Fold up beds

Fold up beds come in a range of styles. Most beds of this type are primarily for convenience and have no real orthopedic properties. They are however ideal for short term or temporary use as spare beds and this is where their value lies.

Fold up beds and mattresses come in a wide variety of forms, from those where the mattress folds away into a storage compartment, to those where the entire bed hinges on one edge to disappear into a recess or a storage area.

Here is a summary of these bed types

A sofa bed is the most common and popular fold-up bed, but even here there are many versions. The most popular sees the sofa convert into a single bed by opening out the base. More complex versions have a sprung mechanism equipped with a separate mattress that cantilevers out from the sofa base and converts into a small double bed. When the mattress is folded away the sofa looks just like any regular sofa.

Many short term use fold away beds fold in on themselves like a sun bed enabling them to be stored in a cupboard or wardrobe without taking up too much space. These beds have very thin mattresses, but they are handy for guests staying overnight. They will normally be supported on four fold-out continuous steel leg bases. Springs around the sides of the mattress edges connected to the bed frame provide most of the cushioning. These beds may have castors and some will stand up vertically when in storage.

Regular use space saving fold away bed

A further fold up bed option is that found where the entire bed frame and mattress fold-up into a recess within a wall as a single complete unit.

In this case the bed itself is not a temporary use solution, but a proper bed where a separate mechanism is used to enable space saving when the bed is not in use.

Beds of this sort may be of good quality, however the vertical storage approach will not suit all constructions of mattress, so this solution will only work with certain mattress types.

Beds of this style that fold away into a special recess may have spring or foam constructions. When the bed is stored in its recess the bed will be supported on its bottom edge. This means that there is a natural tendency for the bed to concertina downwards and this can be a problem for some sprung mattresses.

If a mattress is to be used and stored in this way the manufacturer should be consulted as to the suitability of the mattress for this kind of long term vertical storage.