Have you ever woken up and asked yourself how many hours you actually slept? Nowadays, a variety of devices such as smartwatches or smart bands are available to track your sleep, recognizing certain patterns to interpret your circadian rhythm and boost rest quality. Besides measuring and improving sleep duration and quality, understanding current and future trends for beds (and their surroundings) can be an important strategy for architects and designers to create effective environments for sleeping and relaxing. Through the analysis of nine different typologies, the following article showcases what we expect for the beds of the future, driven by technological advances, sustainable operations and space organization strategies.
Technology: Smart Beds
From ancient mattresses –composed of layers of reeds and rushes– to smart beds based on advanced technology to gather sleeping data, the design of beds has been constantly evolving according to the needs and innovations of the human being.
No More Extra Pillows
Automating daily routines through the integration of technology is a step forward in creating an ergonomically designed bed. With a seamless connection to the internet, the app integration or remote controls enables you to adjust positions, transforming the bed into a place not just for sleeping but reading, watching TV or even working. Innovating with materials and components, smart bed technology improves the sleeping experience for different users, especially for people with disabilities or the elderly.
Together But Not Mixed
Whether you like sleeping in a hot or cold environment, straight or inclined position, individualized digital health allows us to share the same space without necessarily sharing sleeping styles. Smart beds can divide a single space into different areas, differentiating positions, temperatures and extra features such as body massages.
Cutting-edge Comfort While Keeping with Aesthetics
Designing spaces that combine advanced comfort while maintaining an aesthetic appeal can result in smart beds that are also stylish. Balancing form and function, trendy bed design incorporates ergonomics and modern materials (using colors and textures to differentiate components and atmospheres), together with the necessary elements for a restful night of sleep and its benefits, which can include improvements in brain performance, mood and health.
Sustainability: Lightweight and Natural Materials
Going back to the basics is also a way to improve sleep patterns. Being close to nature –and natural materials– lowers blood pressure and stress hormones, stimulating the human body to improve our sleep quality. Along with the incorporation of nature in bedroom layouts, the use of simple yet strong design strategies are aligned with developing a sustainable architecture.
How about bringing the experience of camping to your everyday life? Within the decision of throwing down the walls, this loft at Taliesin West proposes a new way of sleeping for outdoor enthusiasts. Escaping from the bustling city and enjoying the benefits of mother nature –fresh air, natural lightning and pure silence– is the simple strategy that led to the design of an open-air bed with. Prepared for the built environment’s constant change, the whole concept of this project enhances functional and aesthetic adaptability to design a flexible openness that plays with the desert’s light and shadow.
Designing with Natural Materials
Besides its sleep benefits, designing with ecological materials is key to reducing an architecture project’s carbon footprint. Playing with light and shadows and exploring with a double-height pitched roof ceiling, the architecture of the room explores the relationship between space and nature. Keeping only the essentials, the creation of a rustic atmosphere is built through the use of wood, bamboo, rattan and other local natural materials. Following this natural concept, the bed’s material strategy is distinguished by the use of recycled elm, which joins different slabs –each one with its own characteristics- to create a natural aesthetic design.
Living inside a cluttered bedroom is also an influencing factor when analyzing your anxiety and night sleep. Keeping it simple, minimalist bed designs can be a simple way to help you fall asleep easier. As part of a sustainable building project, the interior design of Domus Peepem demonstrates how simplicity in bed design has a dual benefit, improving sleep quality and collaborating with sustainability. Aiming for spaciousness, the bedroom only has a mattress, bedding and a few decorative elements that follow an earthy color palette.
Use of Space: Beds with Organizational Features
Efficient use of space seems to be a very popular concept lately. Considering urban density and rising housing prices in cities, bedroom layouts are exploring multifaceted identities, becoming more than just a room to sleep in. As a complement to efficient space design, architecture is incorporating these strategies within furniture design. Such is the case of beds with organizational features like shelves, seats or drawers, all of which help to reduce the amount of used space, enabling the easy flow of movement.
Within the well-known tradition of the small architectural retreat, this small cabin in Nordmarka creates a light and open space, yet maintaining an intimate and cozy escape from the city. Through a simple but functional concept, this small layout design strategy is based on levels going up and around the central area. Making use of the free spaces, the layout combines the recreational area with a sleeping area for adults, where the bed’s side becomes a seat whenever it is needed.
Through the integration of a table, a carpet and a room-sized wooden box, the renovation of a Lower East Side apartment uses verticality to rearrange space. Transforming the original apartment’s openness, the new layout makes use of the ceiling’s double height to make multifunctional spaces. More than just furniture, the project raises the bed structure to a second level, leaving space for working or recreational activities. Here, the bed becomes a central structure from which the whole layout is organized.
Without being tied to one design, the San Diego Garage conversion projects a flexible space configuration that mutates quickly and adapts to future changes. In line with this dynamic proposal and prepared to accommodate one or several people at the same time (allowing for different family structures in the future), the project uses a retractable bookcase to transform the living room into a guest room. Integrating the bed behind the bookcase is a key strategy to use it whenever the inhabitants want, without disturbing the free space. Without interrupting the bed’s main function, it enables it to be visible or concealed depending on the situation.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on February 14, 2023.
