If there is one thing I remember about my bedroom growing up, it is the bed I slept in each and every night. I had a single bed, of course, with a foam rubber mattress. But underneath was a large drawer that pulled out and featured another, equally uncomfortable mattress. But it was very cool. This feature, as I came to learn, was called a trundle. Whenever I had friends over for sleepovers, my mom would pull that out, put some clean sheets on it, and my friend and I would have an awesome spot for a campout. In retrospect, this was a brilliant move by my mother. It kept us in one room, and out of the living room downstairs where we would bug her.
As I grew older, my mom somehow adapted this drawer to my changing needs. I no longer had sleepovers, and I had a lot more stuff. She fashioned partitions for the drawer and created my first storage bed. This was a great thing, and as I mentioned, a piece of furniture that I never forgot. If an item from a childhood bedroom can have sentimental value, my bed had it. It is funny that storage beds are often overlooked as potential item of decor.
When I went to college, you can imagine that I was quite pleased to find that my room came pre-equipped with a platform storage bed. How could they have known? Of course, this was for the sake of saving space, and I can assure you that no one was quite as excited as me to find this piece of furniture. Naturally, like all American college students, my roommate and I promptly filled our new storage bins with beer and other alcohol. Platform beds with storage can be a great thing. We found just about every possible way to fit things into that room, including two couches and a pair of refrigerators, but those beds with storage capacities made it all possible.
Somehow, and I'm sure it sounds strange, I've never lost hold of my little infatuation with storage beds. They're just too useful! Today, I have a house with a couple of spare bedrooms. I don't yet have kids, and space is not even close to being at a premium, but I went ahead and put a trundle bed in one of them. In this case, the trundle bed aspect rolls out and pops up, creating a queen size bed of sorts when it is placed next to the bed on top... if that makes sense. It is a different kind of storage bed, but it applies the same wonderful principle.
Beds with storage should certainly be more utilized than they are in today's society. Unfortunately, the response, at least in this country, is simply to have more space... to build it bigger. Why? It's a shame that we don't embrace ideas like these more often. With a little bit of ingenuity and creativity, people should be able to make a lot more of what they have, to take advantage of space that might otherwise go unused. Think about the space under your bed. More often than not, it exists only as a gathering place for dust bunnies and the like. Why not have a couple of drawers under there to hold old photos, an extra blanket or two, or your slippers. It almost makes too much sense.
Whether it's a trundle bed, or a bed with containers underneath, I suspect that I'll always have a storage bed of some type in my household. I know that one day, when I have children of my own, I'll be sure to outfit each of their rooms with storage beds. That way, when they have friends over to sleep, they can pull out the extra bed underneath, have slumber parties in the comfort of their own rooms, and most importantly they can stay out of my hair.
If you're looking for a bed like this, there are a few things to think about. For one, don't bother going to the more expensive furniture stores. Firstly, these beds don't seem to be classy enough for the fancy labels. Frankly, you're probably best off going to an Ikea, Target, or Sears. They will each have some selection, and at reasonable prices. Ikea, for me personally, is probably option number one. I went to check out the Hemnes from Ikea, and I can't recommend it highly enough. It is in the daybed style, and has two great big drawers for storage. At $500, it is not cheap, but it is certainly reasonable for what you're getting. With a bit more money spent on a decent mattress, you can outfit your guest bedroom with a really great looking bed, and all of the features that I've extolled here in the article. Go check it out!
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