By Don Murtha
A guest is coming and you have no space in your home – only a small room with a desk.
Hiddenbed of Oregon, a business started by the Cobb family of Mount Angel, has the solution to that and many other space problems. Hiddenbed is a piece of furniture that converts from a full-sized bed to a desk with little effort.
A carpenter and cabinet maker of many years experience, Keith Cobb started Hiddenbed of Oregon last fall. Working with the patented Hiddenbed hardware that was invented in Uruguay, he designs and manufactures the space saving units for home and commercial use, as in universities and first-responder facilities.
Anna Mae Layton of Silverton knows firsthand how well it works.
“The Hiddenbed that Keith built is working very well for us. It’s beautiful, it’s comfortable, and it gives us more space. We had family come over during the holiday season, and they loved the bed. When guests are not around, we’re able to use the space as a computer and crafts room,” she said.
Hiddenbed is available in several of styles and finishes. The basic style is built for a single bed that folds up into a horizontal frame, hiding the bed into itself.
With the bed folded up, the fixture becomes a desk that can hold up to 45 pounds and items up to 17 inches high. When the bed is folded down, there is no need to move any of the items on the desk, including a cup of coffee. The design perserves and protects that space. None of the items on the desk is in danger of being disturbed. The Hiddenbed is made of wood-grained Melamine or hardwood veneer plywood with steel hardware. It’s a finely finished furniture, maintenance-free, and of long-lasting construction.
“We can customize a Hiddenbed to fit the customer’s space requirements, taste, and décor,” Cobb said.
While some may think of the Hiddenbed as a version of the Murphy Bed, Cobb said the Hiddenbed is much more.
“The biggest difference is that it is both a bed and a desk.
“Additionally, it is a free-standing piece of furniture. The Murphy Bed is fixed onto the wall,” he said. “The Hiddenbed can be more easily moved around within a room or moved from room to room.”
The Hiddenbed is so well balanced that a child can push the bed up to make use of the desk or reverse it back into the bed.
“Many people have a guest room and all it is doing is storing a bed,” Cobb said. “With a Hiddenbed, the guest room can be converted into a home office.”
Cobb noted that figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show that the economic downturn has had many people moving in with family or friends.
“The Hiddenbed makes it possible for people to move in with less inconvenience to the host,” he said. In addition, many people have been downsizing and have less living space. “The Hiddenbed makes it possible to double the space in a room,” Cobb said. The basic price of a Hiddenbed is $1,695.
To get started as a business, the Cobbs went to the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) of Chemeketa Community College in Salem and SCORE in Portland.
“Our mentors at the SBDC and its Merit Microenterprise Program, as well as the Portland Chapter of SCORE have been helping us every step of the way, from developing our business and marketing plan to website development,” Cobb said.
Hiddenbed of Oregon has worked with customers locally, as well as those out of state. “We started out thinking we could only cater to the local market, but SBDC counselors have taught us how to expand our vision,” said Cobb.
He has created his own designs from the basic Hiddenbed. A design in development is a Hiddendesk, an all-purpose table that converts into an ergonomic desk in the same fashion as the Hiddenbed.
Among the target markets of Hiddenbed of Oregon is the recreation vehicle (RV) industry. “The Hiddenbed is ideally suited for the RV owner, who has limited space within his home-on-wheels,” Cobb said.
For information, hiddenbedoforegon.com, or email: [email protected] or phone at 503-845-9159.
