22 Unexpected Beds of the Past to Look at Before You Go to Sleep

Melissa Knudson • Writer

Sep 17, 2026 7:45 AM EDT

What better way to have sweet dreams than in a pink bed?

After a long day, there is no better feeling than crawling into your bed. Let yourself gently float to the realm of sleep and forget your troubles, or at least keep them in your pocket for the morning to come.

We bet that just by reading this, your eyes have started to close and the yawns are coming one after the other. Sounds are turning into lullabies, and the lights are dimming. Go ahead, get comfortable and throw yourself onto a warm, lovely, relaxing bed of…stones? Or, if you'd rather, climb into your fashionable sleep box by using a very small stool (hopefully you won't fall face first), so you can hear your 3-4 bunk bed roomies snore through the night. In the same way, if you happen to have a little one to accompany your night routine, just hang the baby's cradle on a nearby beam; fingers crossed they will just swing through the night.

Perhaps you are more of a risk-taker and don't mind going to sleep while also not being sure if your bed is going to explode into a cascade of dirty water in the middle of the night because of a poorly timed movement. Or, maybe you're the camping type and would rather build a mattress out of straw, throw a blanket on top of it and call it a day. Whatever makes you sleep better, we won't judge.

No matter your needs and preferences for a good night of rest, you will most likely find your ideal options in this bizarre list of historical beds. For color lovers, for texture haters, and for extremely extroverted social beings, they are as diverse as they are unusual. Which one would give you sweet dreams, and which one would give you nightmares?