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    Ten built-in beds that are embedded into the fabric of the building

    From mattresses on concrete bases to beds encased within timber surrounds, this lookbook rounds up ten single, double and day beds that have been built into interiors.

    Some designers choose to integrate beds into the building’s wider structure to create cohesion throughout interiors, eliminating the need to add matching furniture.
    Built-in beds are often seen in buildings situated in warmer climates, such as Central America and the Mediterranean, where stone or concrete is used to keep spaces cool and to create bespoke, unmovable furniture.
    Incorporated beds are also a popular choice when designing wooden cabins, due to their space-saving nature and the way they lend themselves to creating a cosy atmosphere.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring lime plaster walls, red interior schemes and interiors informed by retro design.

    Photo by Spyros Hound PhotographyWooden Cave, Greece, by Tenon Architecture
    A double and a single bed were sunk into this striking cave-like hotel suite in Greece designed by Tenon Architecture, which is made from over 1,000 pieces of spruce wood.
    The tiered wooden stricture has a smooth, biomorphic appearance that recalls the grotto dwellings used by early humans.
    Find out more about Wooden Cave ›
    Photo by Rory GardinerCasa Alférez, Mexico, by Ludwig Godefroy
    Two stark bedrooms are found in architect Ludwig Godefroy’s brutalism-informed home, situated in a pine forest in Mexico.
    Concrete was used for the walls, ceilings, floors, storage and furniture of the house – the harshness of which is offset in the plush day bed in its office area.
    Find out more about Casa Alférez ›
    Photo is courtesy of Caspar ScholsCabin Anna, The Netherlands, by Caspar Schols
    A double bed – including headboard and bedding – was integrated into the floor of this modular cabin created by architectural designer Caspar Schols.
    The structure and some of the furniture within it are flat-packed, allowing the space to be reconfigured depending on the needs of the user.
    Find out more about Cabin Anna ›
    Photo by César BéjaVilla Petrico, Mexico, by CO-LAB Design Office
    A glazed arch-shaped door dictates the shape of the rest of this tunnel-like bedroom in a concrete holiday home in Tulum.
    Platforms are present throughout the bedroom, one of which acts as a broad base for an understated mattress bed.
    Find out more about Villa Petrico ›
    Photo by Jonas Bjerre-PoulsenSwedish forest retreat, Sweden, by Norm Architects
    A sunken day bed takes advantage of the dramatic views of a pine forest in this cabin by Norm Architects.
    Linen upholstery and pillows compliment the natural wood texture of the bed’s base and the rest of the floor – a combination that extends throughout the rest of the interior.
    Find out more about Swedish forest retreat ›
    Photo by Edmund SumnerCometa House, Mexico, by Mauricio Rocha and Gabriela Carrillo
    A rustic wall made up of irregularly shaped stones provides the backdrop for the pared-back built-in bed in this coastal home in Oaxaca.
    A jute mat separates the mattress from its wide stone base, which has built-in steps separating it from the rest of the space.
    Find out more about Cometa House ›
    Photo by Taiyo Watanabe4/Way House, USA, by Deegan-Day Design & Architecture
    A birch plywood platform bed blends into the interior of a house in California by Deegan-Day Design & Architecture.
    The bed is surrounded by integrated panelling with a shelf for books and has an angular footprint to accommodate a built-in bedside table.
    Find out more about 4/Way House ›
    Photo by José CamposChestnut House, Portugal, by João Mendes Ribeiro
    A double bed saves space in this small-scale rural cabin by sitting flush with the surrounding structure that makes up the floor.
    The mezzanine bed is flanked by a bedside table area on one side and a ladder platform on the other that allows access to the level above.
    Find out more about Chestnut House ›
    Photo by Yiorgis YerolymposNCaved house, Greece, by Mold Architects
    Pale bedsheets blend in with light-coloured cast concrete platform and steps in this split-level bedroom.
    The built-in bed allows for other design features to take centre stage in the double-height space, including the stone wall, lancet windows and exposed structural beam.
    Find out more about NCaved house ›
    Photo by Ondřej BouškaCabin Above the Town, Czech Republic, by Byró Architekti
    A curtain separates a sleeping nook from the rest of this hilltop cabin’s open-plan interior.
    A single plywood volume snakes around the edge of the space and provides storage, seating and a bathroom as well as a built-in bed, with a further guest bed atop the structure accessible by a ladder.
    Find out more about Cabin Above the Town ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring lime plaster walls, red interior schemes and interiors informed by retro design.

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    Eight bedrooms defined by statement headboards

    For our latest lookbook, we’ve trawled the Dezeen archive for bedroom interiors that don’t sleep on the potential of a good headboard – whether wooden, upholstered or mirrored.

    Far from just being a practical furniture piece, headboards can help to highlight the bed as the centre of a room and fulfil the same decorative function as a piece of art.
    While plush upholstered versions nod back to the grandeur of beds past, more modern interpretations fitted with integrated shelves and peg boards can also provide practical storage.
    Read on for eight examples of bedrooms with headboards that add new meaning to the concept of beauty sleep.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring bedrooms with regal four-posters, bunk beds for kids and wardrobes disguised as walls.

    Photography by Prue RuscoeLa Palma house, Australia, by YSG
    Australian studio YSG used a painting in the living room of this holiday home in Sydney as a guiding light for the textile selection throughout the entire property.
    In the main bedroom, the artwork’s striped red border is picked up in the lampshades and bedside tables, while the headboard is upholstered in wildly clashing botanical and zebra prints.
    Find out more about La Palma house ›
    Photo by Alexandre DelaunaySacha apartment, France, by SABO Project
    Plywood pegboard walls are a recurring feature throughout this family-friendly duplex in Paris, with an interior designed by local studio SABO Project.
    In the primary bedroom, one of these partition walls doubles up as the bedhead while providing adaptable storage via movable slot-in shelves.
    “The owners are a young, hard-working couple that is also pretty laid back,” the studio’s founder Alex Delaunay told Dezeen. “So the idea of utilising a simple and humble material in a way that puts forward good custom design rather than ostentatious luxury was fitting.”
    Find out more about the Sacha apartment ›
    Photo by Pion StudioPuro Hotel Kraków, Poland, by Paradowski Studio
    Long metal piping cinches in the upholstered bedhead of this guestroom at the Puro Hotel in Kraków to give it a more curvaceous silhouette.
    This textile backdrop is framed by natural oak wall panelling, which in turn is layered with integrated lights and graphic artworks in matching wooden frames.
    Find out more about Puro Hotel Kraków ›
    Photo by Denilson MachadoHygge Studio, Brazil, by Melina Romano
    Brazilian designer Melina Romano used the same rust-red fabric to upholster the bed frame and the panelled header of this bed, which extends out to one side to envelop a long nightstand.
    The warm, muted colour was chosen to blend in with the creamy brick walls and terracotta-tiled floors of this São Paulo apartment, creating an interior that Romano describes as both “modern and bucolic”.
    Find out more about Hygge Studio ›
    Photo by Ståle EriksenER Residence, UK, by Studio Hallett Ike
    Instead of relying on artificial colours or patterns, visual interest in this bedroom-cum-study is delivered via the naturally swirly graining of the Douglas fir wood that acts as the headboard.
    The same wood was also used to form four integrated nightstands and a window seat that looks out over the garden of the Victorian terrace house in north London.
    Find out more about ER Residence ›
    Photo by Benoit LineroHotel Les Deux Gares, France, by Luke Edward Hall
    British designer Luke Edward Hall strived for an “anti-modern” aesthetic when converting an abandoned five-storey building in Paris’s 10th arrondissement into the Hotel Les Deux Gares.
    Each of the guest rooms features a candy-striped headboard with swooping corners – contrasted against sky blue, violet or olive green walls – as well as dainty reading lamps personalised by Hall with doodles of martini glasses and the Eiffel Tower.
    Find out more about Hotel Les Deux Gares ›
    Photo by Shannon McGrathCentral Park Road Residence, Australia, by Studio Four
    The largely open-plan layout of this Melbourne home is interrupted by only a few partitions, helping to form a handful of enclosed living spaces.
    A wall of floor-to-ceiling cupboards conceals the kitchen while another full-height storage volume with an open bookshelf doubles up as a headboard in the bedroom.
    Find out more about Central Park Road Residence ›
    Photo by José HeviaReig-i-Bonet apartment, Spain, by Arquitectura-G
    A mirrored wall provides a voyeuristic backdrop and functions as a headboard in this apartment, renovated by Spanish studio Arquitectura-G for a young couple in Barcelona.
    The bed itself sits on a platform covered in pale grey carpet, helping to blend it with the surrounding floors and a sunken lounge nearby.
    “The flat was conceived as a unique space distributed on different platforms that meet the needs of a young couple,” the studio said.
    Find out more about Reig-i-Bonet apartment ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring bedrooms with regal four-posters, bunk beds for kids and wardrobes disguised as walls.

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    Eight bedrooms featuring regal four-poster beds

    There’s no symbol of luxury more universal than the four-poster bed. In this lookbook, we select eight bedrooms elevated by their presence.

    Beds with vertical columns in each corner supporting an upper panel date back to the medieval period.
    Originally built with wraparound curtains to keep out the cold and provide privacy, they have historically been associated with highly ornate designs for nobility.
    Today the four-poster bed remains an unmistakable statement piece of furniture, and the list below sees the concept applied to a variety of bedroom settings, from the traditional to the contemporary.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring bedrooms with wood panelling, lounges with suspended fireplaces and homes with vaulted ceilings.

    Photo by Adolf BereuterHouse on the Schopfacker, Switzerland, by Bernardo Bader Architects
    Austrian studio Bernardo Bader Architects created this reinterpretation of the traditional Alpine chalet in the Swiss village of Trogen for an art and antique furniture collector.
    In the bedroom, a grand carved four-poster bed contrasts with contemporary chrome-edged furniture, as well as the concrete ceiling and the pale larch walls and floor.
    Find out more about House on the Schopfacker ›
    Photo courtesy of Soho HouseThe Ned, UK, by Soho House and Sydell Group
    The Ned is an upscale hotel formed out of a historic London bank originally designed by British architect Edwin Lutyens.
    Soho House worked with New York-based Sydell Group to give the bedrooms a 1920s feel, with large, mahogany four-poster beds bearing richly patterned curtains and set among other lavish details like walnut panelling and restored chandeliers.
    Find out more about The Ned ›
    Photo courtesy of StudioWTA and ASH NYCHotel Peter and Paul, USA, by StudioWTA and ASH NYC
    Crucifixes top the black four-poster beds inside the rooms of this New Orleans hotel as a nod to the building’s past as a church, rectory and convent.
    New York Design firm ASH NYC continued the religious iconography with paintings of saints on the walls, while traditional furniture and furnishings give the space a sense of timelessness.
    Find out more about Hotel Peter and Paul ›
    Photo by Rafael GamoVilla Pelícanos, Mexico, by Main Office
    This thatch-roof seaside villa overlooking the Pacific Ocean features a rustic four-poster bed hung with gauzy white curtains.
    Part of a 1980s holiday village renovated by architecture studio Main Office, the interior marries Mexican materials with South African elements – parota wood furniture sitting among a bright, blank backdrop delivered by the white walls and smooth concrete floor.
    Find out more about Villa Pelícanos ›
    Photo by Nicholas WorleyThe Tri-Pod, UK, by Scott Whitby Studio
    Designed for a polyamorous throuple, this bespoke boudoir by London-based Scott Whitby Studio has enough space for three people to sleep together comfortably.
    The architects chose to reimagine the traditional four-poster as a divider of space as well as a piece of furniture. Above the closable walnut sleeping space is a mezzanine for reading and relaxation.
    Find out more about The Tri-Pod ›
    Photo by Travis Williams/Travis MarkSackett Street townhouse, USA, by The Brooklyn Home Company
    The wooden four-poster bed in the main bedroom of this Brooklyn townhouse was designed and hand-crafted by Fitzhugh Karol, a sculptor-in-residence at The Brooklyn Home Company.
    It sits in the middle of a bright and airy bedroom with white oak floors, white-painted walls and an adjacent private terrace.
    Find out more about this Sackett Street townhouse ›
    Photo courtesy of Hunter Mabry DesignHenry Howard Hotel, USA, by Hunter Mabry Design
    Another New Orleans hotel renovation, this time with a sleek black metal four-poster bed that adds a gently modern touch to the rooms.
    New York studio Hunter Mabry Design juxtaposed the contemporary bed with antique furnishings and vintage brass instruments that reference the city’s jazz heritage.
    Find out more about Henry Howard Hotel ›
    Photo courtesy of Claesson Koivisto RuneXiang Jiang House, China, by Claesson Koivisto Rune
    Swedish studio Claesson Koivisto Rune included a modern take on the traditional four-poster bed in this Beijing house that was designed to have a Scandinavian feel.
    An oversized plinth provides room for a bedside table lamp, enhancing the sense of tranquility and cosiness in the bedroom among the extra-wide floorboards and pale-wood wall panelling.
    Find out more about Xiang Jiang House ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring bedrooms with wood panelling, lounges with suspended fireplaces and homes with vaulted ceilings.

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    Ten kids' rooms with space-saving loft beds and bunk beds

    Our latest lookbook features 10 compact children’s bedrooms that use bunk beds to conserve precious space and make more room for play.

    By stacking two beds on top of each other to form a single unit, bunk beds can free up floor space and create a greater sense of privacy in shared rooms. Loft beds, which are raised high above the floor, can help to achieve a similar space-saving result.
    Examples in this lookbook include a three-tiered bunk bed in a rural Chilean cabin and a birch plywood unit in London’s Barbican that integrates not just two beds but also a fold-out desk for doing homework.
    This is the latest in our series of lookbooks, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing kitchens with social seating nooks, statement skylights and living rooms with sculptural furniture.
    Photo is by Ståle EriksenBirch and Clay Refugio, UK, by Rise Design Studio

    Rise Design Studio used bespoke birch plywood joinery to help maximise the space in this London garden flat, which the practice remodelled and extended to accommodate a family of four.
    In the kid’s room, the material was used to create an intricate bunk bed, which sits perched on a platform housing a small play area and numerous drawers.
    Find out more about Birch and Clay Refugio ›
    Photo is by Michael SinclairA Room for Two, UK, by Studio Ben Allen
    In this children’s bedroom, two beds are stacked on top of each other within an architectural plywood structure, which bisects the room to conserve both space and privacy.
    The result are two “miniature houses”, each with its own arched doorway and built-in desk, while the steps leading to the upper bed double as shelving.
    “Inspired by the painting St Jerome in His Study by Antonello da Messina, our departure point was to create an installation that is as much a small piece of architecture as it is a piece of furniture,” said Studio Ben Allen.
    Find out more about A Room for Two ›
    Photo is by Mariell Lind HansenAlbergo Miramonti hotel, Italy, by Boxx Creative
    Albergo Miramonti is a renovated 1950s hotel in the Alpine village of Corteno Golgi that was overhauled by London studio Boxx Creative to maximise the space provided by its poorly organised floorplan.
    Family suites now house roomy single and double bunk beds, designed to prove that compact living doesn’t mean sacrificing comfort or taste.
    Find out more about the Albergo Miramonti hotel ›
    Photo is by Bruce DamonteMylla Hytte, Norway, by Mork-Ulnes Architects
    Pinewood lines both the interior and exterior of this home, which overlooks a lake in the Nordmarka woodland north of Oslo and was designed to resemble a traditional Norwegian “hytte” cabin.
    The same plywood used to panel the walls and ceilings also forms a number of built-in furniture pieces, including a bunk bed for the family’s two children as well as benches, shelves and a dining table.
    Find out more about Mylla Hytte ›
    Photo is by Stephen Kent JohnsonOne Manhattan Square apartment, USA, by Jamie Bush
    American designer Jamie Bush made bold and liberal use of colour to help liven up an off-the-shelf bunk bed from Casa Kids in this mustard-hued room.
    This helps the interior blend in with the rest of the apartment and its sculptural 1970s furnishings, set on the 60th floor of the luxury residential skyscraper One Manhattan Square on the Lower East Side.
    Find out more about One Manhattan Square apartment ›
    Photo is by Felipe UgaldeBL1 and BL2, Chile, by Umwelt
    Chilean studio Umwelt designed this home with expansive windows for a young family that just moved from Santiago to the beach town of Cáhuil in order to help bring them closer to nature.
    The kid’s room houses a three-tiered bunk bed that looks out over the rolling countryside, while other rooms offer sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean.
    Find out more about BL1 and BL2 ›
    Photo is by French + TyeRoom For One More, UK, by Studio Ben Allen
    In order to add an extra bedroom to the beloved flat of a growing family in the Barbican estate in London, Studio Ben Allen inserted a full-height timber volume at the centre of the plan. This houses an office area with a fold-out desk on one side and a bunk bed on the other.
    The new kid’s bedroom can be separated from the rest of the apartment using a sliding door, and the teal-coloured steps leading up to its bed can be pushed back to form another small desk for doing homework.
    Find out more about Room For One More ›
    Photo is by Olivier-Martin GambierHouse for a Photographer, France, by Alireza Razavi
    All of the floor space in this kid’s room is designated for playing, as double-height ceilings allow the sleeping area to be raised up in the form of an oversized loft bed for two.
    Architect Alireza Razavi also installed a similar mezzanine level over the home’s dining area that houses a post-editing room for the owner, who is a professional photographer.
    Find out more about House for a Photographer ›
    Photo is by Jeff CateHudson Woods home, USA, by Magdalena Keck
    New York interior designer Magdalena Keck recruited a cast of American makers and artisans to design custom furniture pieces for this holiday home in the Catskill Mountains.
    Among them is a chunky timber bunk bed that blends in with the wood-panelled walls and pays homage to the property’s natural setting.
    Find out more about Hudson Woods home ›
    Photo is by Maxime BrouilletFahouse, Canada, by Jean Verville
    Jean Verville nestled a double-width loft bed inside the steep gable of this cottage, set in a forest near Quebec.
    Wooden ceiling beams are left exposed and matched to the light wooden bed and the floor, which stand in stark contrast to the home’s blackened steel cladding.
    Find out more about Fahouse ›
    This is the latest in our series of lookbooks, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing kitchens with social seating nooks, statement skylights and living rooms with sculptural furniture.

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    Scott Whitby Studio creates multi-level boudoir for a throuple

    Three people can sleep, practice yoga or drink whisky together in this bedroom designed by London-based Scott Whitby Studio. The clients are a throuple – a romantic relationship between three people. They asked Scott Whitby Studio to create them a bespoke boudoir in their south London home, which also features spaces for other activities. The […] More