Folding furniture for a small apartment is the best option for saving space. For example, a sofa bed can always help you out when guests visit or even completely replace the main bed. Place it in the living room, use it as a sofa during the day, and at night it turns into a comfortable bunk bed.
Photo: homik.pw
Transformable beds
One of the most common types of transformers is a bed. The sofa bed has been known and used for quite some time. There is a version of a Euro book, and there is a roll-out version (when the horizontal part is pulled out on wheels and the vertical part is lowered).
- Such sofa beds are full-fledged sleeping places. It’s difficult to talk about their convenience in general.
- It is necessary to consider each specific option, what content is contained in this sofa.
- If we compare with a stationary orthopedic mattress, then often this comparison will not be in favor of the sofa bed.
The chair-bed is most often used in children's rooms. A very convenient option that significantly saves space for children's fun. It is also equipped with a built-in drawer, which can be used, for example, to store bedding.
Transformable sofas
For proper rest, a person needs a bed; it is an important attribute of the bedroom. In apartments with a small area, it is difficult to provide a comfortable place for each family member to sleep. The best solution in such a situation would be to purchase a transforming sofa.
This piece easily transforms into a luxurious double bed. There are products on sale that become two-tiered objects as a result of simple manipulations.
Modern transformable furniture is usually equipped with spacious drawers. The room in which such an element is installed can simultaneously be used as a bedroom, living room and dining room.
The transforming sofa can turn into two separate sleeping places. The lower part becomes the upper tier, which is supported by special legs. The backrest goes down, resulting in a second berth.
Models with a stationary bed at the top and a sofa-book in the lower half of the structure are also purchased. This system is complemented by a linen storage box or shelf.
Transformable wardrobe
Recently, folding beds have become increasingly popular. During the day, such a bed turns into a wardrobe or sofa. It, along with all bedding, rises ninety degrees and is fixed with holders.
And this whole structure looks like a closet wall when closed. There are options when a raised and fixed bed is converted into a sofa built into a closet, which turns out to be very functional.
When choosing such a wardrobe bed, you need to consider a number of points:
- Particular attention should be paid to the mechanisms - they should be of high quality and easy to use (that is, there should be no difficulties when folding and unfolding the bed);
- The mattress fastening system needs to be checked. It should be reliable, but also allow you to easily remove the mattress for drying or disinfection;
- It is necessary to take into account that the wardrobe-bed must stand against a load-bearing wall due to the fact that the entire structure is attached to the wall, and it must withstand such serious loads.
Wardrobe beds differ in the location of the sleeping area relative to the closet wall. There are models with fasteners on the long side of the bed, and there are models with fasteners on the short side.
When fastened along the long side, the closet turns out to be quite wide and its part above the bed can be used as a full-fledged storage system. This version of a transforming cabinet is well suited for narrow rooms. The disadvantage here is that only a one- or one-and-a-half-bed place can be built-in.
Bunk wardrobe beds are built in a similar way. The sleeping places are located one above the other, and when folded they look like a wardrobe. This design has a disadvantage: to climb to the second tier, you need to use a ladder and when the beds are removed it needs to be stored somewhere.
- Most often, bunk beds are installed in children's rooms, because... they allow you to free up a lot of free space.
- And another advantage of this option is the relatively low price.
- Such models do not require a particularly powerful lifting mechanism, since the load on it is not so high.
- Often a spring mechanism can be used, and this can reduce the cost of furniture.
Models attached to the wall along the short part are sometimes called “vertical folding beds”. These models use pneumatic lifts, and it is important that they are of high quality.
There are even lifts with automatic drive and remote control. Accordingly, the price of such models of wardrobe-beds is much higher. There are options with single, one-and-a-half and double beds.
About “Transformer” beds
Such models should be given special attention, because a comfortable night's sleep is always very important for normal human life.
There are two options that are rated as the most effective in small apartments:
- One of them involves cleaning the bed into the wall;
- The other involves transforming it into another household item.
The most practical is a bed with a lift, which is usually mounted at the bottom of the wall using movable hinges. The mechanism includes springs, which make lifting the bed much easier. The back of the structure can be disguised as a makeshift cabinet, and the finishing can be done the same as on the wall.
Another design option could be shelves for clothing and bedding, closed with sliding doors. In this case, the bed linen is not removed, but simply fixed, which is very convenient.
Bed-type transformers can be for two people or for one, which is often used by enterprising students in small dorm rooms.
Transformable wall
If you need to turn a bedroom into a fairly business room during the day, then a transforming wall will do the job perfectly. Its peculiarity is that part of the wall moves away and a vertical bed hidden behind it appears.
This “wall” retains its functionality, while slightly losing the depth of the cabinet.
But there is a big plus - during the daytime the bed is not visible at all. The disadvantage of such furniture is its high price.
Extreme solution
Probably the most striking invention in this industry can be considered a transforming room. Externally, this thing looks like an ordinary cabinet that will fit even in the cramped studio-pencil case.
However, through simple manipulations, this closet turns into a sleeping place, a dining area with a table and chairs, and bookshelves.
- This concept was first implemented by Japanese engineers - recognized experts in the field of saving living space.
- Such transforming cabinets are a salvation for poor students who are forced to huddle in cramped rooms without any chance of adequately furnishing the room.
- And with the advent of closet rooms, it became possible to furnish a room with everything necessary in 10 minutes.
This box contains a workplace, a bed, a dining table with chairs, and a storage system for personal items and accessories.
Transformable seats
Transformable seats include, for example, folding chairs, which, when folded, can be stored on a loggia or in a closet and used when guests arrive.
Ottomans or benches with covers often act not only as a seat, but as part of a storage system - shoes in the hallway or all sorts of utensils in the kitchen.
Folding coffee table
In a small apartment, an ordinary coffee table near the sofa in the combined kitchen-living room can be replaced with a folding one. It can be converted into a full-fledged high dining table, which will save you additional useful space in the kitchen.
Calculate the exact cost of repairs using an online calculator
and receive a free detailed estimate for repairs
Calculate
Photo: enterarchitects.com
Transformable tables
A good option in a small kitchen can be a console that folds out completely or halfway.
For a long time, everyone has known about the table-book, which when folded takes up very little space, but when assembled it is ready to welcome a large number of guests.
Types of furniture
Transformer furniture is preferred by consumers because of its compactness and attractive design. It allows you to rationally use the available space. There are sliding, rising, folding, modular types of mechanisms.
Several elements are obtained from one product. This option is used if it is necessary to divide the room into functional zones. Manufacturers produce various types of products:
- products that can change their size;
- disappearing furniture;
- multifunctional objects that can change their functions as a result of simple manipulations.
Many models are additionally equipped with shelves, drawers, and hangers. They make the room decor more attractive.
Wardrobe-table
In Soviet times, such a cabinet was called a secretary. A very convenient option for arranging a place to work or study. After use, the hinged lid closes and makes the room spacious and hides all work tools or study items inside.
Interesting solutions
We will not touch on the topic of well-known folding beds and armchairs that turn into a cozy sofa. These inventions were born half a century ago. It is much more interesting to see what new has appeared on the transformable furniture market in recent years.
Advantages and disadvantages of transformable furniture
The main advantage of such furniture is that it is more compact than individual pieces of furniture.
Among the disadvantages are:
- High price
- To use some transformers you sometimes need to make an effort. It is important to take into account that older people and children may not be able to fold/unfold such furniture on their own.
Mechanisms in transformable furniture must be of high quality to ensure safe operation. But even they sometimes break.
Features of choosing a transformer design
A transformer furnishing is considered a rational choice in cases where the apartment is not very large in size.
When choosing, you should pay attention to:
- The strength of the lifting mechanism when furnishing a room for children;
- The fact that the use of such transformers is most in demand when trying to combine two or more zones of different functional purposes in one space;
- The peculiarity of modular elements is to create a single space for ergonomics.
If we talk about types, the designs of mechanisms can be:
- Retractable;
- Capable of unfolding;
- Lifting;
- With a modular structure.
Photo of transformable furniture
Which transformable furniture options to choose: 21 models for a small apartment
There are a variety of transformable furniture options for a small apartment, which allow you to create a functional, comfortable and simple space. An interesting solution is a bed that transforms into a sofa with a wardrobe. You can choose horizontal and vertical designs of folding beds, which allow you to free up additional space. On the facades of the headset there can be a photo print or a mirror.
A painting on the wall transforms into a comfortable table with a simple movement
Two-tier models are popular. The sofa can turn into two sleeping places.
Nuances of a transforming table
A transforming table is considered ideal furniture for a small kitchen. With the advent of new styles, in addition to sliding models, new options for transforming tables have appeared.
The following options may be considered:
- The transformable coffee table turns into a dining table. The base of the model is a massive cabinet. Often used in the living room;
- The transformable glass table is popular. When folded, it is a small table with metal legs. If necessary, the table is raised using side sections;
- The butterfly table fits easily between the gaps of furniture sets. Retractable shelves are inserted into this design. This table folds out into a dining set;
- Models of sliding tables are in demand. When folded, they consist of two sections, and when unfolded, a third section is added in the middle;
- Folding tables are equipped with a tilt-and-turn mechanism. They are folded like a book, and then turned 90 degrees and unfolded.
You can always buy tables in the form of transformable furniture for a small apartment or make them to order. Similar designs include coffee-dining compositions, a coffee table and a workplace, as well as a table and storage system.
Application of a wardrobe bed
Placing a bed can be a problem for owners of one-room apartments. In such cases, a sofa bed can help, as well as a wardrobe bed.
Built-in bed frees up a ton of usable space
A bed in a closet has the following advantages compared to folding sofas:
- compactness, so the wardrobe box takes up less space than sofas;
- the sleeping place has no joints;
- the design is based on lamellas and a metal frame, which enhance the orthopedic effect;
- There is no need for a linen drawer, since the linen is secured with straps and is also stored inside the cabinet.
The front of the cabinet is combined with the rest of the decoration and furniture of the decor
The design of the bed-wardrobe is massive, so before installing it, you need to level the floor covering.
Helpful information! The choice of furniture, transformer, sofa, bed, cabinet is necessary not only for owners of small-sized housing, but also as an option for accommodating guests.
How to arrange a space with compact furniture?
A small room can be furnished with compact furniture to accommodate everything you need. Furniture stores offer different models - transformers, assembled and unfolded like a children's construction set.
Using compact furniture you can create a functional workspace
This could be a sofa bed with excellent built-in storage. You can complement the set with ottomans, shelves and wardrobes.
Multifunctional design replaces several items at once
Some sofa models convert into bunk beds. In this case, the sleeping place can be located on the second floor, and a wardrobe, desk and bookshelves are placed below. The right choice of furniture will allow you to place a living room, office and sleeping area in a small area.
A simple sofa transforms into two sleeping places
You can use the following options:
- to place jewelry and decorations, you can use small hooks and stands on the back of the mirror;
- A pull-out table is installed along the wall above the bed for serving breakfast in bed;
- instead of wardrobes, hanging hangers are used, which are mounted to the ceiling;
- under the bed you can organize space for placing drawers and shelves;
- the kitchen space will help organize a folding table with seats in the form of benches.
Folding tables allow you to save maximum usable space
For a small room, you should use styles such as hi-tech, minimalism and country. This design involves subdued colors, floor-to-ceiling cabinets and shelves, and open shelving.
Modern interior design goes perfectly with transformable furniture
Attention! Redevelopment will help change the size of a small area.
Invisible beds
The most popular type of invisible bed is the one that folds up against the wall and thereby imitates a wardrobe or other furniture.
With the development of technology, they came up with beds that, at the press of a button or a special trigger, can be hidden under the ceiling or in the floor.
By the way, there is also a transforming cabinet that can change its internal contents and its dimensions, and additionally expand or fold.
The shelves inside such a cabinet are not fixed, so they can be removed and placed closer to each other in order to increase the space on one shelf, and where there is no need to reduce it.
And of course, we all know about transformable sofas that can be converted into a large double bed or sofas with additional drawers underneath, serving as a sofa and chest of drawers.
Children's furniture
The most striking example of children's furniture is a transforming chair, which can change its dimensions as the child grows, which is a wonderful solution, because children grow so quickly.
For those who have two children or are expecting a new child, it is worth considering an extra bed, but there is not always enough space.
Therefore, the best option would be a two-fold bed, which takes up quite a bit of space, but such a bed does not look very good, I personally don’t like it.
There are transformable bunk beds that can be folded under the wall, which will imitate a closet, or folded into a small attractive sofa.
Folding tables
Most often used in small kitchens. A very convenient option would be a table that folds out from the wall, but even more convenient and practical is a folding table, which is ideal for both small and large kitchens.
We all invite guests who need a large table, and at which it would be convenient to seat everyone, but when the guests leave, such a training ground is no longer needed for a small family. Therefore, it is in such situations that a folding table is much more convenient than a regular one.
There are also invisible tables that can be difficult to detect by an unknowing person, since they are very well disguised as tubes or cabinets.
Another interesting folding table is made in the form of a coffee table, which has small dimensions and folds out into a large kitchen table.
There are also exclusive versions of folding tables that can be converted into a ping pong table.
Very convenient transforming desks for those who work at home. For example, a desk that can be folded into a drawing board or an easel.
For needlewomen, there are sewing tables where the sewing machine can hide inside the table when it is not needed.
Vertical space utilization
Transformable furniture for small apartments - a pencil case - is a wonderful solution for small spaces, allowing you to get rid of the problem of storing shampoos, cosmetics, towels, hair dryers, razors and many other necessary hygiene items.
Its vertical construction saves space very effectively. Taking up very little space, the pencil case holds a significant volume. It can either be installed on the floor or hung on the wall. Transformer furniture photo:
- New Year's decor: decorating the facade of the house for the holiday
- Which wallpaper is best to choose for the kitchen in 2021-2022: fashionable colors and materials
- Dimensions of the island in the kitchen: everything you need to know about the dimensions (interior photo)
A hanging cabinet with roller shutter doors (not opening, but “moving” up or to the side) is the best option for tiny bathrooms.
Typically, the height of a floor cabinet is 170-200 cm, and the width is 25-60 cm. In its lower part, as a rule, folding laundry baskets are equipped; The drawers are located slightly higher. The pencil case is installed on the base or on the legs.
You can assemble transformable furniture, the peculiarity of the bathroom is that the floor is almost constantly wet. Water from the sink and shower flows under the furniture, so the presence of a base on the pencil case will lead to stagnation of moisture, warping of the material and the appearance of an unpleasant odor.
A pencil case with legs is much more convenient, the space underneath is available for cleaning. Pencil cases from fashion collections that have only two front legs look very stylish. They are additionally attached to the wall, ensuring absolute stability. Compact furniture transformer photo see examples:
Advantages, disadvantages
Transformable furniture, like any other, has a number of significant advantages and disadvantages. Pros:
- organically complements the interior style of minimalism, loft, industrial, hi-tech, etc.;
- the products are compact when fully folded, take up little space, unloading space, which is very important for small apartments;
- transformable furniture allows you to avoid cluttering the room with unnecessary things and store them in hidden sections;
- one item replaces two or three different ones;
- you can fold and unfold in just a couple of seconds, turning the living room into a bedroom, a work space into a relaxation area;
- a non-standard solution that helps to zone any space;
- buying such a universal item will be much cheaper than purchasing each item separately;
- the interior with transformable furniture made according to an individual project is always original and unique.
Minuses:
- It is often problematic for small children and elderly people to use such pieces of furniture on their own;
- with constant folding and unfolding, furniture wears out faster, especially at the joints of parts;
- During active use, the moving mechanisms of the product often break, become jammed, and require replacement;
- such objects weigh a lot, as they experience increased loads;
- If used incorrectly or carelessly, serious injuries may occur;
- the design of transformable furniture in the vast majority of cases is unacceptable for interior styles such as baroque, antique, oriental, country, etc.
When purchasing, you should carefully inspect the furniture, sit and lie on it, unfold and fold it several times - no parts of it should move out on their own in the event of an accidental impact when this is not required.
Options for transformable beds
Without a comfortable bed, high-quality arrangement of the sleeping area is impossible. Even if there is catastrophically little space, next to the bed you want to place some kind of locker for clothes, a table where you can put a cup of tea, a laptop, or throw a couple of magazines. There are only two main options for multifunctional furniture:
- parts in one body are combined in such a way that one piece of furniture easily turns into another and back again;
- if certain furniture is not needed now, it is compactly and neatly folded and put away for storage.
Transformable bedroom furniture can look like this:
- table-bed;
- sofa bed;
- chest of drawers;
- bed-wardrobe
All of them vary widely in design features, materials of manufacture, and transformation mechanisms used. Such a mobile crib, if necessary, easily turns into a sofa, is completely hidden in the wall, or becomes a dining table. Depending on the method of unfolding, they can be folding or retractable; in the vast majority of cases, they are equipped with orthopedic mattresses.
Furniture of complex design, especially purchased for children, must have a safety certificate.
Wardrobe bed
This design is a lift-up bed attached with the headboard or side to the bottom of the built-in wardrobe. It is important that the cabinet is securely fastened - otherwise the structure will easily tip over when trying to unfold it. Such a bed can be single, one-and-a-half or double, have open shelves on the sides for books, souvenirs, or niches closed on three sides for bed linen, which are visible only when the structure is unfolded. The last option at night looks like a regular crib, with hanging shelves on either side of it; during the day, it is part of a smooth wall, with two barely noticeable seams.
The bunk wardrobe bed is equipped with a removable ladder that allows you to climb upstairs. The saving of usable space is maximum here. During the daytime, the upper and lower beds are almost invisible, as they are hidden in the closet. The bottom of one or both cribs is decorated with rectangular or rounded shelves.
If re-making the bed every day is problematic, it is secured with special straps mounted on the bed.
Dresser bed
A chest of drawers is a product with several retractable drawers. The design combined with a bed is usually made slightly higher than the standard one, placing one to three drawers for bedding and other things under the sleeping surface. The chest of drawers for children is available in three versions:
- high cot for one child. Below there are four to six drawers of different sizes for storing clothes, toys, books, at the top there is a sleeping place, to which a ladder leads;
- bed for two children. One of the sleeping planes is located on top, and below it is the second, disguised as a wide drawer. Compact storage spaces are located at the very bottom;
- baby cot. It is a barred sleeping area with a chest of drawers attached to its end, the upper part of which is usually equipped with a changing table. The height of the bottom is adjustable.
Bed-table
A table-bed is usually purchased to organize a mini-office in the bedroom, equipped with a surface for sleeping, and also as equipment for a children's room. There are several options for its implementation:
- The sleeping place leans back against the wall, hiding under a shelf. The bar, which plays the role of a “leg” on which the bed rests when unfolded, becomes a narrow table;
- high, with drawers for things, a pull-out table that “hides” under the surface of the bed, pulling out when necessary;
- loft bed with a full work area below;
- design with a table at the bottom and a cabinet at the side.
High cots for young children, with stairs to the second “floor”, are equipped with railings that protect against accidental falls.
Sofa bed
At night, such a structure becomes a full-fledged plane for the comfortable sleep of two or even three people; during the day it folds up, turning into upholstered furniture for sitting. Pull-out sections for storage, open and closed shelves are usually located on the sides of the product.
Sofa beds have many varieties, distinguished by folding methods:
- "Eurobook";
- “click-clack”;
- "accordion";
- "dolphin";
- "puma";
- "pantograph";
- "cot";
- "lit";
- "telescope";
- "cot".
This type of furniture can be straight, corner, island, and is placed in the bedroom, living room, kitchen, hallway, etc. When folded, it creates two to four or more seats.
Materials, mechanisms for transformable beds
The main thing you need to pay attention to when purchasing modified furniture is its moving mechanisms. The safety of all household members, as well as pets, directly depends on their strength and reliability.
Main types of mechanisms used:
- for manual lifting - the most reliable, strong, durable. To successfully unfold the mattress, you need to slightly lift it;
- with twisted springs - acceptable for most models of upholstered furniture, capable of withstanding significant loads - within 130 kg;
- with gas lifts – designed for almost silent, easy folding. With careful use they will last more than 30 years.