Focus on Bedroom Storage

As a purveyor of furniture we have noticed that Bedrooms, like Kitchens, are places where you can never have too much storage.

The divan manufacturers thought they had the problem solved many years ago by introducing drawers in their beds as an option, but as everyone knows when you have a place to put things, it’s far too easy to fill it.

Dorlux, amongst others, decided to go one step further and introduce Ottoman style storage, by lifting up the mattress revealing the cavernous space underneath (please phone us for further details)

Happily the oldest solution is still a popular one, and we are happy to supply all manner of bedside cabinets, wardrobes, chest of drawers in cutting edge styles like the Ophelia range through to classic ranges like the Fontainebleau and everything in-between such as the Kendal and Pickwick ranges. We have approximately a dozen different ranges for bedroom furniture listed and a few additional individual items as well.

If you have a bedstead, under bed storage isn’t lost to you either, as we can supply both wooden or metal roll-out drawers that fit under most bedsteads.

The Renaissance of the humble Bunk Bed

One type of bedroom furniture that appears to be undergoing something of a renaissance at the moment is the bunk bed, whether in Wood or Metal, practical in its use of space and a novelty that plenty of children never cease to tire nagging for - but more often than not they wouldn’t be seen dead in one by the age of 14!!

We recommend that no child under the age of 6 years should sleep on the top of a bunk bed, please check the mattress height on that top bunk doesn’t exceed the marked level of height to stop anyone from falling out.

It’s worth pointing out that over the years we have sold plenty of bunk beds for adults too, not all are up to the task, but the Lunar Bunk for example is more than adequate for the task of squeezing a few burly builders into a bunkhouse or barracks.

Some variations along the lines of the bunk theme are available with high sleepers like the Bedsitter bunk and Study Bunk, sofa bunks like the Twin Futon, giant bunks like the wooden 3 sleeper bunk and the re invention of an old classic, the cabin bed in the form of the wooden Guest Bed in our J range, to give a few examples.

Memory Foam Mattresses for a Comfortable and Memorable Sleep

Memory Foam, or to give it its technical name, Visco Elastic Foam, was until recently the newest innovation in bed manufacture and is still the most significant in many years of development.

True memory foam is a water based product, and as such doesn’t retain heat as much as Dunlopillo latex would because it allows air to pass through it.

When first used in bedding, memory foam was used in hospitals and nursing homes to combat problems caused by bad circulation such as bed sores or rheumatism and it is now making an impact in the domestic bed industry. It aids circulation because unlike springs or conventional foam, visco elastic memory foam puts almost no pressure against the body because it deforms rather than compresses or moves.

When you lie on a memory foam mattress it moulds itself around your body shape, returning to its original shape much like latex or reflex foam, only Memory Foam returns to its original shape more slowly as it is reacting to both your body temperature and weight, this means that you should move around less at night giving you a more restful sleep.

Most mattresses of this type have a defined sleeping and non sleeping sides, making them non-turn, this would include the combination style mattresses that contain conventional coil springs or pocket springs as well as the visco memory foam.

Leather & Faux Leather Beds: Luxury or the best of both worlds...?

There has always been a certain appeal to leather; any item made of leather carries with it a luxury status, an opulence even, from the lowliest leather bookmark to the shiny new car on the drive, always arriving complete with that "new leather smell".

These I’m sure are some of the reasons real leather upholstered beds are to this day one of our best selling ranges, especially with beds such as the Eclipse and Orbit, or the new Mira and Capella for example.

However there has been another option available for quite a while now, with the look, feel and general appeal of real leather, but without some of the drawbacks – Faux Leather, with beds such as the Pulsar bed and the aptly named Faux Leather Bed all being made of that material.

You see real leather, being a natural product, needs some care and attention form time to time, in the form of a little "hide food" to stop it getting dry and cracked in its old age, faux leather however doesn’t need this, being man made, however, it doesn’t have that wonderful leather smell either!

The prices differ less than you might think between real and faux leather beds, though in terms of value for money faux leather still wins, albeit only just.

I love leather, and that’s why I sleep on a faux leather bed, That way I get the best of both worlds!

The Importance of Support Legs on Wooden and Metal Beds

Most wooden and metal beds of at least double size are made with a central support leg, it is important to note a few things about these beds.

Firstly when assembling these beds, please do not forget to fit the support leg!! After all they wouldn't be part of the kit if they weren't needed. Now only adjust the central support leg when the mattress is in place, if it has an adjuster, (it should look like a rubber or plastic cap), wind it to the floor, and then wind it back half a turn so that it is not quite touching. When the bed is in use that support leg will be touching the floor only when it is needed.

If you have wooden or laminate flooring we would recommend the use of a small piece of non-slip material under the support leg, a carpet tile or carpet off cut should do the trick nicely, you might want to consider whether you want to put something under all of your beds legs (you can obtain felt squares and circles from your flooring supplier).

When you need to move your bed please do not drag it, this is true for any bed but especially for a bedstead as you may damage the flooring and the support leg only works if it is vertical.

If you take this advice you should avoid expensive and embarrassing mistakes, and enjoy the use of your bed for a lot longer.