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Space-saving units put sprawling furniture to bed

March 31, 2016
Space-saving units put sprawling furniture to bed
The Urbano beds feature interior and exterior closets, dressers with drawers, shelving and a desk underneath the loft bed
The Urbano beds feature interior and exterior closets, dressers with drawers, shelving and a desk underneath the loft bed
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The Urbano beds feature interior and exterior closets, dressers with drawers, shelving and a desk underneath the loft bed
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The Urbano beds feature interior and exterior closets, dressers with drawers, shelving and a desk underneath the loft bed
Urbano customers can choose whether to have one or two sets of stairs with in-built drawers
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Urbano customers can choose whether to have one or two sets of stairs with in-built drawers
The clearance under the Urbano bed is 6.3 ft (1.9 m)
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The clearance under the Urbano bed is 6.3 ft (1.9 m)
The Urbano features interior and exterior closets, dressers with drawers, and shelving
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The Urbano features interior and exterior closets, dressers with drawers, and shelving
The Arca bed measures 83 x 100 x 63 in (211 x 254 160 cm), excluding its ladder
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The Arca bed measures 83 x 100 x 63 in (211 x 254 160 cm), excluding its ladder
There is 60 in (152 cm) of clearance underneath the Arca bed
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There is 60 in (152 cm) of clearance underneath the Arca bed
The Arca bed features a bench, open storage space and a desk
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The Arca bed features a bench, open storage space and a desk
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When you live in a small apartment, making the most of the space you have is key to being comfortable. Conscious of this, designer Roberto Gil has created a line of space-saving units that combine beds with a variety of other furniture types.

Gil's Casa Collection company has been designing furniture for small and difficult spaces since 1992. Among the items it produces are hanging beds, Murphy beds (otherwise known as fold-down beds) and seating. The newest addition to the firm's range is its Urbano Collection line of loft beds, which comprises the Urbano bed and the Arca bed.

Both are similar to Kraaijvanger's Hub, which offers a variety of functionalities in a room from a single central point. By combining multiple pieces of furniture into one, they are able to make more efficient use of the space available. Casa Collection explains that the space-saving units have been "created to address the needs of urbanites who are living in small or micro-apartments."

With a length of 119 in (302 cm), a width of 83 in (211 cm) and a height of 107 in (272 cm), the king size Urbano bed is the larger of the two. It features interior and exterior closets, dressers with drawers, shelving and a desk underneath its bed. The clearance under the bed is 6.3 ft (1.9 m), meaning the vast majority of people can walk underneath it without needing to stoop. The unit can also be provided with one or two sets of stairs with in-built drawers (with two sets making access easier for two people), lighting and a mirror.

The Arca bed measures 83 x 100 x 63 in (211 x 254 160 cm), excluding its ladder
The Arca bed measures 83 x 100 x 63 in (211 x 254 160 cm), excluding its ladder

The queen size Arca, meanwhile, is 83-in (211-cm) long – or 100-in (254-cm) including the ladder – 63-in (160-cm) wide and 80-in (203-cm) high, with a clearance underneath of 60 in (152 cm). It features a bench, open storage space and a desk.

Both the Urbano and Arca beds are available in two color options and prices start from US$15,000 and $6,000 respectively, with a lead time for delivery of about 10-12 weeks. Both are currently available in the US and, with costly shipping, Canada. Casa Collection tells Gizmag it hopes to be able to ship overseas soon.

The Urbano Collection debuted at the Architectural Digest Design Show in New York from March 17-20.

Source: Casa Collection

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Rakkasan
Good design. It better be made koa wood for that price.
Mous
elevated beds are notoriously hard to make up unless you have stilts or a catwalk.
Timelord
I'm not sure people in small apartments are going to have ceilings high enough for a 9-foot-tall Urbano bed. Also, you'd better not be a restless sleeper considering these beds don't have full guardrails.
pwndecaf
If you can afford the bed, you can afford a bigger living space...if you want.
Ralf Biernacki
The Arca is a poor design: the desk is in a dark hole that needs artificial illumination even in daytime. And you can't put it up against a window, because the bench side will be blocked off, and the bed will block light to the whole room. It needs to be put with its headboard against the middle of a wall, so that in a small room it will waste lots of space (and light), rather than save it.
The Urbano, on the other hand, looks very practical, making clever use of space. I like it. You could put it up against the door, so that the room is entered through it. But like pwndecaf said, you better not be a restless sleeper, and it will take some practice to not hit your head on the ceiling when you wake up. Think conditioned reflex---after five or six mornings you'll finally learn to flinch.
The price for either is preposterous, especially when you consider the cheap particleboard materials and rudimentary boxy IKEA-like design. They are worth a tenth of that price. But the Urbano could serve as a starting point for a do-it yourself project.