How the Penelope Wall Bed Transformed a 350-Square-Foot Poolside Guesthouse
A small guesthouse with a big brief
Designed by the firm Type Five, Hermosa is an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) doubling as a poolside guesthouse in Orinda, California. At 350 square feet, it has to work like two rooms. Most of the time, it’s a pool house with doors open, people circulating, and towels draped over chairs. But, it also needs to host overnight guests, including in-laws, grown kids, and longer visits.
The solution? Clean sightlines to the pool, integrated millwork, and a wall bed that lets the room stay open until it’s time to turn in.
Why a wall bed
“With this split in mind, we always intended to specify a wall bed as a solution for the space to have this double-duty functionality,” says Aleksis Bertoni, head of construction at Type Five. The team planned for the bed from the start. It was not a workaround; it was part of the architecture.
“We offer wall beds as an option on all of our projects. They are most often selected for smaller studio-type layouts, but we also see them in guest bedroom/offices and other flex spaces. In this case, it was part of the plan for the space since the inception of the project.” A permanent bed would have obstructed views to the pool and pulled the room inward. A wall bed keeps the space outward-facing, then becomes a true bedroom when needed.
Why the Penelope wall bed
Type Five considered other custom solutions: “We have built our own custom wall beds using kits, and looked at other manufacturers,” Aleksis says. But they chose the Penelope wall bed from Resource Furniture for its effortless operation, seamless integration, and comfort.
“We really appreciate the cleanliness of the hardware of the Resource wall beds when they are both opened and closed.”
It’s the difference between something that sticks out and something that slips into the background. Penelope’s mechanism whispers, the bed’s proportions are modest, and when shut, the unit becomes part of the wall. In a space this tight, that kind of restraint makes a real difference.
They also wanted a system that could sit comfortably alongside their own built-ins. Type Five designs closets and wall storage across projects, so Penelope’s scale and finish options made it easy to integrate with custom cabinetry, even when other elements in the room came from different manufacturers.
How it reads like architecture
Because Hermosa was built from the ground up, the wall bed could be treated as part of the architecture instead of an add-on. “We always build a soffit above our built-ins. This soffit aligns with our window and door headers, and our full-height millwork,” Aleksis explains. “This height alignment allows all of these elements to feel integrated with each other and with the overall design.”
With the soffit and millwork aligned, Penelope simply looks like it belongs. When it’s closed, there’s no awkward gap or accidental reveal. And when it’s time to host, it opens into a real bedroom without changing the character of the room.
Living with Penelope
The measure of a transforming piece is how it performs in daily life. The homeowner's response has been enthusiastic: “They are very happy with the Penelope. It’s super user-friendly and the mattress is great quality. It really disappears when it’s closed.”
Aleksis also notes how dramatically the room expands when it connects to the outdoors: “When the NanaWall is open and the wall bed is away, this relatively small space feels wide open and incredibly spacious.”
In Hermosa, the Penelope doesn’t just save space. It lets the room switch identities—pool house to guest suite—without compromising either.
Want to see the Penelope in action?
Explore the Penelope wall bed online, or schedule a showroom consultation to see how it can integrate with built-ins in a guesthouse, ADU, or flex space.
Photography: Adam Rouse / @adamrousephoto
