TV Bed Azure review

A bed with a TV that rises majestically out of the baseboard may sound like something you’d only see in a celebrity’s house or in a really expensive hotel, but with a TV Bed you can afford to have the same thing at home. We’ve got the Azure model on review here in the double size, although the bed is also available in King and Super King sizes, too. It’s sold through a variety of retailers, although the name is sometimes different; Furniture Village (our listed supplier) calls this bed the Cabaret.

One of the first things you might think, is why have a TV built into the bed? Far from being opulent or a bit show-offy, most bedrooms simply aren’t designed to have a TV in them. Thanks to windows, dressing tables and wardrobes, any TV tends to be awkwardly located and can look cluttered and out of place. By putting the TV in the baseboard and having it lowered when not in use, it’s placed perfectly to watch, yet doesn’t disturb the harmony of the bedroom.

TV BED AZURE LOOKS

Of course, when making a product like this, the first most important step is making a bed that looks stylish. After all, nobody is going to want a bed in their bedroom if it looks more like a TV stand than something you’d want to sleep in.

Fortunately, the TV Bed Azure looks fantastic. Available in black, chocolate and white faux leather, the Azure is a great looking bed by any measure. Its finish is superb, with lots of padding, particularly on the large headboard, which is incredibly comfortable to lean against when you’re sat up in bed watching TV or reading.

First and foremost, the TV Bed Azure is a stylish-looking bed

Importantly, the Azure just looks like a really nice bed in its default state and there’s no real indication that there’s a TV lurking. This is largely thanks to the thin baseboard, so the Azure’s not much longer than a regular bed. TV Bed makes the thinnest beds you can buy, so cheaper models will bulge out more.

TV BED AZURE TV MECHANISM

When you want to watch TV you just need to hit one of the buttons on the side to activate the lift mechanism. It’s incredibly quiet in operation and we never got bored of the sight of a TV raising itself steadily out of the baseboard. It’s clever the way it works, too.

This curved plate, combined with a magnet in the baseboard’s flap ensures smooth operation when the TV’s going up or down

As the TV lifts up, a curved metal plate on the stand pushes against the magnet on the baseboard’s flap, gently opening it. The lift then comes up, bringing the TV with it and continuing until the bottom of the TV sits level with the top of the baseboard. As the TV comes up, its power is activated, turning it on automatically.

It’s good to see that there’s a platform on the bottom of the lift, so that when the TV is raised, you don’t have a hole that things can fall down; we’ve looked at rival models that forgo the platform and it isn’t pretty.

It’s good to see that the TV sits on a platform, so you can’t drop stuff into the void

Tap the button on either side of the bed and the lift lowers itself gently back into the baseboard. This time the curved part of the stand attracts the magnet on the flap, gently lowering it back into place. As the TV sinks out of sight, its power is cut, turning it off. Within 30 seconds you’re back in bed mode and the uninitiated would never know that you’ve got a TV hidden in there.

TV Bed uses German-manufactured motors, for long-life and reliability. It also opts for Blum hinges, which are a well-known Austrian brand, famous for its reliable hinges. It’s great to see metal buttons with plenty of feedback to operate the bed; we prefer these to a remote control, as you can’t lose them and you’ll never have to lean over a sleeping partner to shut the bed down.

Blum hinges and German-manufactured motors should ensure reliability