Free Up Your Room With a Loft Bunk Bed

If you live in a small space then you know how precious any extra room can be. What if I told you that there is a simple way to free up to 50% extra space in your bedroom? All this requires is replacing your current bed with a loft bunk bed. Visualize a normal bunk bed and then take away the bed at the bottom, this is what a loft bunk looks like.

Everybody wants a certain amount of privacy in their lives. If you live at home with your parents or share a small dorm room or apartment with a few other people, this can be very difficult to come by. In this type of situation you want to make the only room that is truly yours as functional as possible. However, there usually is not a whole lot of room to work with. A loft bed allows you to create enough space where you can have a bed, a computer desk, and a TV stand with enough extra room so you do not go crazy from being too cramped.

This is particularly useful for college students who need a quiet space to do their work. If your computer is located in a common area it can be virtually impossible to get any work done. When you put a computer desk under your loft bunk, you are creating an ideal workspace necessary for getting your assignments completed.

If your room is already big enough for both a computer desk and your bed, then you might consider using the futon bunk bed. With this type of design the lower bed can be adjusted up and down to become a couch during the day. This is ideal for just hanging out, watching TV, or playing video games. This simple bed will transform your room from one that was only good for sleeping in, to a place where you can truly relax.

If you live in a college town it should be very easy to find a used one for cheap. People are always moving and will be happy to get any money in return. You can also check Craig'slist to see what type the deals you can find.

Your room should be a place that is very open and relaxing. A loft or futon bunk bed can help set this mood in even the smallest of rooms

Airbeds - The Ideal Sleeping Companion?

Back in the day, air beds were used primarily in hospitals, as support for those that were mostly bed-ridden. Things have changed since then and nowadays airbeds are just as popular than traditional mattresses as preferred sleeping arrangements. Airbeds are made from heavy duty plastic, which means airbeds are tough and strong but they also have a soft suede top layer which not only keeps you cosy, snug and warm but also keeps your sheets in place.

It only takes a matter of moments for your air bed to be inflated, normally by a small pump (included with most models). With the credit crunch now hitting everyone, what happens when family or friends come to stay? People can't afford to spend hundreds on spare beds that sit unused in guest bedrooms most of the year. However, an air bed is the perfect solution to the problem.

Cheaper than conventional beds the air bed is light and can be moved to any position. The good thing is that when your visitors have left you can simply deflate the bed and roll it up giving you back all your space again. No more sleeping on the floor or pushing the chairs together, for visiting family and friends again - the air bed is the perfect solution to any sleeping arrangements.

Traditional mattresses have pressure points where the springs are located, which are designed to give the person a relaxing sleep - the same can be said for a good quality air mattress but with 1 advantage - you can adjust the amount of pressure on your spine with a hi-spec top of the range air bed - supplied with a memory foam top, therefore you will have a better sleep and wake up feeling more refreshed and relaxed after a perfect night's sleep with your inflatable airbed mattress.

Retro Furniture

Back in the 50s and 60s, modern furniture was cool. Now people are rediscovering furniture from this period and shopping on eBay for it or buying reproductions of design classics from the past.

The modern style became popular in the UK after the Festival of Britain in 1951. The Festival gave the best of British designers a chance to show off exciting new designs to a public that was hungry for change. In the 50s, people completely reversed their tastes from preferring traditional style to wanting modern design.

Today what was considered cutting edge modern in the 50s and 60s is retro. Retro style is a way to make your home look distinctive, something different from the DIY superstore look that everyone else has.

Re-issues of classic 50s and 60s designs are available at many stores. Habitat, for example, make a number of Robin Day's classics, such as the Forum leather sofa from 1964. Fritz Hansen still manufacture Arne Jacobsen's beautifully organic Egg Chair from 1958.

If you don't want to pay designer prices, then original designs from the 50s and 60s are still readily available on eBay. Be your own judge of what is good design; not every piece made with a contemporary style in the 50s and 60s was.

Look for simple shapes, such as long, low sideboards with minimal decoration. Generally if it looks good, it is good design. If the proportions are wrong, ignore it. Scandinavian influence was strong in UK furniture from the 50s to the 70s. Look for pieces finished in teak or rosewood. Rosewood has a distinctive curvy, grain pattern. Sellers on eBay often describe mahogany or sapele pieces incorrectly as rosewood. Both these woods have a straight grain. They are less fashionable in modern style furniture and consequently pieces in mahogany or sapele are less valuable.

Some manufacturers from the 50s and 60s that made well designed furniture are G-Plan, Stag, Ercol, Austinsuite and Nathan. G-Plan was a pioneer of modern design. Stag employed John and Sylvia Reid to create some fantastic minimalist pieces in the 50s. Their most famous design was Minstrel - a reinterpretation of eighteenth century elegance for the modern world. Ercol made simple, modern furniture in English Elm. Ercol is of high quality and has a large following. If you want to buy the top designers from the 50s and 60s then pieces do come up on eBay, but are rarely cheap. Look for manufacturers like Gordon Russell, or Archie Shine. Younger also made some marvellous quality pieces in teak and rosewood from the late fifties. They may be cheaper than some of the top designer pieces. Also look for Danish furniture on eBay.

Overall, look for furniture you like rather than what you think is valuable and have fun decorating in a modern style to complement your acquisitions.