The Richfield recorder. (Richfield, Idaho) 1909-1931, 1912-07-25
Disappearing Bed California;
Latest Fad.

VIII OIduSe DiOsSOius anu BuOW Wv
cred mountains, eternal sunshine and
flower bordered streets. they have
disappearing beds. Sounds strange.
but it's true.
Go into many of the first class,
up to date apartment houses, and
you will see everything that can pos
sibly contribute to comfort and con-
venience except the beds, and II you
do not know where to look for them
you might as well start on a needle
in the haystack expedition. People
in California have managed to get the
business of living comfortably with
the least effort down to the very
finest point.
Wages are high and servants
scarce, so that probably nine women
out of ten do their own homework.
Owing to this condition architects,
builders, interior decorators and fur
niture designers have all contributed
their share to minimizing the work
and saving time and trouble for the
housekeeper, and the disappearing
bed is one of the results.
It has the old fashioned, unsan-
itarv folding bed beaten to frazzel
and just at present seems to have
reached the height Of popularity on
the Pacific coast, for the most ex-
pensive apartment hotels are being
fitted with them as well as the
cheaper flats and modest bungalows.
Built in furniture has long been
a distinctive feature of California
houses and the average bungalow or
flat is equipped with sideboard or
buffet, bookcases and even a writing
desk built into the walls and finished
with loaded glass doors and metal
knobs and handles. These proved
to be so satisfactory that some enter
prising builder decided to go one
better
He put in beds as well and a
scheme was worked out that is not
only said to be thoroughly sanitary
but according to the enthusiastic
of one manufacturer
will change three room flat in the
daytime into five room flat at
night" Just how this problem is
solved the advertisement fails to
state, but it may be form of ex-
pansion peculiar to California.
To get back to the disappearing
bed, however, it is kept when in use
in a recess opening out of one room
but extending for the most part into
the room adjoining. This recess
opens underneath some large piece
Of built in furniture, a buffet or
bureau or bookcase, and the head of
the bead forms the lower part OF that
particular piece Only the floor space
in the adjoining room is occupied by
the bed recess which is about three
feet high, and the space above 1t is
utilized for cupboard or closet.
There are hundreds of small apart
ments in Los Angeles and the sur
rounding towns that consist of Nv
ing room, dining room, large closet
kitchen and bath, with two disappear
ing beds In each apartment. The
bed in the living room slides under
the bookcase and extends sometimes
into the closet, sometimes into the
bathroom. In either case the space
over the bed recess is occupied by
closed In closet with shelves and
doors similar to any ordinary closet
except that It's floor, instead of being
flush with the other floors, IS three
feet higher
The bed in the dining room Is
under the buffet and the recess ex-
tends into the kitchen. The upper
part of the buffet, like the bookcase,
is a practical piece of furniture and
has shelves and glass doors and row
of drawers for silver and table linen
over the head of the bed, which as
often as not Is made to simulate
the doors of the little cupboard un-
ually found in the lower part of such
a buffet. Over the recess in the
kitchen is the cupboard, also with
shelves and drawers, Just like any
other kitchen cupboard except that
the lower part is boxed in.
A bed that spends all of the day
light hours in closet or kitchen seems
but an attractive propos-
ltion on first acquaintance. but it is
claimed that the disappearing bed is
really more sanitary than the one
whose existance is not ignored during
the day.
The recesses are not only we'll built
wooden cases, but they are lined with