Divan Beds Guide

Probably the most exciting thing about going to college is that it’s the first you get to live away from home. I know it was for me. Here I Was in a new city, meeting new friends and best of all, I had my own place! It didn’t matter that I shared it with three other guys. It was mine. Honestly that first week I was so excited to be in my own apartment that it didn’t even bother me that I didn’t have any furniture.

But after about a week of sleeping on the floor, it’s safe to say that my perspective changed. I had to get a bed! So I started looking online and I realized that I needed a lot more than just a bed. I needed storage, a lot of storage because my room didn’t have a closet and all I had for my clothes was a small hand-me-down dresser from my older brother.

All I kept finding were futons and other “college” beds, like bunk beds. And that’s when I heard about divan beds from one of my neighbors who had been living there for a year. He was like, “you have to get a divan bed!” So I checked them out and he was right. These beds have drawers built into them, which is awesome because I can store so much stuff without using another piece of furniture.

Of course, I started looking at the double divan beds right away because I wanted to have the biggest bed possible. But then reality hit me when I realized that my tiny dorm room was built for single divan beds, not doubles. It was cool though. I was still able to find a single divan bed that had tons of storage space in its drawers. And the mattress… wow, don’t even get me started. It’s amazing! I feel like I’m sleeping on a could every night. The flipside to that, though, is that I literally have to drag myself out of bed every morning because I just don’t want to leave it.

It’s been about a month since I bought my divan bed and I couldn’t be happier. It looks great and stores all my clothes and my towels! I didn’t need much more to turn my dorm room into a comfortable pad, just a night stand, a writing desk and a couple of lamps. The best part is that with the money I saved buying my cheap divan bed, I was able to get a sick flat screen! Ahhh… college life!

When my wife told me she wanted to redecorate our bedroom, I was looking forward to it about as much as I was looking forward to getting a root canal. Don’t get me wrong, I was aware that it was important to my wife for me to be involved, but how many different shades of off white can we really consider?? Anyway, being the dutiful husband that I am, I went along with the selection process… new paint, new curtains and new furniture.

Once we got to the store I figured it was safest for me to start looking at furniture, at least I wouldn’t have to worry about patterns and designs and accents. But before I knew it was surrounded in a sea of dressers, wardrobes, this tables, that tables and beds. Lots of beds. I thought I was going to drown in the middle of this superstore. It was like that scene at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark when they put the boxed up ark into storage in that massive warehouse – just endless rows of furniture.

So I had to come up with a plan. I knew my wife would have endless questions for me if I didn’t offer her some options. I decided that I needed to find a solution that would kill as many birds with one stone as possible. And that got me to thinking… how can I get multiple pieces of bedroom furniture into one? Because this is how guys think. If you don’t believe me, then how else did we come up with the turducken?

Anyway, back to my plan. It seemed to me that there had to be a bed that my wife would find suitable to her taste and that also had tons of hidden storage spaces. So I started walking through the aisles and I was surrounded by every kind of bed imaginable! Bunk beds, brass beds, canopy beds, platform beds, futons… everything you could imagine. And then I saw it. It was like a dream. Before me was a bed that was big enough for the both of us, actually looked nice and had drawers built right into the base! It was a kingsize divan bed with extra deep divan bed drawers. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning as I rifled through all the drawers marveling at all the space we would have. I knew my wife would love it and, more importantly, I knew I was that much closer to getting back home and in front of the tv!

About fifteen minutes later my wife found me as I was laying on the mattress. I didn’t have to say a word. She saw it all on my face. Our bed had been chosen. Ever since then, divan beds have been my favorite kind of bed.

Like so many things, divan beds found their start in the UK. Of course, they weren’t always known as divan beds. For years they were known as a term familiar to many of us – box springs. Over time, as beds became more sophisticated and the technology that goes into mattresses improved, box springs became much more than a simple wooden frame with springs. With the development of metal frames, specialized springs and padding and a wide variety of fabric coverings, box springs evolved into decorative pieces of furniture.

Box springs continued to improve in comfort, appearance and functionality over the last 50 years.  Unfortunately for retailers, however, whenever a customer heard the term “box spring”, he saw the product as low-end regardless of how finely crafted the box spring was. And so was born the divan bed.

A couple of retailers in the heart of London’s furniture district decided to start calling their box springs “divan beds.” Granted, their box springs were very high end and much more than just an economical bed piece. They were selling elegant beds that were highly functional, customizable and practical. However, at the heart of all their beds was the box spring. One of the retailers came up with the idea when his mother-in-law visited their store and and called one of their beds “simply divine.” And that got him to thinking… divine… divine comfort… divine bed… ahh!… divan bed! And the rest, as they say, is history.

Great story, eh? If only it were that romantic. In actuality, there was no retailer with a famous mother-in-law. Divan beds, though, do have their roots in the traditional box spring. They are similar to the traditional box spring in that they are made of a base with the mattress resting on top of it. That is about as close as they get to the original beds however.

Today’s divan beds come in a wide assortment of sizes (double divan beds, for example), comfort levels, finishes and storage options. These innovations were driven both by bed manufacturers, but also by linen retailers and mattress manufacturers who greatly benefited from the increase in divan bed sales.

Divan beds are most popular in the UK. In fact, the UK is the only European market where divan beds are sold. You would have to go to America or Australia to find other countries that sell divan beds on a large scale. However, given the fact that so many retailers have an online presence today, you could easily purchase no matter where you live. But the shipping and handling cost might cost you the same amount as the bed. Ouch!