Heating bills in colder climates can be a nasty surprise and turning the thermostat down on a chilly night can be an unpleasant exercise in economy. Room in Room is a modern take on the four poster bed from tentmaker iKamper that aims to help reduce those heating bills. Based on popular South Korean indoor tents, it's designed to go over the bed and conserve a sleeper's heat, so the room temperature can be kept down. The design is the focus of a Kickstarter campaign running through December 26.
The box bed may seem like a historical curiosity to those who grew up with central heating, but for centuries it was the height of luxury. The box bed is a wooden cupboard used for sleeping that was developed during the Middle Ages and continued in use in some parts of Northern Europe until well into the 19th century. Like the later four poster bed with its canopy and heavy curtains, the idea was to create a small enclosed space around a sleeper whose body warmth would help to heat the trapped air.
This is also the principle behind small camping tents and the Room in Room is essentially a floorless tent that's designed to fit snuggly over a number of different standard-size mattresses. Made of a bespoke high-density polyester cotton blend called Tetron Cotton with 0.3 mm polyurethane windows over a frame of fiberglass and aluminum 601 alloy, the Room in Room tent has a mesh vent on top to facilitate fresh-air ventilation while retaining warm air inside.
The creators say that the temperature inside Room in Room is about 10º F (5.5º C) warmer than the surrounding room. This allows the user to keep the house temperature lower during sleeping hours in the winter time while remaining comfortable. The company claims that regular use can save about 10 percent on heating bills.
In addition to keeping heating expenses down, the Room in Room has accessories to make relaxing in bed more pleasant. There's an integrated, adjustable laptop stand made of webbing and a polyurethane phone stand for watching videos.
Kickstarter pledges for the Room in Room begin at US$60 for the first 30 single-bed units as part of its US$10,000 crowdfunding drive. If the campaign is successful, the first units are scheduled to ship in January. The retail price is estimated at US$100 for a single and $114 for a double.
The video below is an interview with some Room in Room beta testers.
Source: Room in Room
