They range from about $2,000 to $3,300 - adjusting for inflation, about the same cost as a waterbed in 1975. Koenig, whose furniture store chain started as Waterbed City in 1971, has joined with Hall and former waterbed manufacturer Michael Geraghty to form Tamarac-based Hall Flotation, which produces the Afloat waterbeds. Hall fully agrees that health benefits are an Afloat’s main selling points.īut he says he also told Koenig, “Come on, we can’t be boring!” We’re selling better sleep, more comfortable sleep, temperature control,” Koenig said. In the meantime, we at Sleepopolis will be closely following this industry comeback.He’s not selling nostalgia, and he doesn’t bring up waterbeds’ notorious reputation until he’s asked point-blank about it. While the AFLOAT waterbeds won’t launch on the company’s website until next month, social media is already buzzing about the return of the Pleasure Pit. Though the waterbed as we remember it would almost certainly buckle under the pressure of its modern day competitors, Hall’s new design - complete with lightweight foam bases and trial periods - might just make waves all its own. Nowadays, mattress shopping largely revolves around the bed-in-a-box business, and the ease of direct-to-consumer shipping. ![]() And just like that, the waterbed’s newness waned and the model fell out of fashion. Though the waterbed flourished through the 80s, the introduction of memory foam, latex, and other user-friendly bedding innovations pushed it into the shadows. Not to mention, the early waterbed models typically came with wooden frames that weighed hundreds of pounds. Though it was advertised as a sexy-chic way to sleep, some of you might remember that installing a waterbed meant running a hose through your bedroom, using a pump to siphon the water out when it needed to be replaced, and the ever-present possibility of your mattress springing a leak. Well, at the time of its invention, the novelty of the waterbed seemed to compensate for its tedious (and sometimes dangerous) assembly. But now - nearly six decades later - can a waterbed stay afloat amidst the bed-in-a-box boom? Dubbed early on as the “Pleasure Pit” by his classmates, the waterbed’s underlying sexual tenor seemed a perfect fit for the burgeoning Free Love era of the ’60s. DOES THE WATERBED HAVE A PLACE IN 2019?Īccording to the AFLOAT site, Hall introduced the original waterbed as a final class project while studying design at San Francisco State University. As with many mattress brands in the e-commerce space, Afloat will offer a 100 day, no-risk sleep trial. City Furniture is the only retailer selling Afloat beds right now, and they start at around $2,000. Interestingly, after Hall partnered with CEO of City Furniture Keith Koenig earlier this year, the online retailer began selling AFLOAT waterbeds prior to Hall’s own preorder sales (which are scheduled to launch next month). ![]() I reached out to Charles Hall to learn more about what makes this new model different from his first waterbed, but he declined to comment. However, the new bed employs a foam base, proprietary stretch-fabric technology, and a dual zone temperature regulating feature that allows sleepers to warm or cool their individual sides of the bed. Similar to Hall’s original design, the AFLOAT waterbed uses a hose through which water fills the mattress. Sleep & Float! The Modern Waterbed, Afloat #Design #Waterbed /ASF9faSY93 We’ve had the opportunity to use new materials that weren’t available back then, the top surface is more comfortable, the wave suppression and support system below is more comfortable. I invented the waterbed 50 years ago, but this one is by far the best. The beds aren’t available for sale on the company’s website yet, but the website does feature a video of Hall explaining why his newest invention is the best yet: Set to launch in January 2019, AFLOAT will introduce the world to Hall’s line of “reimagined” waterbeds, which he touts as new and improved. ![]() After peaking in the 1980s, the waterbed might be poised for a comeback as its original inventor launches a new generation into the world of e-commerce.Ĭharles Hall, the man credited with inventing the waterbed in the late ‘60s, is gearing up to make a splash in the digital space with his latest venture, AFLOAT.
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