It could well be the answer to cramped living conditions, giving people the space to entertain and work out by storing their belongings — and even their bed — high above their heads.
This futuristic design layout allows storage units to be placed on the ceiling, along with workspaces, workstations, and sideways ‘wardrobes’. It has been installed in many New York apartments.
Occupants can save precious space by storing their furniture during the day.
Bumblebee Spaces, a San Francisco design firm, created the system. It is believed it could solve the problem for tiny apartments in densely populated cities where space is limited.
However, it doesn’t come cheap – having one bed and two storage units installed costs $18,750 (£13,630), while a bed and six storage units comes to an eye-watering $29,000 (£21,000).
A double bed and storage units are pictured descended from the ceiling in this promotional shot of Residence 405, in The Smile, an apartment complex in New York City’s East Harlem neighborhood
Sideways ‘wardrobes,’ which are storage units that drop from the ceiling, have compartments of various sizes. They can hold clothing and accessories.
Sankarshan Murthy is the CEO and founder of Bumblebee. He stated that while you don’t have to pay for three or four rooms that you don’t use all the time, you do get the room whenever it’s convenient.
“The vision of Bumblebee was to create beautiful, efficient space that is affordable.
Bumblebee can adapt to any space with a variety of drop-down beds and storage units. Five apartments in The Smile, an apartment building in New York City’s East Harlem district, have already been equipped with the technology.
One of them is Residence 405, a studio measuring 470 square feet. It is featured in promotional images and video.
Residence 405 costs a whopping $2,662 (£1,933) per month to rent, despite being in one of New York’s less expensive areas for real estate.
The Smile (pictured) is named for its slightly curved shape. It was designed by BIG- Bjarke Ingels Group and was finished in 2020
‘When you enter the studio’s main living area, you might ask yourself, “Where is the bed?”,’ The Smile says on its website.
“Well, all you need to do is look up! With a simple tap or voice command, the bed retracts into ceiling.
“The Smile uses the latest in home technology to maximize your space with the Bumblebee Bed and Storage System.
Occupants can save space by storing their bedroom furniture during the day and use it for other activities like yoga or entertaining friends. In the promo video, the occupant is seen in a space taken up by the bed at nights – or whenever the occupant decides to deploy it.
The occupant can control the exact descent of the bedroom furniture by using voice commands or an accompanying app.
You can also pre-programme the app to make the furniture automatically descend at a particular time.
Sensors automatically stop the descent of any furniture if it senses movement from anybody walking underneath – which would otherwise result in a nasty accident.
It also knows when someone is in the bed – and therefore when not to ascend to the ceiling – meaning occupants ‘can rest easy’ and aren’t swallowed in the ceiling like something out of a James Bond film.
The bed begins its descent into your living space. If there is any movement underneath the bed, sensors will stop it from falling. This could cause an accident.
The promo video shows an occupant of Residence 405 saying “Hey Siri, lower” and the bed gently falling from the ceiling. It can be seen sitting between a coffee table, and a set o drawers that runs along the wall below a TV.
The bed is made to be fixed on the floor and not suspended like storage units.
Another cool feature is the camera built into the ceiling’s massive modular structure. This stores the units in place when they are not in use.
The camera takes photos of the storage units, which are displayed on the app, so the occupants know which unit to activate to get a particular item – such as an umbrella for a rainy day.
The camera takes photos of storage units and displays them on the app. This allows the occupants to know which unit to activate to obtain a specific item, such an umbrella for a rainy afternoon.
The Studio, measuring 470 square feet, is located in The Smile, an apartment building in New York City’s East Harlem neighbourhood.
MailOnline has contacted The Smile to ask whether someone is currently renting any of the apartments equipped with Bumblebee’s system, including Residence 405, which has floor-to-ceiling windows and plenty of natural light.
This studio also features a spacious kitchen with modern conveniences like a dishwasher, and a stainless-steel fridge.
‘Entering 405, you’ll first be struck by this studio’s sense of scale,’ The Smile says on its website.
‘While many NYC studios feel cramped, stuffy, this amazing space is bright, airy, and thanks to nine-foot-high ceilings, and large windows that allow natural lighting to flood the home.