In a well-designed home, the bedroom is a sanctuary of escapism — and built-in beds are one of interior designers' current favorite ways of elevating a scheme. "When you tailor joinery to a room’s proportions, it creates a sense of cohesion and intention that free-standing furniture seldom achieves," says Louis Hagen Hall, the director of London-based Studio Hagen Hall. "The result feels immersive, grounded, and often luxurious, like the refined comfort you get in the best hotel suites. It’s about creating a space that feels designed, rather than decorated."
Using joinery within the design of a bedroom can also help to zone it away from other areas, enhancing a sense of calm and relaxation. Be it a platform bed or a split-level design that allows you to site your sleeping area within an unconventional position, thinking outside the box and employing joinery can help if you’re dealing with a tricky spatial layout in a bedroom. For small apartments and studios, tricks such as these can be particularly helpful to create a dividing point between the bedroom area and the rest of the space, and it's definitely one of this year's biggest bedroom trends.
For interior designer Julie Anne Burch, bespoke configurations can completely transform a space by responding perfectly to its unique proportions, functions, and style. "With endless possibilities, any size, shape, and combination of fabrics and finishes, it is an invitation to be truly creative," she says. "Thoughtful custom design ensures every element works in harmony, so your imagination can run wild while still creating a space that feels balanced, distinctive, and deeply satisfying."
Of course, a built-in bed offers the opportunity to design the rest of the room around it, adding details like inset shelving, integrated wall lighting, and bedroom storage — all helping to create that sense of hotel-like sanctuary. These projects show you how.
1. Natural Charm
Built-in beds need not be raised high off the ground — a low-level staging can have just as big an impact.
Cocooned in natural wood, the bedroom wall paneling matches the platform bed frame in this warm, welcoming bedroom by interior designer Nina Freudenberger.
It has an eclectic charm that invites you to switch off and relax. Layered with vintage furniture and striking artwork, the room oozes personality and character, mirroring the architectural charm of the LA home itself.
2. Box Clever
Studio Hagen Hall chose refined materiality and a clever use of space to elevate this box room in the eaves of a north London home.
"The client wanted a cozy reading area that could double up as a bedroom," says Louis Hagen Hall of this North London home.
"We managed to size the sleeping deck to fit a double mattress so it would work for guests. With it being boxed in by a service void, we leaned into the constraints and added shelving and a Perriand wall light.
"Now, when you’re lying there, looking out over the roof terrace and trees, it feels like you’re in a tree house."
3. Pod Life
There's something quite futuristic about this built-in bed — and undeniably elegant.
The East London design studio Studiomama drew inspiration from the iconic Rietveld Schröder House for the renovation of this north London apartment.
A stylish modern bedroom pod, complete with integrated storage, helps to remove clutter from the compact space and ensures the sleeping area remains free from distraction.
4. Italian Glamor
Embrace the latest fabric trends for ultimate comfort, texture and glamour.
For the interior of textile designer Susi Bellamy’s Notting Hill pied-à-terre, interior designer Pandora Taylor took stimulus from the inspirations behind the fabrics themselves.
Susi is largely influenced by her time living in Florence, so bringing Italian flair to this compact bedroom added a charming personal touch.
From panel moulding to ornamental room dividers, it shows how decorative details can enhance a smaller space. It’s chic, immersive, and a little touch of Italian glamour in the heart of London.
5. Rest and Relaxation
Effortlessly chic, this built-in bed is a minimalist bedroom idea of dreams.
A collaboration between Norm Architects and Keiji Ashizawa Design, the Azabu Residence in Tokyo brings together the studios’ respective Scandinavian and Japanese design principles and sensibilities.
Created in collaboration with Japanese furniture brand Karimoku Case, the bedroom exudes a sense of sophistication and calm with its use of beautiful natural wood and monochromatic hues.
Combining a platform built-in bed and wall paneling has created a seamless cohesion, helping to ground the entire room.
Luxury Bedding Essentials for Your Built-In Bed
This Stripe & Tassel Cushion from Anthropologie is playful, joyful, and will add a pop of color to your bedding — the detailing is truly exquisite.
Made from a yarn-dyed stripe cotton, this embroidered duvet cover will bring comfort and class to your bed — we can vouch for TOAST on quality.
The contrast fringing gives this dark beige, brushed weave blanket added tactility while being a stylish, cozy throw to style a bed with. It's also available in dark green.
For more hotel-style inspiration for your bedroom, piped bedding has an air of sophistication to it that will instantly elevate your bedding setup.