Of all the furniture you’ll ever buy, “the bed, the sofa and dining table are the three biggest things,” Jeffrey Bernett said.

在所有你将会购买的家具当中，“沙发、餐桌和床是体积最大的三件。”杰弗里·贝尔内特(Jeffrey Bernett)说。

Mr. Bernett, 50, is a product designer with a particular interest in the last item, thanks to a back injury in his mid-20s that still gives him trouble.

今年50岁的贝尔内特是一名产品设计师，他对最后所提到的这件家具尤其感兴趣，因为在二十五、六岁时他的背部曾经受过伤，这让他至今仍有困扰。

When you’re buying a bed, “you only have a few basic choices in size,” he said, because “the bed is so defined by the mattress.” But the range of aesthetic choices is wide.

当你去买床的时候，“在规格上，你只有几种最基本的选择，”他说，因为“床的大小局限于床垫。”但在审美样式上，你可选择的范围就很宽了。

Mr. Bernett’s personal preference can be seen in his recent collection for Design Within Reach, a line of modern, low-slung bedroom furniture called Parallel. “Because we live in tall cities,” he said, “keeping things horizontal and a little bit lower helps ground people and create a sense of nesting.”

贝尔内特的个人偏好可以从他最近为Design Within Reach公司设计的系列作品中看出来。这是一整套现代、低矮的卧室家具，名为“平行线”(Parallel)。“由于我们都住在高楼林立的城市里，”他说，“所以让东西尽量处于水平状态，并且高度略低一点，可以让人住得安稳，给人一种安逸的感觉。”

Like his DWR series, the ultra-minimal ’64 bed from Cappellini is well suited to tight urban spaces. It has been reduced “to its bare-minimal components,” he said, and “allows for the most effective footprint possible.”

卡佩里尼(Cappellini)公司的一张’64系列(指该款家具设计于1964年——译注)的超级迷你床，正如贝尔内特设计的DWR系列作品一样，非常适合空间局促的都市住宅。这张床已经精简到了“几个不能再少的组件，”他说，并且“将有限的面积尽可能地效用最大化。”

For traditionalists, Mr. Bernett suggested the Arc Four Post from Calvin Klein Home, which has the architectural structure of a four-poster without the fussiness. “The lines are a bit more modern,” he said. “Calvin Klein really thinks about the home, and their pieces embody the rigor and structure that I admire.”

贝尔内特为一些因循守旧的买家推荐了一张Calvin Klein Home的弧形四柱床(Arc Four Post)，它有四柱床的框架结构，但免去了那些复杂的雕花装饰。“床架的线条更具现代感，”他说，“Calvin Klein充分考虑了家庭的需要，而且他们的东西体现了我所崇尚的设计结构和严谨的做工。”

The Highlands bed by Patricia Urquiola for Moroso, on the other hand, is anything but rigid: The headboard is split into two sections that flip up or down, depending on the preference of the person on that side of the bed. For couples with different sleeping styles, “it’s an interesting solution,” he said. “You can have your independence but still spend time together.”

相比之下，帕奇希娅·奥奇拉(Patricia Urquiola)为Moroso公司设计的那张高地床(Highlands bed)，则一点也没有严谨的感觉：这张床的床头被劈成了两部分，可以让睡在其中一侧的人按其喜好，折起或放平。对于那些睡姿不同的夫妻来说，“这是个有趣的解决方法，”他说，“你们可以各自享受自由，但依然与对方同床共眠。”

Whatever kind of bed you’re buying, Mr. Bernett said, it’s a good idea to give the corners a hard shove with your thigh, to make sure the construction is solid and won’t creak.

但无论你要购买什么样的床，贝尔内特说，最好还是用你的大腿去压一压那几个床角，以确保这张床足够结实，而不会嘎吱作响。

Presumably this wouldn’t be necessary with the massive Slab, which he admired at BDDW, in TriBeCa. A king-size bed with built-in nightstands, it had a monumental headboard nearly 13 feet across.

这个方法，大概不必用于他在翠贝卡(TriBeCa)的BDDW商店里看上的那张Slab大床。这是一张特大号(king-size)的床，两边有嵌入式床头柜，硕大的床头板宽度将近13英尺(约4米)。

It also had a monumental price tag: $72,000. Still, Mr. Bernett noted, “Nothing speaks volumes like big pieces of well-made material.”

这张床，还有一张奇贵的价格标签：7.2万美元(约合人民币44万)。尽管如此，贝尔内特指出，“什么都比不上材质精良的大件家具更能彰显特色。”

No matter what your budget, he added, the most important thing is to make sure you’re comfortable. “If you can’t sleep well on your bed,” he said, “this city will eat you alive.”

但不管你的预算是多少，他补充道，最重要的还是确保你能睡得舒服。“如果你在自己床上睡不好，”他说，“这座城市就会把你活生生地吃掉。”