Beds that slide out, swing down, or otherwise come out of hiding

Prestidigitation always figures in the best guest rooms; a little sleight of hand turns the space quickly into something useful when you don't have overnight visitors. But a bed is a pretty big thing to make disappear. Just where does it go?

The bed's headboard, end plate, and platform are all made of 3/4-inch plywood (the platform is stiffened with 2-by-4 side rails). Casters at the head and midpoint guide the bed out; once out, caster-footed pipe legs screw into flanges at the foot of the bed. The platform is about 18 inches longer than the mattress, so the head casters never pull all the way out.'There's only the slightest hint that a queen-size bed lurks behind the bookcase above. Tom DeLong of Costa Mesa, California, even set the pull where it's practically invisible tucked just beneath the second shelf. Behind the wall of this second-floor guest room addition, he constructed a box of 1/2-inch plywood in the adjacent attic. The box is sealed with duct tape and wrapped with R-19 fiberglass insulation to keep it from being too hot orAt left, a double bed slides out into the living room of a compact house on Bainbridge Island, Washington. The bed drawer slides under the floor of the kitchen, which is up four steps. Architects: James Cutler and Associates.When Lucy Dexter Anderson's grandchildren visit her on Maui, they find themselves sleeping in their drawers-no matter what they're wearing. Ms. Anderson designed the storage unit below for her house in Kihei. Behind sliding Japanese screens hides an entertainment center and space for clothes storage. Each of the bottom drawers is big enough to hold a standard twin-bed mattress.Above, a fairly conventional solution gets doubled. Tucson architect Ralph Comey set two single Murphy beds into a false wall flanking the fireplace in Eloise and Ron David's guest house. The living room is undisturbed by day. Carved wood panels permanently mounted to the mattress platforms help disguise them when they're up. For the necessary mechanisms, look in the yellow pages under Beds--Disappearing, or Beds-Retail.too cold, depending on the season.

When Lucy Dexter Anderson's grandchildren visit her on Maui, they find themselves sleeping in their drawers-no matter what they're wearing. Ms. Anderson designed the storage unit below for her house in Kihei. Behind sliding Japanese screens hides an entertainment center and space for clothes storage. Each of the bottom drawers is big enough to hold a standard twin-bed mattress.