Image by Sam Ross Via [The Radio Scout]
New Zealand’s soaring house prices, rising population and shrinking space has given rise to a boom in building small homes.
The trend is based on the “tiny house” movement that’s swept through the US in recent years and has now seen Kiwis who had struggled to get on to the housing ladder not only find inexpensive ways to find their own patch of land, but also get mortgage-free relatively easily.
But if you think tiny home equals tiny bed, think again.
Just because you choose to live in a smaller space than usual, that’s no reason why you should have a cramped bedroom – and, besides, most people’s idea of living with a smaller footprint (both physically and in the eco sense) tends to go hand-in-hand with living a healthier lifestyle, and that’s not going to happen if you’re squeezing two people on to a king single or double mattress.
So if you’re thinking about joining the tiny house movement, here are a few golden rules about choosing the right bed.
Size: The rule of thumb about choosing any bed is to find the largest size that fits the space you’ve got. You can read our guide to which bed sizes might suit you and your lifestyle or our mattress size guide to see what would fit into your space but it’s important to remember that getting a healthy night’s sleep is important to any lifestyle and living in a tiny house is no exception. After all, what’s the point in downsizing and then not paying special attention to the space where you’re likely to spend the most time?
Access: Sounds simple, but it isn’t worth buying a queen size bed base and then discovering it can’t fit up your tiny stairs into your tiny loft. Take all dimensions of your room and access points into a Bedpost store and we’ll help find the right solution for your access needs.
Positioning: Finding the right spot for your bed is all about mixing clever thinking with a bit of housekeeping knowledge. Yes, you’ll maximise your space by having a bed in a corner, but that creates an area that’s tough to keep clean and where mould can grow. Some of the coolest tiny houses use mezzanine or loft spaces for beds to maximise space and reduce the impact of what’s likely to be the largest single item of furniture in the home. At Bedpost, we even have beds with built in storage spaces to maximise your space even more!
Lifestyle: It might be tempting to double up your bedroom with a workspace or living area but there’s plenty of research that shows how TVs, computers and mobile devices can impact on a healthy night’s sleep. Using your bed as a work station or somewhere to catch up on Netflix box-sets might seem like a space-saving idea, but it could seriously impact on your health and lifestyle.
Thinking smart: Tiny homes are a smart solution to one of the modern world’s most intractable problems – matching a growing population with quality housing. But they’re only as good as the smart thinking that goes into them and clever solutions to issues such as storage. Talk to Bedpost about bed bases that include inbuilt storage or slat beds that have space underneath that can be used for storage.
The small house movement is all about creative thinking and we at Bedpost have plenty of sleep experts who can not only find the right mattress to match your comfort levels and lifestyle choices, but who can also help find imaginative and innovative ways to make them fit your home.
