A history of sofAbeds
The essence of the sofabed lies in its functionality to be converted. While the designs of sofas have certainly become varied and sophisticated, the distinction of a sofa being turned into a bed defines the unique feature of this home staple. Like most inventions, the sofabed was conceived and developed to primarily address the pressing issues of space and convenience.
With sky-rocketing prices in real estate properties and traffic conditions in the metropolis, the demand for spacesaving and multi-purpose furniture has become even more crucial. These considerations only make the sofabed an integral piece of furniture in most homes.
Interestingly enough, the living conditions when the sofabed was invented were not fundamentally different from those of today.
The history of the sofa bed begins with Leonard C. Bailey, an AfricanAmerican inventor who was born in 1825 to a poor family and afflicted with a physical disability. While working as a barber in Washington D.C., Bailey was able to invent what most refer to today as a folding bed, which is also known as the “hide-a-bed.”
It was not until 1931 when the sofabed reached a breakthrough. An Italian immigrant in the US, Bernard Castro, then working as an upholsterer, was continually confronted with questions on how to work out spaces to fit a bed and a sofa in small dwellings.
Castro spent plenty of time observing the furniture on display at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art (MOMA) and inquisitively searched for the solution to his dilemma. Determined to make use of every inch of space available, he eventually figured out a design and came out with what are now popularly known as Castro Convertibles ottoman beds.
What is significant about Castro Convertibles is that it established the template for the present-day sofabeds both aesthetically and functionally. While his invention may now seem mundane in the 21st century, the design of turning what seems like any regular sofa into a real bed through a concealed mattress was not only unique but most certainly revolutionary. And a testament of its success is the fact that Castro Convertibles remains as vibrant as it was in the 1950s. Up to now, in this highly competitive, global economy, the brand maintains branches all over the world.
On one of his visits to Japan, William Brouwer, a fine woodworker and a designer who finished architecture at the Harvard School of Design, took particular interest in the futon.
Brouwer applied the flexibility of the futon mattress to his design. He realized that if the futon can be folded, then perhaps the same principle could be applied to his own version of it. And so in 1982, he created the Brouwer Bed, also known in the sofabed parlance as the futon bed.
After more than 30 years, the futon bed remains relevant, being used all over the world and modified in several ways. Most of today’s sofabeds may not be so different from those used in the mid-century but this iconic furniture continues to evolve; the folding mechanisms are being tweaked by modern manufacturers, the makeup ofthe mattress is also continually being improved to increase comfort, while otherstake it to another level by incorporating technological gadgetry.
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