Jon found this amazing furniture designed for small spaces. This is what happens when artists and engineers collaborate! I find it terrific!
There's only one tiny problem: It appears that if you can afford this furniture, you can afford a larger apartment.
No prices are listed, but Jon's e-mail inquiry about the bunk beds is rather discouraging. (I rounded the numbers, but you get the idea.)
- Beds: $5,000 - $8,000
- Folding headboards (each): $500
- Folding desk under lower bunk: $1000
- Twin mattresss (each): $500 - $1000
Minimum $6,000 for a set of bunk beds? Add the headboards and a desk and it will set you back at least $8,000? (Plus taxes and shipping no doubt.) They're very clever, and I'm sure they're well-built—probably not in China, though I haven't found any evidence to back up that speculation—but yikes!
That's way super cool. I'll play devil's advocate and give a few words in defense of the price.
1) Lifetime guarantee. If they really mean it, then the investment in good quality furniture is worth double.
2) European style bed springs and mattresses are pricey to start with.
3) With many cities high rent rates, saving a few square meters in rent space can quickly make up for the price of the furniture.
4) There's something to be said for handling well-built furniture, and it looks lovey to handle. It could bring you a small plesure every day, which over your lifetime would be less than a cup of coffee a day . . .
Still, Stephan says we're not getting any. :( IKEA is still our source for beds.
Very, very cool.
Hmm, that makes me think of another side to the story, Janet. In a culture where most people live in apartments (New York City, Europe), money spent on high-quality furniture that can move with you may be a better investment than paying higher rent for a bigger apartment. The rent money's just gone, but the furniture is still yours.
By the way, the latest version of the bunk beds has "a special mechanism that allows the upper bunk to tilt down so the linens on the upper bed can be
changed while standing on the floor." That has to be worth something!
