Luxury Bespoke Beds

We just wanted to share with you a project we did for a client recently. This one is particularly interesting because it did not involve bedroom furniture. In fact this particular piece of furniture was for the living room.

We were requested to design and create a room divider which was both beautiful and functional. The room divider was designed in such a way to allow the light to come through into the room area.

In our initial consultation we asked the client as much as possible about their requirements and expectations. Of course in true Luxury Bespoke Beds style we then set out to exceed them, blowing their mind with an outstanding design.

We made some designs and actually produced something that we think is pretty stunning. We also proposed Wenge and Zebrano veneer for the manufacture of the divider. The customer was elated and we went out about making what would later be known as the "artful room divider".

Getting the precision correct proved to be one of the greatest challenges of the project. Matching up the acrylic rod to pass through to fit the divider together in a very precise fashion. After building in our workshop in Newhaven we then had to install it into the house keeping its exact rectangular shape.

As ever we manufactured the divider with our usual attention to detail and mastery of patience. Both the client and ourselves believe the result is stunning and we hope you agree. If you have any similar work you may be interested in commissioning us for, feel free to contact us and we will be happy to discuss your requirements.

Lack of sleep amongst schoolchildren at the primary level has always been an age-old problem for both students and parents, more so in today’s fast-paced world. Recent research however, shows the problem is now more pronounced than ever, with over 90 percent of primary teachers reporting that their pupils are too tired to give their full attention in class. Another 38 percent of teachers admitted that sleepy primary students are a daily source of concern for them.

Asked on what they think caused the sleeplessness of students, 88 percent of teachers said that modern distractions during bedtime, such as TVs and video games were the root cause behind children sleeping late. On the other hand, 82 percent of teachers point out that lenient parents who failed to properly enforce bedtimes were the cause behind the problem.

Furthermore, over half of the teachers surveyed in the study concurred that their brightest students were often those that stayed fully awake and alert in the classroom.

The survey, which included feedback from 250 teachers at the primary school level, was conducted on behalf of The Sleep Council for its special project centered on raising awareness on student performance and sleep problems, “Better Brains with More Sleep.” The study coincides with National Bed Month, which takes place on March, and aims to spread word to primary schoolchildren on the importance of getting enough sleep at night, sleeping at regular hours, and sleeping on the right type of bed.

Jessica Alexander of The Sleep Council said that the study was conducted with the goal of showing how much of a widespread problem the lack of sleep is among young children in school. She points out that she along with her colleagues were shocked by the severity of the issue.

Other noteworthy findings include the 24 percent of teachers who now resort to letting catch up on some sleep in class by allowing them to rest in a classroom corner. Around 68 percent of teachers polled also believed that the long-term progress of their students would be affected if their sleep problems were left unattended, while 48 percent said that sleeplessness in students made them behave badly in class. 

Heres some tips from the sleep council on buying a good bed.

Medical experts estimate that the average person spends at least a third of their life sleeping. Seeing as how that amounts to roughly 20 to 30 years,—average life expectancy is 65 to 70 years—, buying a good bed to sleep in comfortably is definitely a good investment.

Here are some tips to narrow down your search.

• Decide the most important factor for your bed. Is it price, size, style or shape? This will make your search faster since you already know your priorities.

• Narrow down your search to five beds and try each one extensively before making a purchase. Note the differences between each bed.

• Wear the closest outfit you have to your sleepwear. Comfortable clothing allows you to appreciate the bed better during testing. Lie down for at least 10 minutes and assume your normal sleeping position. Toss and turn as you would at night.

• Firmness is important, but also consider the appropriate support and comfort for your body size and weight.

• If the bed is to be slept by two people, do it together to get the best idea on comfort level.

• Large beds are always the most comfortable, especially if you’re sleeping with a partner, so go for the largest bed within your budget. Just make sure it fits in the bedroom. 

There was a rather interesting article today on yahoo describing the meanings behind different kinds of sleeping positions with your partner. So whether you sleep in spoons, face to face, back to back or even in separate beds, there is a meaning behind it according to this article: http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/what-your-sleeping-position-says-about-your-relationship-.html

In a similar article, there is a discussion of creating the ideal circumstances for sleep in the bedroom. It explains that the bedroom should only be a place for sleeping and sex so that we dont develop an association in the bedroom for other things, like working, eating or even watching TV. Insomnia is something that is increasing in todays modern environment, and one of the places we should be turning into a sanctuary for sleep is our bedroom.

For those of you that are looking for something truly special in your bedroom furnitire, you have come to the right place. It can be a very new but enjoyable experience to have a custom made bed built specially for you. Because we get so many questions about it we thought we would clarify how it goes.  

Step 1 -Gathering the Bed Design

Our first step is to talk to our clients and ask what they want and need in a bed. We take in as much information as they can about the client’s requirements, as well as provide suggestions to clients who do not quite know what they want. We cover everything from the shape, materials, color, type of wood used and of course size of the bed. As different clients have different wants and needs, we take the time to sit down with our clients to ensure we can provide them with the bed that fulfills all of their needs while considering available budgets. 

Step 2 - Providing Custom bed designs

Once the client has provided all the details, we will put together some custom bed designs for the client to review. We will present either handmade drawings or a computer graphics which can more create a model of the bed that is as close to the real thing but only in a smaller level. With the drawing, the clients are shown the exact materials so that they will have a solid idea of what their customized bed will look and feel like. In certain circumstances we may also make a mock up of the bed which represents the final design in miniature form. If needed we can also make a visit to your home to make sure we can blend our bed with your existing bedroom furniture. If necessary we can also recommend or supply Bespoke Mattresses, Headboards and Bedding.

Step 3 - Terms and conditions

The terms and conditions of commissioning a bed are presented to clients and they are required to give a deposit once the design is clear. The deposit will depend on how big the project is, but clients can pay in installments or split the payment as the project is finished.

Step 4 -Manufacturing the bed

All of the beds we provide are handmade in the UK. We take great care and implement immense precision during the manufacture process. Using only the best woods, we manage the construction of the bed in stages at our workshop in Newhaven, East Sussex. The bed is assembled in parts and we will keep the client updated on the progress of the construction as requested. We can even send photos of the bed being manufactured. All of our beds are designed and built to be assembled in minutes so all of the beds can be picked up or alternatively we will arrange a target date and a delivery time.

Step 5 -Delivery and installation

Luxury Bespoke Beds then come to your home and take care of installing the custom made bed. The beds they make are easy to assemble, with clients shown the process of assembly. They make sure that everything is perfect and polished. The goal is to have the client say that everything has been delivered and finished perfectly. After everything is done and the clients are happy, they then ask for the final payment.

Step 6 - Sleep Peacefully and truly enjoy your investment in Luxury and quality

After installation you will truly appreciate the investment that you have made in having first class bespoke bedroom furniture made for you. The bed will be one of a kind never existing any where else in the world!

For those of you struggling to find suitable gifts for loved ones this christmas, our head designer Alvaro Rodriguez has put together a nice range of designer desk organisers and pen holders. They represent the quality we represent with our range of high quality beds.

They are all handmade from steam bend Birch Ply, American Walnut, Black MDF and  Aluminium. Please contact us for details of prices.

We just thought we would share with you this video we had produced recently.

One of our offerings is to build beds that are metal free. The metal less feature is for some people interesting and for some customers not. I have experience that to some customers it's a priority and it's very important that the bed has no metal. Out of several reasons one of them is not to attract any electromagnetic fields which science has proved doesn't allow you to get into a deep sleep in our body. I'm not a scientist so I don't want to go too far into it but the body absorbs all these electromagnetic fields and you can't really relax, you can't really have a really good night's sleep, suddenly your bed becomes like an aerial like an antenna which is absorbing all the stuff that is going through the air and you know, wireless information, everything the electricity everything that is in the air and goes into the bed.

To some clients this is very very important that the bed is made just out of natural materials. It can be only wood or it can be a combination of marble, stone, glass you know, different materials that suddenly don't have any attributes into the direction of attracting electromagnetic fields. For other clients this is not so important and there we give for so the other option you know, we will use a screw, we will use a nut or depending what has to be used for the design to make this bed but whatever we use with or without it is absolutely important that the bed is a high quality product that is very easy to take apart for the client himself if they're moving house or if they're moving room whatever the situation is. Those aspects are always very important in the design. The design is not compromised but also not the possibility to take it apart, to disassemble the bed is not compromised so both things which are often quite a challenge for us.

One of the huge benefits of buying a Custom Made Bed from us has to do with the way we look into the situation of the customer. We always ask: What does the bedroom look like? What does the house look like? What kind of furniture do they like? It's important that it harmonizes with everything together. For us, it’s absolutely important that everything fits in relation to each other. Every house, every flat, every bedroom looks different and we try to give you a custom made bed that’s going to matches with your existing furniture and your tastes.

If a bedroom is new or in need of revamping we also produce other bedroom furniture like wardrobes and bedside tables so we are often asked to in a way, like an interior designer to redecorate the whole room. We sit down together with the client and we look into it. What kind of wardrobe or walk-in wardrobe or cloakroom would our clients like and how many clothes they have, shoes and so on? Also the size of the person makes a difference and we have to measure, how big the bed should be, what size and depth of mattress we need. There are many factors and we put everything together, we design, we draw different drawings, different options until we get to the exact final drawing that the client is asking for, that the client feels, "Yes this is exactly how I wish my room to look like," then we do that and we begin to manufacture this custom made bed. All our beds are handmade in East Sussex, England. I really want to say that it's very very important. There might be some materials that are coming from other countries like the woods and so on but it's all custom made here in the UK by our really skilled people that we have here in our workshop.

Buying a handmade bed allows the design to be refined

I wanted to talk today about the difference between Mass Produced and Handmade beds. Without running on my ego and saying, "Oh we make everything much much better," it's not about that, it's just the bed is made for the customer so the personal contact to go to a designer, to a craftsman, to a person who knows how to make furniture and beds and to talk with him/her about the design, about the requests and ideas that the customer has. The designer and the bed maker sit there and take on all this information, put it together, make the drawings, show the customer the materials and possibly make some prototype models. I mean, these are all huge benefits for the customer to know. Each handmade bed is a unique piece of furniture and this is a very big benefit for the client. You don't have to compromise on anything, you don't have to compromise on the color, you don't have to compromise on the wood, on the materials, on the comfort and it's just perfectly made for this one person or for these people.

Quality of mass produced versus handmade beds

Another very big benefit of handmade beds made for our customers is in the long-term quality. We are often in a state of mind where we have to buy everything here and now. We go to the shop, we see it, we pay for it, we take it home and we sacrifice through that a lot of things like quality. Yes you have a quick buy and your bed is immediately in the next maybe 5 days, 7 days depending how quickly it is delivered in... Whatever has to be done quickly and cheaply and just to be delivered to Europe and if you mention their beds you can buy beds now for £200, £300, £400 under £1,000 that is incredible! Just the materials and how much work that's going into it so yeah really there is a big gap when you consider they people paid 20p per hour or sometimes even per day. It's really really sad that we have this society of cheap and impulse buying. We're supporting this abuse of people in other countries. Children who are working very cheaply and whole families who are in a factory from the morning until the night just to survive in that country. It's a very sad, very sad subject and every time that we buy something quickly, mass-produced from those countries we should really think what we're doing there.

Handmade in the UK

There was a time that this was really important to some people but by and by this seems to have be forgotten. There are some fantastic furniture makers in the UK. If you look around these people are so talented and skillful. They can make such beautiful piece of handmade bespoke furniture like in our workshops at Robinson House Studio. For us the most important part is to enjoy the design and to enjoy the satisfaction of the client. Yes it costs more but you get an absolute premium product only made for you and absolutely made for you the customer. I find it quite sad that there is a time in this country where craftsmen rarely take pride in what they've build. It's so much as if that tradition is being lost somewhere. I think people actually don't realize that they can actually go out and have a bespoke bed commissioned for them. I think we're missing a little bit of education, education in the sense that products like furniture like beds and also like clothes and other products and we could have really beautiful things just made for ourselves often without investing so much more than we're paying anyway for a mass-produced product. There are places that unfortunately we're often not giving ourselves time to research and that has many different reasons so everybody is busy with his life and if it is a bed or a chair or a table, everything has to be quickly quickly, I see it I want it now. The process which before the industrial revolution began that you go to a carpenter and you tell him what you want and he begins to find the wood and make the design and build the piece of furniture. The time that goes into handcrafting the furniture is less and less acceptable for many people. I have experienced very often that clients comes with requests for a beautiful bed and design and would like to have it yesterday. That is impossible, that is just impossible. Everything needs time if you want to make something well with a very good quality.