There are many different types of beds:
Adjustable Bed – This is a bed frame with motors attached to allow the head and foot ends to be profiled up and down.
Air Bed – Uses an air support mattress, usually connected to an air pump and used mainly by the medical profession in the treatment of pressure ulcers and sores. Constructed of vulcanized rubber or vinyl.
Bassinet – A bed used specially for newborn babies.
Box-bed – This is a bed which is enclosed on 3 sides with a roof and either shutters or sliding panels in the front.
Brass Bed – A bed constructed from brass or plated with brass.
Bunk Beds – Two or more beds placed one above the other. Used for maximising space in small rooms.
Cabin Bed – A bed incorporating storage below the platform on which it is built. A hammock with a stiff frame, used on board ship.
Captain’s Bed – A bed built with storage underneath such as drawers, desks or shelves.
Camp Bed – A temporary portable bed easily carried or stored. Used by people camping outdoors in tents.
Canopy Bed – A bed with four posts not identical to a four poster, as the posts are higher and the bed is usually enclosed with drapes or curtains.
Chest Bed – A bed on a platform with some kind of storage beneath.
Coil Sprung Bed – First constructed in 1865.
Cot – A small child’s bed with enclosed sides to stop them from falling out. Sides usually resemble bars.
Cot Bed – A North American term for a small narrow bed used as a temporary portable bed easily carried or stored.
Cupboard Bed – This bed is hinged within its own storage cupboard.
Daybed – A bed that can be used as a seating area during the day and a sleeping area at night.
Divan Bed – A bed with no headboard or footboard, especially one with solid sides fitted with feet or castors instead of legs.
Fixed frame Bed – A non-adjustable bed frame which will fit within most conventional bed bases.
Electric Bed – An adjustable bed frame with electric motors attached to allow the head and foot ends to be adjusted up or down.
Extendable Bed – Allows the width of the bed to be extended. Ideal for homes with restricted access.
Futon – A low bed frame that is in the traditional style of a Japanese bed.
Four Poster Bed – A bed constructed with four posts, one in each corner. These posts then support a tester.
Goats skin bed – Used by the ancient Egyptians, the goats skin was sewn together and filled with water.
Great Bed of Ware – On display at the Victoria and Albert museum, it originally measured eighteen feet six inches wide by twelve feet long and was elaborately carved and canopied, and could accommodate sixty-eight people.
Gurney – A type of bed used in a hospital, usually with wheels to assist with moving the bed and patient to different locations within the hospital.
Hammock – A piece of cloth and rope suspended between two pre-determined hanging sites.
Hideaway Bed – The bed frame slides comfortably under a divan base to form a duo bed.
Hospital Bed – A bed used in hospitals, care and nursing homes for those convalescing.
Iron Bed – Constructed of iron and steel; this type of bed was developed in the 1950’s.
Leather Bed – This bed consists of a timber framework with a support latticework of leather.
Bed Lifter – A type of medical bed frame with a scissor lift, suitable for adjustable bed bases with a 400mm height adjustment.
Manual Adjustable Bed – Wooden sprung slatted bed base with head and foot end which can be adjusted up or down by hand.
Medical Bed- Normally used within hospitals, care and nursing homes for those with poor mobility. The beds may consist of an adjustable bed frame and lifting unit to give comfort to the patient and allow ease of use to nurses or care workers.
Manjaa – A traditional Punjabi bed made from ropes tied together within a wooden frame.
Murphy Bed – A bed that is generally hinged to a wall or cabinet to save space.
4 motor Bed – An adjustable bed frame with four motors which adjust independently to one another giving additional benefits for neck, back, upper thigh and lower thigh to suit certain specific medical conditions.
Non-adjustable Bed - A bed frame without motors to adjust its position, and which will fit inside most conventional bed bases.
Occasional Bed – A small narrow bed for occasional use that folds for easy storage and carriage, especially one consisting of a canvas sling supported on a sectional framework of metal tubing.
Pallet Bed – A crude wooden frame cross strung with rope to support the mattress.
Pouffe – A seat which unfolds into a bed.
Power Lifter - Lifting unit with a scissor lift, suitable for adjustable bed bases with a 400mm height adjustment.
Platform Bed – North American bed consisting of a mattress laid out on a base which is raised on supports, the space under the platform being used for storage.
Profiling Bed – 5 part adjustable profiling bed with integral raise and lower facility with 4 motors (2 for profiling the bed and 2 for lifting the bed). 350mm lift maximum.
Raised Bed – A platform built on supports, the space under the platform being used for storage. Used by the North Americans.
Roll-up Bed – A bed which can be folded in half and rolled for easy storage or being moved.
Rope Bed – This pre-modern bed consists of a crude wooden frame cross strung with rope to support the mattress. The ropes needed to be regularly tightened hence the expression “sleep tight”.
Bed Slider – This is an adjustable bed frame which gently slides back to the wall as the head section rises.
Sofa Bed – The seat of the bed unfolds to create a mattress along the floor.
Sofa Bed – Usually a metal bed frame which is folded inside the seat of the sofa or the back of the sofa will drop down flat with the seat. For occasional use or space saving.
Travel Cot- Fold away cot for infants, usually with its own storage bag for ease of use.
State Bed – Developed in modern Europe from a hieratic canopy of state.
Truckle Bed – A bed usually stored beneath another bed for saving space or for occasional use.
Trundle Bed – A low bed on castors that can be stowed away under another bed.
Vibrating Bed – Found mostly in vintage motels, this coin-operated novelty bed has a mattress which will vibrate for a set amount of time depending on the amount of money inserted.
Wall Bed – A bed that can hinge to a wall and fold upright against it when not in use, therefore saving space.
Waterbed – A bed which has a mattress filled with water and containing layers of fibre to reduce wave motion, allowing you to choose from full motion to motionless.
Wooden Sprung Bed – An adjustable bed with a wooden slat bed frame incorporating a 5 part adjustable motor system, sprung shoulder zone and weight adjuster zone.