We are renting an apartment in Rome, and the description mentions that the single bedroom has a "French Bed" What is that? Is it a foldout sort of thing, just a small single bed, or something kinky?

Isn't that the same as a 'trundle bed,' where a second single mattress slides out from underneath on a separate platform?

"A bed in which the ends roll outward with
no posts.."
This got me curious, so I googled it. I got plenty of pictures of double beds (US) but also a childs bed, like a crib almost..called a French Single bed.
But then I found this decorators site and it explains the names of all sorts of decorator things. like French beds

I think a French bed is a double bed that is smaller than an American double bed. Probably best to ask them for the bed dimensions.

I always thought that meant a bed which is larger than an american twin bed but smaller than a full bed, but maybe not?

My understanding of a 'French Bed'is similar to Scarletts.

A small bed with high wooden top and bottom and wooden sides with a semi circle cut out to allow access.

I would think it is only suitable for a child and possibly antique.

A french bed is a double bed with a single mattress that is usually 1,60 meters wide (sometimes only 1,40 meters).

A French bed is more like a very comfortable one-person bed, offering "shelter" for two who love each other so much, so they can sleep entangled in each other's arms. You know those French... I would say it is 1.40 m wide, not more.

Baldrick,

I thank all of you who have tried to help with the defintion of a French Bed, but since it seems no one is really sure what a French Bed is, I choose to adopt Baldrick' definition as it seems the most kinky.

I wanted to find out because my SIL, who is traveling with us, has asked. We have been teasing her about looking for a lovely Gigalo while in Rome, and this explanation would seem to fulfill her fantacies admirably.

lol Dick! I also would trust baldrick. typical french bed is 140cm large.

A few years ago my then-husband (and no, the French bed in this story had nothing to do with the demise of the marriage) and I arrived in Milan only to find that our hotel reservation was screwed up. We ended up at a "sister" hotel of the original property, and were ready to check in when the front desk clerk asked us to please check the room first because it had a French bed.

I've been traveling since I was a wee kid but this was a first for me. I have to admit, I too thought it might be something kinky or odd, but it was, as has been mentioned above, a little bigger than a US double and smaller than a typical US queen size bed.

Even for my tall husband, it was fine.

Maybe we should have held out for kinky!

I had a French bed as a child, but it was certainly big enough to grow into. It was about 140 cm and it had a wrought iron frame that made it look sort of like a huge couch. I am not sure, though, if the frame was just a decorative accent my mother wanted me to have. . .

French bed # 1-
http://tinyurl.com/k5lth

French bed # 2-
http://tinyurl.com/zo873

Probably the same as the oft-described (in hotel brochures) "French double."