The master bedroom’s massive leather headboard was Thompson’s idea and design.

The dining room features 1970s leather-and-brass dining chairs and a table concocted from a brass-and-silver base and a custom lacquered top. The cheerful blue paint enlivening the doorway is from Emery & Cie.

Two-year-old Annika and five-year-old Soren make music on the "nap swing," a popular hangout spot for kids and adults alike.

Furniture designer Pat Carson created a plethora of custom fixtures for this guest room, including a riveted aluminum Murphy bed. The best Murphy beds raise and lower easily, often requiring only one hand. This unique wall bed employs a hand-cranked wheel-and-pulley system.

Barbara Hill's Dancehall/House in Marfa, Texas September 14, 2010 Misty Keasle

Hidden Storage The Murphy bed in the guest bedroom sits behind Montague’s desk, allowing the compact room to function comfortably for working and sleeping at different times. It’s made with customized millwork, Häfele bed hardware, and an Ikea mattress. When it’s open, it reveals hidden shelving. hafele.com ikea.com

The master bedroom; the painting is by Radcliffe Bailey.

The custom leather platform bed was designed by Shikany’s firm, PS Studios.

Dawn Farmer sits on the bed in the master bedroom. The white leather bed was designed by Pierre Kozely and manufactured by Della Robbia. The view carries through the master bathroom to the yard on the other side of the house.

The POD (Singapore) Any comparisons to hostels stops at the door of The POD, the sleek bachelor pad of capsule dwelling. Singapore firm Frameworkz designed every detail in this minimalist but posh set up, from the marble vanities to the beds boasting high threadcount sheets. Photo by The Pod

The snug attic in this former fisherman’s cottage in Copenhagen contains the homeowner’s platform bed, custom-designed by Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen to maximize storage and fit the unusual space.

"We wanted to keep the exterior walls uncluttered, so you can focus on the views, the light, and the air," says Rosa Garneau, the owner of a 650-square-foot co-op in New York's Chelsea neighborhood. To achieve a clean look, everything gets tucked away, including the mattress and bedding. When looking for the best Murphy bed, look for one that can accommodate basic bedding without having to remove and store it daily.

If letting your bed linens drape onto the floor or the platform bed frame just isn’t your style, keep your bedroom feeling sharp and tidy by tucking your sheets under the mattress and removing any extra blankets or fluffy comforters. A slim, white bed frame such as this one feels skeletal enough to still convey airiness.

The bed, also by Hynam, is on casters, allowing ten Hompel to move it to gaze at the stars.

Renzo Brugola, a Memphis designer and cabinetmaker, built the custom bed and headboard in the master bedroom. Sottsass designed both, as well as the yellow storage units, adding a door and lock to one of them "for the purpose of putting in our love letters," notes Adrian.

Brightly colored sheets and a central pendant lamp show this tent to its best advantage.

Debbi Gibbs’s son Blake had one primary design requirement: bunk beds. Specifically, he wanted "two sets of single bunks, one on each side, with a bridge over the top." Gibbs says the Venetian-style arched bridge connecting the two beds exceeded her expectations: "I was expecting a flat platform, but our builder decided to take Blake’s request (to connect them) and made him his very own Bridge of Sighs."

A lofted sleeping pod offers a bit of privacy and helps maximize space. Beneath it is a zippy yellow bathroom.

Meg’s inspiration: The design of the Lucky Linden was something Meg carried along with from many years in her sketchbook. She loves the Art and Craft styled RV’s and was sure that if she built a tiny house RV someday, this would be a her inspiration. What she like most of this pattern is the low sloped roofs, pop out dormers on the front as well as back and especially the bungalow look from the Sears and Roebuck kit houses which were prevalent in the 1990’s.

Brothers Nima and Soheil relax in the family room on an Eames lounge chair and a custom sofa they designed. “Mid-century architecture draws the outdoor environment indoors,” says Soheil. “There’s a lot of natural light, a lot of ventilation.”

The copper-colored leather pouffe is one of 48 DIY projects featured in Fehrentz’s book, Made by Yourself. The English edition will be published in 2014.

Cody, 17, and Dylan jam in the kitchen with Yogi, the Welsh corgi.

When you live in a small space it's important to make sure that as many pieces of furniture as possible serve multiple purposes. Look for an ottoman that can double as a foot stool, extra seat, or storage container. In addition, some ottomans have a lid that can be flipped around to serve as a hard surface on which to serve drinks or food.

The low windows in the master bedroom focus the view on the backyard, not the neighbors. Christopher designed the solid poplar platform bed.

This Murphy bunk bed, the Lollipop IN model from Resource Furniture, stows away flush to the wall when not in use.

Madrid-based firm PKMN dreamed up this flexible concept for a client with a tiny home north of the city. Made up of three shelving units on track system, the All I Own House can be configured in countless ways, making space for a bedroom, kitchen, sitting area, changing room, and more. Shown here is a horizontal Murphy bed, which makes a great space-saving solution as well as a comfortable sleeping space.

A common trend among modern Murphy beds is to fold into a cabinet. By lowering the custom Murphy bed and rolling a sliding plywood door, this homeowner creates an instant guest room.

In the master bedroom, a basic platform bed and Ikea wall lights keep the attention on the ocean views afforded by the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Maja and Asa hang out in the guestroom, which also doubles as storage space with an entire wall of closets along one end.

The elegant and minimalist Loft bed by Seattle-based Chadhaus has been paired down even further in a new version that comes without drawers on the underside.

At the entrance, Bruce is joined by his son, Sozé, and dog, Izzy. The 1940s shingled cottage was renovated by architectural designer Randall Recinos, designer Brian Paquette, and contractor Dylan Conrad.

This bed is from designer Peter Marigold's Palindrome Series.

The Steelcase desk in the living room was a lucky streetside freebie discovered outside their old Oakland apartment.

The living area contains a Poul Kjærholm PK 31 sofa and PK22 chairs. The table is custom.

Architect Bergendy Cooke, who worked for Zaha Hadid and Peter Marino before returning to her home country in 2007, is an admirer of the strong, sculptural architectural forms that appear in Japanese and Spanish architecture. Outside Queenstown, she put her ideas into practice in a home that would be the benchmark for bc+a studio, her own venture. The combination bunk bed and playhouse is a whimsical gesture the architect designed specifically for her two daughters. The spaces are organized in such a way that they can play independently or together.