The beds themselves were individually made before industrialisation. If the customer was wealthy, they were decorated with carved patterns and panels and frequently painted with flowers, symbols, meaningful sayings or inscriptions, especially if the bed was intended as a present for the bride. The final article depended on exactly what was required, the terms of the assignment and the carpenter’s craftsmanship.

Beds used to be much shorter than they are today. The majority were between 170 and 190 centimetres long and about 130 centimetres wide. Without exception the measurements always corresponded to the personal requirements of the client. On the one hand, it can be assumed that people were generally shorter than today, and on the other hand that they also slept in a different position. Nowadays, we mostly lie flat in bed, whereas earlier, thick pillows placed under the back and head allowed one to rest in a half-sitting position. Therefore, shorter beds were undoubtedly adequate.

The wider beds enabled several people to sleep together in the same one. It was quite normal for children to sleep in their parents’ bed or to lie next to each other in a bed which slid under that of the parents. On cold nights, hot water bottles were essential or the children would often lie on either side of their grandmother to keep her warm.

The marital bed, at first a wide double bed, usually stood in the living-room. In the 19th century, it became standard practice to have two separate beds next to each other. Originally, the marital bed often signified the dominance of the farmer who slept there with his wife, so long as he still gave the orders on the farm. When he relinquished his control of the farm, he had to give up his right to sleep in the living-room.

It is quite obvious that the living-room in farmhouses always fulfilled several functions at the same time; here one ate, lived, worked, played, slept and received visitors. To gain more privacy, they would put curtains round the bed in the parlour. These were often ornate and not only gave the bed and its occupants some seclusion but also helped to retain some warmth at night in the winter.

A particular kind of bed was a four-poster which not only protected the bed on all sides, but also kept away any falling dirt or insects. The idea of the four-poster came from elegant households and was considered to be a sign of wealth. Evidence of this can be seen in a drawing in Diebold Schilling’s book of chronicles from Spiez from 1484/85, which portrays the murder of the Bishop of Lausanne. He is lying on a box bed. At the bottom end a drawer on rollers has been pulled out. The drawer was used to store bed linen. The headboard is carved and the canopy thrown back. Bed niches or alcoves, where the bed stood, also separated it from the open living-room.

The «couch», a short day bed for the farmer’s midday nap or for an invalid, was often built into a cupboard.