very curious about the sex thing? Is it like a waterbed?
Slept in hanging bed for a week on vacation. HATED IT. If you slept alone, maybe. Otherwise, every time somebody moves, the bed moves and wakes the other person up.
Tacky.
Pass. I live in earthquake territory.
Wow. /\ bunch of fuddy duddies. You're like the guy I dated in my 20s who hated hammocks. What sort of freak hates cuddling in a hammock?!
Looks great to me. for sleep or whatever.
I like the idea, recently I saw this swing bed...
http://www.housefish.com/suspended_bed.jpg
and loved it, and even though the one pictured is a bit raw some stain and style could make it amazing.
It would be a cool design for a baby crib. I love the look of the idea....but not sure how it would pan out in reality. Doesn't look to be hangover friendly.
Although I believe it's safe and probably comfortable.. it's not that amazingly looking to me, to be worth the stress ;-)
ohh I'll one up it with this pic... http://www.gadgetvenue.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/07/floatingbed.jpg it's actually a levitating bed! It floats due to magnetics.
I like the one in the post pic, would just worry about an appropriate bedside stand and lamp.
Do not like the housefish bed!
Huh???
(maybe if I was planning a no-sex life from this moment... but even so, probably not)
Maybe as a day bed, or on a porch, but not my everyday bed, no no, as others have said sex is way too important.
I just see that crashing after a night of intimacy - and then you need to a new bed and probably will have damaged your floor. Plus as much as me and the significant other roll around at night (we're practically bumpers cars at night), neither of us would sleep for it moving with us. I put it in the same category as a waterbed - great for a single person, but when there's more than one, it has to go.
I wouldn't want a hanging bed, but I would love a hanging couch. I've always wanted to put one near a bright sunny window and make it into a reading nook.
Celibate here (yes, some people are!), so sex is not the reason, but I wouldn't like one. I use the underbed space for storage, and there would be no point in this style if the space underneath weren't visible and free. Also, I prefer the flexibility to move my furniture around without hiring engineers to change the bed's support structure or leaving holes in the ceiling. But I think they look cool, and in the right setting (with enough other storage, of course!) it might be fun!
I build custom furniture and doors for a living www.benriddering.com . I built a hanging bed about a year ago for some of my clients. I provided them with an eyelet to screw to their floor in the center of the bed. Then I provided an eyelet on the inside of each corner of the bed. If a person wanted to minimize the sway of the bed, they could run ropes from each bed corner down to the floor eyelet (and because the floor eyelet is at the center of the bed you don't see it). If you like a little sway, you could run bungie cords instead of ropes (bungies give a little). Now the bed can't sway, but it CAN rotate. The only way to prevent rotation is to run the ropes at an outward angle to the ceiling (instead of straight up, run the ropes out from the bed in each direction). The further out you run the ropes, the less rotation you will have. Good luck!
I saw one once built on a sheet of plywood, anchored to the wall like a shelf, then ropes to the ceiling- it looked like a floating bed but is supposedly much more stable since one side is fixed. It looked pretty awesome. I'm thinking about doing it in my sons room, in a twin size... but I don't think I could do it myself- I'm a pretty light sleeper and any of that movement would wake me up.
I would like to speak to the concerns that some have mentioned about hanging beds being unstable and hard to sleep in. As you can see, I commented earlier on this article with a way to reduce the movement of your hanging bed. Since then, I have come up with a way to eliminate the sway altogether (and still keep the look of a hanging bed).
I recently posted an article on my blog about how to deal with this problem: http://benriddering.com/2012/06/20/put-your-hanging-bed-hang-ups-to-rest/ Good luck!