When designing a tiny house you know that your space is limited and one of the best ways to maximize such a small living space is by building an elevator bed inside your home.
What is an Elevator Bed?
An elevator bed is a bed that can be raised or lowered depending on the need of the occupant. Elevator beds can be designed to function with or without electricity according to the needs and wants of the individual.
Elevator beds are also commonly referred to as “lift beds” or “hoist beds”, but the idea is the same; raising your bed to make extra living and storage space beneath.
Elevator beds are often raised into or near the ceiling when not in use to make more living space beneath them. However, extra space is not the only reason as to why someone may choose to build an elevator bed.
Why use an Elevator Bed?
As you can imagine there are many reasons why someone may choose to construct an elevator bed inside their tiny home. Below are 4 common reasons why someone would choose to build an elevator bed inside their tiny house:
- Good for Seniors and Those with bad Joints
As you know one of the keys to constructing a tiny house is maximizing space. Beds are a necessity in any house, but can often take up a lot of floor space.
So what have tiny house designers done to combat this? Simple, they raise the bed off the floor allowing for the living space underneath to be utilized by those living inside the tiny house.
This is a great solution; however, this often means that a person has to climb a small ladder to reach their bed. If you are a child or an active adult, no problem.
In fact, when I was a kid I used to climb up and down the ladder to my bunk bed everyday just for fun.
But what if you are not young and spry? Or what if you have an injury or some kind of ailment such as arthritis or a less than perfect knee? Now what do you do?
This is where an elevator bed comes in handy. An elevator be will allow you to still enjoy the extra living space provided from having an elevated bed WITHOUT having to injure yourself climbing up and down the bed ladder.
With an elevator bed you could lower the bed when you are ready to go to bed and then raise the bed in the morning once you are done using it.
So if you are looking for an easy way to maximize space inside your tiny house, without having to climb a bed ladder everyday, then you should strongly consider building an elevator bed.
- You can Easily Create a Bunk Bed
Another benefit of using an elevator bed in your tiny house is that you can easily create a bunk bed without having to fit an actual bunk bed inside the house.
To do this all you would have to do is design a pull out bed, or a couch that can be converted into a bed, underneath your elevator bed. Then you would raise your elevator bed and just like that you now have a bunk bed or double decker bed.
This is a great option if you plan to have visitors stay at your house and are looking for extra sleeping space. Designing an entire bunk bed would not make space, but having a bunk bed sleeping arrangement ready if needed is great to have.
However, I will caution that if you do sleep with your bed elevated close to the ceiling because you have guests sleeping beneath you, be careful not to bump your head when you get up in the morning. Ouch!
- Extra Living Space…And Sleeping Space
This is probably an obvious one. Using an elevator bed gives you more living space during the day as you can raise the bed out of the way when it is not in use.
This space underneath could be used for a dining area, a sitting area where you watch TV and chat with friends, or even as an office space where you can work. The choice is up to you.
You must also remember that not only does having a bed that you can move out of the way create more space, but so does not having a ladder to climb in and out of the bed.
However, not only does an elevator bed give you extra living space, it can also provide you with extra sleeping space.
By lowering your elevator bed you have more room in your bed and this can allow you to sit and read or even eat in your bed with comfort.
When you are sleeping in an elevated bed you are often close to the ceiling and this does not leave you with many options besides sleep. Lowering your bed is more comfortable and provides for more space to stretch out and relax.
The beauty of an elevator bed is that it gives you flexibility and allows you to use your sleeping area as you see fit without having a big bulky bed that is always in the way.
- The Bed does not need to be folded which makes it more Comfortable
Lastly, the bed does not need to be folded and put away. Most beds inside a tiny house that are only used when you sleep are often cheap, flimsy, and or uncomfortable since they are stored away during the day.
Examples of such beds include couches that convert into beds. I don’t know about you, but most couch/bed combos that I have slept in usually have an uncomfortable mattress/cushion or a giant bar running down the middle of them.
Not cool!
This is why I love elevator beds. They allow you to have a higher quality mattress without sacrificing space inside your tiny house.
Now let’s’ not get carried away. Your typical elevator bed frame will not support a giant water bed, if that’s what you are going for, but a simple good quality mattress is definitely doable.
And in my opinion a simple mattress is much more comfortable than a cheapy foldable bed.
So given all the great reasons as to WHY you should build an elevator bed, the next question is how to build an elevator bed?
How to Build an Elevator Bed?
When considering building an elevator bed you must decide if you want an elevator bed that is electrically powered or if you want one that is elevated and lowered manually?
If you want an electrically powered elevator bed, Anna White does a great job explaining how her and her husband built an electrically powered elevator bed in one of the tiny houses they helped construct.
If you want to construct an elevator or lift bed that is manually operated, then check out this Youtube video by Alex Chegne.
Whether you decide to build an elevator bed that is electrically powered or one that is manually operated, you will be looking at about a day’s worth of work. This is going to include measuring, framing, and construction of your elevator bed.
How much does an Elevator Bed Cost
Surprisingly, an elevator bed is not as expensive as you may think, especially if you choose to build it yourself.
If you choose to build an electrically powered elevator bed, you will be looking at spending about $500, with the largest expense being the $200 garage storage lift system that raises the bed up and down.
If you choose to build a manually operated elevator bed, you will be looking to spend about $300 in materials which is still not a bad price all things considered.
These prices however DO NOT include the mattress as this can obviously vary depending on the type of mattress that you want.
Now if you don’t feel confident in building an elevator bed yourself, you can always hire someone to build the elevator bed for you.
If you choose to hire someone to build an elevator bed for you, it will cost you about $1,000 in labor and materials. So if you can construct it yourself you can save quite a bit of money in doing so.
All in all an elevator bed is a great investment for any tiny house owner.
Final Thoughts
Elevator beds are a great way to maximize space inside your tiny house given the fact that they can be raised and lowered to meet your needs.
Not only are elevator beds easy to build, they are also not all that expensive when you consider all that goes into them.
If you are building or thinking of building a tiny house then an elevator bed is something that you absolutely must consider as a way to make the most out of the tiny space that you are given.