When you want to have a home office but also a cozy place to sleep and you only have one room for that, what do you do? One idea is to opt for multifunctional furniture such as a bed that can turn into a desk or a bunk bed with a desk underneath. This type of furniture can also be very useful for a child’s or a teen’s room.

There are enough such furniture designs to make a long list with but we’ll only focus on the most interesting ones such as the Study Beds which you can buy in the UK. The great thing about them is that nothing gets disturbed on your desk when you’re converting them into beds. The desk goes up and down and the bed rests on top of it.{found on curbly}.

Another interesting design is featured by the Adam Tavolo wall bed/ desk. This is a piece that offers both these functions in a modern and stylish design similar to that of a Murphy bed. This is a queen size bed that opens horizontally and which features a fold-down desk and two shelves. The design created by Resource Furniture is functional and stylish as well as unique, being only remotely similar to the Murphy bed and adding new featured meant to change the perspective entirely.

The Poppi Desk functions on a similar principle. It too has a fold-down bed integrated in its design but this time the concept is a bit different. This one is available in twin or intermediate size and also includes a shelving system and a storage module in its design. Both this desk and the next piece on our list are products of Resource Furniture and highlight the company’s focus on functionality and space-efficiency.

An ingenious design is featured by the Cabrio IN piece. It combines a bed and a desk in a seamless design that allows the desk to be lifted in order to make room for the bed to be pulled down. This system is simple and ingenious and can also be applied to other pieces of furniture in order to save space.

As you can see, the ways in which these two functions can be combined are more numerous than you’d have expected. And there’s more to come. For example, this bed-desk combo basically invites you to sleep on your desk. The actual desk surface flips over to reveal the mattress but the rest of the structure remains the same.

For shared kids’ bedrooms, a bunk bed with a desk underneath can be a good solution. This system combines two bunk beds and an extractable desk as well as some shelving and storage and a wardrobe, becoming a unit that offers all the basic features in a single structure with an attractive design.{found on madeinitalykitchens}.

There’s really no point in occupying a large portion of a space with a bed all the time when it’s possible to use a Murphy bed system and to only fold it down at night or when you want to take a nap or relax. And since you’re doing that, adding some kind of desk or table extension to the bed seems like a natural thing to do.{found on blipdesign}.

But Murphy beds aren’t your only option. A bed and a desk can also be combined in other ways. One example is a bed that has a headboard which extends to form a desk at the back of the bed. The two pieces come together naturally and can be used at the same time.{found on Wespi de Meuron}.

The concept behind this piece is similar to the one described previously. The bed’s headboard has a desk attached to its back and this two different functions blend into one in a seamless and organic way. There’s also enough room under the desk for a storage unit or a file cabinet.

Some bed-desk combinations are even more versatile than that. We’re talking about a desk which integrates a comfy bed and a headboard that molds into a table. Use it as a desk when you need to get some work done or as a table when you’re enjoying your morning coffee or a snack.{found on erikgriffioen}.

Single beds can’t really adopt this type of design. A much better alternative is a design that extends the surface on which the mattress sits and allows it to curve upwards to form a small desk. It would have to be a custom-made design or to fit perfectly into the room.{found on wcarchitect}.

The way all the pieces of furniture are connected to each other in this room is really interesting. The bed sits on a platform that has a lot of storage drawers underneath and which extends to form a desk that wraps around the room.{found on dwell}.

The fact that you can have a bed and a desk in the same compact structure is definitely useful when you’re trying to save space. But what if you want to use them both at the same time. In other words, what if you want to work or study while relaxing in your comfy bed? In that case, you’d need a design similar to this one.

It’s also possible to have a bed and a desk that are part of the same structure but which function as independent pieces of furniture. It’s as if you’d have a bed embedded in a large wall unit that also includes a work surface and a lot of storage.

Loft beds with desks

This type of combination is most often used in the kids’ rooms where space is limited and where it’s important not to occupy the whole floor area with furniture. By opting for a loft bed that has a desk underneath, you save floor space and offer the kids more space to play in.

There are numerous ways in which loft beds or bunk beds can be customized to also include a desk. Sometimes the desk is under the bed or attached to the side of the two bunks.

The system is very versatile and can be adapted in a lot of attractive ways, to also include storage. In this case, the desk also extends in case more work surface is needed.

The structure that supports the loft bed can be adapted to include various different functionalists. For example, one portion can serve as a bookcase and, in that case it would also offer privacy to the user of the desk.

A minimalist approach can feature a simple desk that’s mounted on the wall and supported by a sleek frame. Underneath, there would be a minimalist shelf desk with no built-in storage or additional storage shelves.{found on barkerfreeman}.

When there’s a loft bed on the top and a desk underneath it, the structure becomes stable and really practical. The bed is most often accessed via a ladder which is attached to the side or which doubles as a support element for the structure.{found on archispeak}.

But there are also cases when the ladder is replaced by a staircase. This means the design is more complex and usually the loft bed is only a small portion of a much larger structure. In this case, the desk sits in a cozy nook.{found on gapluspartners}.

If none of the designs in stores are what you’re looking for, there’s also the possibility to build the structure yourself. This means starting a complex DIY project that requires you to be extra careful when taking care of the details. Also, it’s important to make the structure safe, stable and durable.{found on apartmenttherapy}.

Beds and desks as independent structures

As interesting as the combinations presented above may be, the fact remains that sometimes the best option is to simply have a bed and a desk that function independently and aren’t directly linked even if they’re placed in the same room.{found on studiomvdesigns}.

The best place for a desk in a bedroom would be in front of the window. This way the user would benefit from all the natural light. In addition, the space in front of a window is rarely used for anything and, if your bedroom has bay windows, that’s perfect.

In addition to placing a desk in front of the bedroom window, you can also add shelves or storage in its vicinity. Basically, you can frame the window and design a custom wall unit around it. However, as space-efficient as this idea may be, such a design can also make the room feel smaller and less airy and bright.

Ideally, a bedroom should have large windows that go all the way up to the ceiling. This way more natural light enters the room and the desk can take advantage of that. To avoid making the room seem small or feel cluttered, don’t overwhelm it with storage.

If the window is small and you need a large desk, look for alternative solutions. For example, place the desk against a wall and complement it with wall-mounted cabinetry and shelves. There are a lot of ways in which you can fit both a bed and a desk in the same room without feeling that you’re combining two elements that clash.{found on karenjoyinteriors}.