Dream bigger: behind the rise of platform beds
If last year was all about keeping your sleeping quarters as humble as possible, this season is dedicated to making a statement, and there’s no better way to do so than by investing in a platform bed. Loosely defined as a bed constructed on a raised surface, usually bordered on all four sides by a girthy frame, these are hyper-comfortable yet unconventional pieces that demand to take centre stage, albeit in the most private room of the home. Extravagance is the key to this new boundary-pushing boudoir must-have.
So what’s driving the craze? According to New York-based designer Kouros Maghsoudi, changing dating habits over the past few decades are responsible. ‘We’re having more sex with more partners (sometimes multiple at once),’ he explains. ‘In the 20th century, only a select few would ever see your bed – your partner, family, maybe some close friends. Now, we’re marrying less and later, having more sex and bringing more people into our bedrooms,’ he adds.
The designer is the brains behind the Insta-famous ‘Hug’ bed – a custom-pink one of which Ariana Grande featured in the advert for her new fragrance ‘Lovenotes’. He describes the glossy, fibreglass crib as ‘a sanctuary of sensuality’ and hopes it brings hedonism back to the bedroom in this new era of sexual liberation. ‘People are looking for more than just functional furniture,’ he adds. ‘They want pieces that represent their lifestyle and fantasies, and the bed is no exception.
It has, like any other element of design, become a canvas for self-expression.’ While the bedroom has long been a site of exploration and experimentation, the form of the bed has remained largely traditional. For designer Jaclyn Pappalardo, whose new bed ‘Sunday’ features a burgundy-cotton and wool blend fabric frame, a desire to disrupt the homogeneous bed market prompted her to create one measuring a whopping 2.06 metres by 2.62 metres. ‘Bed design has remained relatively static over the years,’ she says. ‘Unlike other furniture, such as sofas, which have been reimagined in terms of length, modularity, shape and form, beds have seen far less innovation.’
The London-based designer unveiled ‘Sunday’ earlier this year at the exhibition ‘Now 4 Then’ by Max Radford Gallery in collaboration with Avram. ‘I’ve found great satisfaction in reconfiguring its structure and layout,’ she says of its creation. ‘I wanted to explore and expand the role of the bed in our lives, pushing the boundaries of its design and functionality.’
Deconstructing traditional notions of the bedroom was also front of mind for Joern Scheipers, co-founder of interior design agency Studio Vaust, who decided to include a platform bed in his very own freshly renovated Berlinflat. ‘I wanted to make the whole bedroom much more conceptual,’ he recalls. ‘I’ve always envisioned a bold bed and so I created a piece that really dominates the room.’
His aluminium-framed creation, which occupies much of the parquet flooring in his bedroom, stands out as a shiny, reflective beacon that strikingly straddles the border between art and design. ‘Now I can say that I sleep in sculpture,’ he adds with pride.‘Size doesn’t matter’, the old saying goes. But it’s 2024, and when it comes to beds, size (and shape) is everything, jaclynpappalardo.com; kourosmaghsoudi.com; vaust.studio.
