Around The HomeGirella transforms from chair to bed and back again5 picturesGirella rolls out and folds down to become an occasional bedChairs which fold out to become occasional beds are nothing new, but we haven't previously seen one that works in quite the same way as the Girella from Campeggi. Designed by Lorenzo Damiani, the Girella transforms from an armchair to a mattress and back again in the simplest manner possible.When rolled up, the Girella is a small armchair described as being "ideal for the children's room." This seems accurate, as it's 70 cm high and 62 cm across, with a seat height of 41 cm (27.5 x 24 x 16 inches). So, probably not big enough for an adult but plenty big enough for kids of all ages. The fact that the seat is formed by the edges of the rolled-up mattress should make it more supportive.When rolled out, the Girella is small single bed/play mattress measuring 193 x 80 cm (76 x 31.5 in), which is just a little smaller than a regular single bed. No mechanisms are involved at all, with the whole thing being made of soft materials: polyurethane foam with polyester padding and a lycra covering.
The Girella is priced at around US$700. Campeggi seems to specialize in kooky furniture, having previously turned heads at the Milan Design Fair in 2012.Source: Campeggi via GizmodoLarge Families: Value Prices Large Families: Deluxe Spaces Beds and Sleeping SpacesLarger families simply seeking the best Walt Disney World resort option for their family size should seeHowever, many families figuring out where to stay at Walt Disney World are concerned not only with the capacity of rooms but also bed sizes, and how beds are distributed among rooms.This way, Aunt Eileen isn’t forced to sleep in a bunk bed, in the same room as her nephew…unless that’s the plan going in!Click the graphic for details on beds and sleeping spaces in the various larger room options at the Walt Disney World Resort. The details include room type, price class, and descriptions of each sleeping area. (“DVC” means Disney Vacation Club Resort–see this for more on the DVC resorts.)Note that more data about room types–such as baths, kitchens, and square footage–is available in the links for large families above, and reviews with even more can be found from the links on this page.
Example floor plans tied to the details in the graphic are below.A queen and a pull-out couch all in one space. Similar Studios are at the Beach Club and Saratoga Springs. Bay Lake Tower Studios sleep 4 on similar beds in much less space. Four person Studios at Old Key West have two queens, no couch, more space.One king in a private bedroom, and a fold-out full couch in a second space, the shared living/dining/kitchen area. Similar spaces are at the BoardWalk Villas, the Villas at the Wilderness Lodge, and Saratoga Springs.Villas at the Wilderness Lodge example.Queens, pull-out couch, and fold-down bed, all in one space. Similar sleeping arrangements are in the Studios at the Villas at the Grand Floridian.Animal Kingdom Villas Kidani Village example. As in 4-person villa above, but also with a fold-out chair added to the shared space. Note also the second bath.(Available in Bay Lake Tower, most Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas, and in Old Key West villas. Grand Floridian Villas also sleep five, the fifth on a fold-down shorter bed)One sleeping area.
Two queen beds and one 66″ x 31″ fold-down bed in one space. Two queen beds and one 64″ x 30″ fold-down bed in one space. Expected to be bookable for 5 soon. One queen in a private room, one fold-out full couch, one fold out single chair, and one fold-out ottoman in another space. The ottoman bed is uncomfortable for taller or heavier kids. One queen in a private room, one full fold-out couch, and one near full Murphy bed. One full and two 70″ bunk beds in a private room. One pull-down full “Murphy bed” in shared living/ dining/ kitchen space.The couch in the shared space is long enough for most kids, and still usable as a bed when the Murphy bed is down, presenting the option of having three people in each of the sleeping spaces.A few cabins have a pull-out full couch instead of the Murphy bed, eliminating this option.Villas at the Wilderness Lodge example.Three sleeping areas: One king in a private space; two queens, or a queen and a fold-out full couch, in a second private space, and a fold-out full couch in the shared living/dining/kitchen space.
Three sleeping areas: as in Eight Person Two-Bedroom above, but with a fold-out chair added to the shared space. Note also the third bathroom.(Nine person spaces are also available in Bay Lake Tower, most Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas, and at Old Key West. Grand Floridian villas also sleep 9, but replace the chair bed with a shorter fold-down bed. Third bath only in BLT and AKL-Kidani Village ) Four sleeping areas: One queen in a private space; another queen in a private space; two 70″ bunk beds in a private space; a fold-out full couch and a fold-out single chair in the shared living/dining/kitchen space.Animal Kingdom Villas Jambo House example. Four to five sleeping areas. One king in a private space; two queens in a private space; two queens in another private space; one or two fold-out full couches in shared living space. (At the Grand Floridian, the fold-out couch is in the media room, with its own door.)Note that although you can sum to 14 sleeping spots in some Grand Villas, WDW will sell MagicBands, tickets, meal plans, and linens only for up to 12 people.
.Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Google+ or Twitter or Pinterest!!Michael Mortensen, a Vancouver-based urban planner and developer, wrote an excellent blog post last week entitled “Making Apartments Work Harder: the Third-Bedroom Challenge.” He gives us a great look at how good design can uncover a third bedroom in most two-bedroom condos, simply by removing a walk-in closet, for instance. Michael touches on nine “Principles for Harder-Working Apartments,” all of which are great, but I wanted to highlight just one today: square-foot hours, or ft2hours. The concept behind ft2hours (square-foot hours) is to add a time-based measurement to how we assess and use our space. So if your 10′ x 12′ bedroom is used only eight hours a day (i.e., when you’re sleeping), your actual usage is 120 ft2 divided by three (one-third of the day), which is just 40 ft2hours of used space. I’ve been maximizing the ft2hours of our condo for months now, albeit without having such great terminology for it.
The biggest improvements I’ve made have come from doubling or tripling the uses for each bedroom by giving each room at least one daytime function, sometimes more. The net effect is that the bedrooms have gone from being used only for sleeping to being used for a variety of purposes throughout the day. In the boys’ room, we added a PlayStation 4 and LED TV atop a 2×2 Expedit cabinet from IKEA. We then found a perfectly sized couch/futon (also from IKEA) that completed the gaming-room-by-day function and then doubled as a spare bed for sleepover guests. Result: We obviously don’t let the kids game all day, but they spend a lot of time in their room now, lounging around. So while the boys’ 99 ft2 room isn’t at 100% efficiency, its usefulness has doubled from its former “sleeping-only” function (33 ft2hours) to a hefty, multi-purpose 66 ft2hours. Next, with the addition of a well-designed wall bed/desk combo, my 132 ft2 master bedroom morphed from single-purpose (sleeping), to daytime office.
There are days when I use the office almost constantly, from the time I wake up and put the bed away to the moment I pull it back down to sleep. Bonus: the older kids also use the desk for a quiet homework area in the evenings. And by attaching wheels to the boys’ room TV cabinet, we can now easily wheel the TV into this room for some of the kids to watch after the youngest boy has gone to bed. Result: The master bedroom has tripled its efficiency, from 44 ft2hours to 132 ft2hours. This is the second office we never had before, and also a second entertainment room when we want that. The girls used to have a custom-made IKEA toddler bunk, which saved floor space but was single function (sleeping). And inevitably the girls grew right out of it. It now has a happy “adoptive home” with Rachel Jonat from Minimalist Mom, who bought that piece off me when I acquired a bunk bed/table convertible bed frame. While it took me a little while to get over the increased floor space occupied by the new bed – especially in such a small room (63ft2) – the actual ft2hours of the room increased dramatically.
The bottom bunk converts into a very healthy-sized table with bench seating on both sides, large enough for four adults to comfortably sit at. When we need a second office or the kids need a quiet place to read, colour, or play on their computers, the table in the girls’ room is perfect. We had my mom and her partner over recently and before we knew it, we’d spent the first hour of the evening sitting at that little table, chatting! Result: The girls’ room has probably increased its efficiency by nearly 150%, going from 21 ft2hours (sleeping) to over 50 ft2hours. But why care about ft2hours at all? Why not just get a bigger house and let each room have a single purpose? I’ve written a lot about that in the past… the answers are all to do with density, walkability, complexity, and cost. Living further out in a bigger place is actually more complex, costlier, and less healthy than maximizing the ft2hours of a smaller place in a denser neighbourhood. If you’re still not convinced, consider this: recently we visited a couple who had their place laid out as do most single-child families.
They had the child’s toys in the living room, where all family members were most of the time, and the bedrooms were just for sleeping. When we came over, we brought a few of our kids, all of whom immediately alighted upon the toys in the living room. The net effect was that our visit was like having cocktails in the middle of a daycare. About a week later, we had another family with five kids over for dinner. (Yes, there are more five-kid families – living downtown, no less!) After dinner, all ten of the kids decamped to three different bedrooms. Some played Lego in our master bedroom, where the bed and desk were folded into the wall and pillows strewn all over the wide-open floor. Several of the girls retreated to the girls’ room to sit around the table and play a card game. Still others watched movies in the boys’ room theatre until the youngest had to go to bed, spurring us to roll the movie cart into the master bedroom to continue the festivities.Four adults had their own quiet dinner and drinks, listening to adult music in the living room, while 10 kids played elsewhere in the condo.