Outfitting your shelter with the right furniture isn’t necessarily an exact science. However, it’s likely that you want some mix of affordability and durability. Use this formula from American Bedding (and hint: shop our catalog) for the best furniture for homeless shelters.
Consider metal furniture
Though wood furniture is lovely in many settings, metal furniture is simply the way to go for most facilities and organizations — especially those with limited space and lots of turnaround. Metal beds simply make sense for their maneuverability and versatility, safety, and ease-of-cleanup.
So, are you stuck with just one type of metal bed, and that’s it? Fortunately, no. Metal beds from American Bedding come in a few different styles to choose from. In fact, the Folding Single Metal Bed is incredibly popular, which we discuss a bit more about below. However, bunk beds are also a great way to make the most of the limited space you have and are great if your facility houses a lot of families or multi-person groups.
In addition, you also have an array of complementary metal furniture pieces for your shelter to allow your guests some privacy and to store a few personal items. You may not want or be able to go overboard with the storage capabilities, however, our Platinum Collection fits in seamlessly in many settings. Our dressers and more can fit alongside, be stacked on top of each other, or even fit underneath beds.
Trending: Single Metal Beds
Single metal beds are gaining popularity among homeless shelters, rescue missions, and transitional housing facilities. The pros to this type of bed are that they offer a greater level of privacy and independence than some other options, like bunks.
That said, these single metal beds are essentially bunk beds that have been demounted. The demountable bunk bed design allows you to have endless combinations of single and bunk bed arrangements within one facility. Therefore, your shelter can easily rearrange rooms to accommodate your ever-shifting demographic of clients.
Furthermore, if your facility serves a lot of elderly individuals, you should avoid bunk beds for safety reasons. Though bunk beds are a fond memory in a lot of people’s childhoods, upper bunks present an unnecessary challenge for older residents.
Cots and other essentials
Now that we’ve presented you with some solid options for beds, what are some other items you should be thinking about? First, of course, you'll also need mattresses. This is where it’s important to do your research and decide if vinyl mattresses or nylon mattresses are the better choice for your homeless shelter.
Second, you may also want to consider cots for particularly busy times. Though you don’t want to overcrowd your facility, sometimes you may simply need as many beds as possible. This is where our Folding Cots come in handy. They’re light enough to carry around and small enough to be stowed away when they’re not in use.
Bonus: What to look for in shelter mattresses
When you’re creating that perfect blend of affordability and durability among the furniture for homeless shelters, you should also be shooting for this with mattresses as well. Our mattresses offer industry-leading qualities such as these and more.
In fact, when you shop shelter mattresses from American Bedding, you're getting not only our commitment to provide you with what your facility needs, but the commitment of our products as well. Be sure to check out the rest of the blog post for what to look for in a shelter mattress.
In brief, our mattresses:
- Resist breakdown and body imprints: This keeps your residents happy and comfortable as long as they’re with you. Plus, you can refresh and reuse the same mattresses time and time again.
- Our fabrics are antibacterial and antimicrobial: If sanitation is a priority (which of course it is!) our mattresses are able to withstand frequent cleaning. Be sure to refer to our handy guide for keeping your mattresses clean, too.
- Our mattresses are waterproof and fluid-proof: Waterproof capabilities allow your mattresses to be safe from body fluids, mildew, mold, spills, cleaning supplies, or damp storage areas. Both our PolySof OX-P and our AntiBAC Vinyl are waterproof, wipeable, and stain-resistant.
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