Bedworks

Bedworks is a furniture maker in Cambridge’s Central Square whose workshop and showroom have handcrafted beds and futons for about half a century. Its signature piece is the Floating Platform Bed, and the shop also builds minimalist daybeds, modular sofabeds and analytic couches in a classic mid-century modern style. The furniture is designed for urban living, offering comfort and convenience for small rooms and narrow stairwells, and the showroom invites customers to try pieces in person.

The business began in 1975, when John Buster, a former civil rights trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, started building platform beds for friends and neighbors in a Mid-Cambridge basement. It opened in a loft above Massachusetts Avenue, then moved to its current corner and began making futons. Bedworks was an early adopter of the Brouwer Bed, the first folding futon frame, invented by Cambridge’s William Brouwer, and both designs proved popular with students and apartment dwellers.

What to Know

• Mattresses come in natural organic latex, memory foam and high-resiliency foam and carry a 20-year warranty.
• The workshop also offers reupholstery services.
• Pick-up and delivery are available, and assembly instructions are provided.
• Futon mattresses, frames, pillows, mattress protectors and fabric swatches are sold alongside the furniture.