> space saving built in beds

If space is tight or you have a few children to house in one bedroom, then having custom built beds made may be a practical solution. It doesn't have to cost the earth either, but what you gain can be truly amazing.

With a small room, planning is key and the space has to be meticulously planned. We recently designed a high bed ontop of wardrodes and cupboard space in this snug bedroom (below) as there was no room for all the usual pieces of furniture. Building a bed on top of storage cupboards was the natural answer - the wardrobes took up the same amount of floor space as the bed alone, freeing up the rest of the room. The cupboards contain double clothes rails and loads of shelves, in fact, there's now more storage than having a freestanding wardrobe and set of drawers!

We then clad the bed in our scrapwood wallpaper and used a vibrant acid yellow to contast for the ladders. There was even room left for a desk and one of our wallcoverings on the opposite wall too.

I'd love to design some suspended beds like these! How gorgeous does this room look? Wooden platform beds are suspened from the rafters and because the floor space isn't taken up, it allows the beds to be layerd with room underneath for play or additional pieces of furniture.

This one is rather nifty too. Four children in one room and very stylishly done too! Thinking laterally and planning the space gives you the opportunity to be a little more creative (because you have to be) and the results can well worth it.