Storage beds neatly hide clutter
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, November 30, 2008
In this story:
Targeting the young
Bump up in price
HIGH POINT — Consumers living in starter homes and condos often find themselves dealing with the challenge of limited storage space.
That's why many bedroom resources are having increasing success with beds that offer drawer storage options in the siderails or footboards.
Depending on the construction, the added storage can be used for anything from extra blankets and pillows to sheets or seasonal clothing such as bulky winter sweatshirts and sweaters.
The beds also tend to be more transitional or contemporary in nature, largely in response to the style preferences of younger consumers. However, some traditional beds have storage as well, making the option available to an even broader market segment.
Targeting the young
American Drew has added the underbed storage option to casual lifestyle collections such as Tribecca, which has a platform bed with three drawers on either side.
“It is geared to a younger consumer in their first house or condominium,” said Scott Doyle, vice president of sales. “This underbed storage comes into play as a great storage piece for clothing they don't want to tie up drawer or closet space with.”
American Drew came out with Tribeca in 2005. The underbed storage option also is available in the No. 181 lifestyle collection. The success of both groups likely will lead the company to add more such options in the future.
Magnussen Home started offering storage beds this year and now has five in its line. The beds, which are in primarily transitional and contemporary footprints, are well suited for younger consumers with smaller homes that have smaller master bedrooms without a lot of closet space, said company officials, pointing out that consumers like the extra function.
Some 90% of Universal Furniture's contemporary bedroom collections have storage beds, said Stephen Giles, senior vice president of merchandising. These include Better Homes and Gardens' Modern Outlook and City Scapes, both of which have footboard storage. Two other groups, Uptown and The Heights, have a siderail storage option.
Aspenhome has had storage beds in its line for four years. It offers siderail storage in most of its collections and added footboard storage in its Kensington bed, which was introduced at the October High Point Market. The options have done well, thanks in part to the fact that AspenHome designs the drawers to have similar elements found in other case pieces, such as full-extension drawer guides, English dovetail construction and cedar lining.
But the option doesn't work on every type of bed, notes Jena Hall, Aspenhome's vice president of merchandising and design.
“The trick is designing it so it doesn't look like a pine storage bed,” Hall said. “We put a lot of emphasis on how to camouflage it so it looks aesthetically pleasing and not clunky. That's why you can't put it on every kind of bed like a high-post traditional or a contemporary off-the-floor (design). When you put a pedestal on it, it kind of kills the look.”
Largo International included an $899 storage bed in the contemporary Studio bedroom group it brought out at the October market. The company plans to add more in transitional, traditional and country looks, said Mike Bradshaw, vice president of product development.
Largo has only gotten into storage beds recently, but believes waiting has paid off.
“Customers want it, but the issue is we had to make it of good quality,” Bradshaw said. “I saw a lot of them on dealers' floors and they were falling apart. We wanted to have them made right.”
Largo's features include full-length drawer guides on side drawers that open to almost 30 inches. Its future models will have either siderail or footboard storage, Bradshaw said.
Bump up in price
The added feature doesn't come without a cost, and this could cool some younger consumers' interest in the option. Suppliers and manufacturers interviewed for this story said that siderail storage can add anywhere from $300 to $450 to the retail price of the bed, depending on whether there are four or six drawers. Footboard storage can add anywhere from $200 to $300 to the retail price of the bed.
Sources note, however, that the added storage gives a similar amount of drawer space as a five-or six-drawer chest that can retail for $999 or more. Thus, the storage bed can save consumers from buying the chest.
Still, bedroom sources see the beds as an add-on sale; data isn't available, they say, to indicate that the storage beds are replacing the traditional chest or dresser.
“A lot of these are add-on revenue,” said Earl Wang, senior vice president of sales and merchandising for American Drew and Lea Inds. “They may go into smaller rooms, but we haven't noticed any significant change in chest sales.”
Retailers like the beds because they give consumers another option.
“It seems to be ramping up,” said Richard Talsma, co-owner of Holland, Mich.-based Talsma Furniture, of storage bed sales. “We have had them for less than a year and keep adding.”
He said his three-store operation carries eight storage beds, including four youth models. It shows these with the drawers open, storing things like pillows, so the consumer can see how the added function actually works.
Helen Belford, sales manager of McElheran's Fine Furniture in Edmonton, Alberta, said her store offers one model with footboard storage. The bed has sold to some customers seeking that specific storage element.
“It does attract attention,” she said. “For someone living in a loft setting, something with more storage and function would be a more desirable option.”
But unless the store gets more requests for storage beds, she doesn't think it will add more in the near future.
“We don't find our customers are requesting that,” she said. “They still like the bedroom suite with the dresser or the chest.
“At this point, we will stick with the one we have.”
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