SPACE-SAVING SLEEPING

Modernism extends to the careful management of space and to double use. Loft and mezzanine bedrooms have become a popular choice for small city apartments, where owners want to get maximum value and comfort within imposed limits. Techniques include making use of part of the upper half of the room’s volume, in fitting beds into otherwise wasted spaces such as alcoves and under-roof areas. With a loft bed, the mattress is raised on a platform that is several feet off the ground, which enables the area beneath to become multifunctional, so that where there once would have been only a bed, there can now be a built-in desk, computer station, seating or storage space. For young singles, in particular, this extra study, relaxation or storage space has obvious value. Color and lighting can support this arrangement by helping to maximize space visually and avoid any sense of crowding or overfilling, and all the examples here demonstrate this, with light and bright color schemes and the use of concealed lighting to help ‘lift’ sections of the structure. In the mezzanine design at right, for example, the lighting above helps to open up the higher part of the space and produce a sense of airiness.

A child’s bedroom designed by Anderson Lee features a partly enclosed mezzanine play area cut with holes for peeping through.

By extending upwards into the gable area of this top floor Beijing apartment, designer and owner Zhong Song has created a mezzanine sleeping area. The steel frame of the black wardrobe provides structural support.

A second mezzanine bedroom in the Zhong Song apartment saves space by extending the sleeping area under the eaves, with a new skylight added.

A wood veneered U-shaped bed frame and concealed lighting beneath make the bed in this tiny Hong Kong apartment seem lighter and less space-filling.