This picture shows an example of a bed with a frame and a quilt.
Since one basic function of a home is a place to lay your head at night (in other words to sleep), a bed is a basic piece of furniture.
Beds usually have mattresses, frames and bedding. The mattresses are of a variety of sizes and stuffed with a wide range of materials. The frames are also made from many different materials and have many different sizes -- from a crib to a California king. The bedding covers an even wider range of alternatives. Bedding includes sheets, blankets, quilts, coverlets, comforters, dust ruffles, pillows and duvets.
Sometimes we also have beds for our pets or toys, like doll beds.
Preferences in bed type, size and bedding have individual and cultural components. The choice of a bed may also have practical considerations. For instance, it can be less expensive to have multiple beds of the same size, since they can all use the same bedding. Or you may want beds that have built in storage or other space saving features.
Variations
Kinds of beds:
Some beds are mainly for sleeping and others, like daybeds or futons are multi-purpose and designed for other functions, like sitting. Still other beds, like a Murphy bed (that folds up to the wall when not in use), a hammock or a fold-out-couch, are made to be stored away when not in use. Some beds have built in storage capacity. Other beds are more decorative, like a canopy bed. Canopies may have originally served to provide extra insulation or privacy, but now they're more for show. And some children's beds are designed to double as part of a play space, like bunk beds that can be a fort.
a comfy dog bed for two
The term crib is also used sometimes to refer to a home. (See the synecdoche article on the symbolism wikia.)
Sizes:
- single bed (also twin)
- double bed (also full)
- queen size bed
- king size bed
- California king size bed
See Wikipedia's article on bed size for more about the different standard sizes in various parts of the world.
a nicely made up bed
Considerations
- allergies
- amount of space taken
- softness or firmness
- weight
- storage
Sayings
There are many saying about beds. Some of them are
- "You’ve made your bed, now lie in it." -- proverb
- "Monsters under the bed" -- common fear of children
- "Politics makes strange bedfellows." -- Charles Dudley Warner
- "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise" -- Benjamin Franklin
- "get [or got] up on the wrong side of the bed" -- describes someone in a bad or contrary mood
- procrustean bed -- mythology
beds with storage
Related
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External link
- NASA article on materials developed to make a more temperature comfortable environment with a bit on applications to bedding and better sleep, Covered in Comfort
- Steps on How to Build Your Next Bed
- WikiHow on How to Make Your Bed
- WikiHow on How to Make up a Bed Neatly
- Wikipedia's article on bed
- About.com on Bed, Mattress and Sheeting Sizes 101: Learn the Dimensions of Standard Bed Sizes from Coral Nafie, former About.com Guide