A low bed: when it's the only option that works

A low bed is rarely chosen for its looks. Usually it's chosen because a tall one doesn't fit — physically or visually.

Let's go through four situations where height decides everything, and what a low silhouette costs you.

When you need a low bed: a low windowsill, an attic ceiling, a panoramic window, a minimalist interior — When you need a low bed — four situations

A sloping ceiling and an attic room

The most common case. Under a sloping ceiling, a tall headboard either doesn't fit at all or fits — but you can no longer sit up in bed.

Measure not the height of the room but the height at the exact point where the headboard will stand. And subtract a margin from it: a person sitting up in bed takes up about 90 cm above the mattress.

A low bed under a sloping ceiling in an attic room — A low bed under a sloping ceiling — the headboard doesn't hit the roof window

LOUNGE (72 cm) — 360° view; this is the silhouette that fits under a sloping ceiling

A bed under a window

When there's no other wall, the bed goes under the window — and a tall headboard blocks the windowsill and the lower part of the glass. Less light comes into the room, and the curtains have to be hung higher than you'd like.

A low headboard solves this: it ends below the windowsill line and doesn't read as an obstacle.

A low bed under a window in a bedroom — A low headboard ends below the windowsill and doesn't block the light

A shelf or a picture above the bed

If something already hangs on the wall, the headboard should end noticeably lower. Otherwise both of you will bang the back of your heads every morning, and the shelf will become a constant source of irritation.

A small bedroom

A visual effect is at work here: the lower the line of the furniture, the higher the ceiling seems. In a room of up to 10 m² this noticeably changes the impression without changing a single centimetre of floor area.

The same technique is used in Japanese and Scandinavian interiors — a low horizon line makes the space calmer.

How low it can go

Go by the height including the headboard — that's what you see in the room. Our catalogue has nine models in the range up to 95 cm:

60 cm — MODE 2, the lowest silhouette in the range
72 cm — LOUNGE
80–82 cm — PUFFIE, MIND, MIU
90–95 cm — MODE, FLATTY, OLANO, AIR

60–75 cm is a truly low silhouette; the bed reads almost like a platform. 80–95 cm is moderately low: there's still a headboard you can lean against, but it doesn't dominate the room.

MeBelle low beds: LOUNGE with a soft wide frame, Mode 3.0 with minimal height, MIU with a light silhouette on legs — MeBelle low beds

MODE 2 (60 cm) — 360° view, the lowest silhouette in the range

What it costs you

Getting up is a little harder. The lower the seat, the more work for your knees. Count the total height: frame plus mattress. If an elderly person lives in the home or someone has back problems, a very low bed with a thin mattress may prove uncomfortable every day.

Reading in bed is less comfortable if the headboard is below your shoulder blades. On models from 80 cm you can still lean back; lower than that, you'll need a cushion behind your back.

Both drawbacks have one cure: tell our manager how you use the bed, and they'll advise you on the height to settle on.

A low bed: pros and limitations — doesn't block the light, doesn't overload the room visually, but it's lower to get up from and there's less space under the bed — A low bed — pros and limitations

If the model you want isn't on this list

The nine models above are the ones that are low by default. But the list isn't a limit.

We'll make any model from the catalogue lower. Headboard height is a parameter just like width or fabric: you give us a figure, we make the bed to it. If you like a bed with a 110 cm headboard but the ceiling allows 85 — that's not "sorry, it won't fit" but a regular order.

No limits on dimensions either. A 172 cm recess, a longer bed for a tall person, a non-standard depth — we're a factory, and for us size is a parameter, not a product code.

The same goes for a bed that isn't in the catalogue. Send our manager a photo or a link to a model you liked elsewhere — we'll make it from the reference. Our technologist will look at the construction, tell you what's feasible without losing strength, and suggest a solution. It's the same route all our custom orders take.

So the question isn't "do you have a low bed of the right height" but "what height do you need".