Beddy's: making beds cozy and accessible
A woman founded company creating physically accessible and sensory friendly bedding.
I always write about the intersection of tech and accessibility—today’s focus is still on that, and also how we can use low-tech to make home a comfy place of our own that we can all be more interdependent in. Particularly in bed, as we spend about a third of our time in it.
I’m not sure how often you make your bed, but apparently 37% of Americans make their bed every day and only 7% never make their bed. I worked with a boy that fell into the category of “never,” and it was not because he wasn’t interested in making his bed; it was because the traditional comforter and sheets were too clumsy for his motor skills. He wanted to be able to make his bed every morning like the rest of his siblings without anyone’s assistance, which is a fair ask. Beddy’s was the answer.
The brilliance of Beddy’s for physical accessibility
Beddy’s is a West Jordan, Utah-based private company, founded by two women in 2013with no funding rounds posted. Their product is simple but brilliant: a fitted sheet, a top sheet (they call the “comfort panel”), and a comforter all zipped together.
The entire bedding set is one piece. It can be made and unmade simply by zipping and unzipping it. Some things I love about their zipper specifically:
The zipper handle is a consistent shape and large. This makes it easier to grab for people with differences in motor abilities.
When unzipped, the comforter and top sheet do not come off. The comforter unzips to the foot, which requires less physical effort to zip the bed back into “made” mode. Note: The comforter is able to be completely removed.
High quality zippers. These zippers can be yanked on, and I haven’t heard of one breaking or ripping the fabric yet.
While sleeping, the zipper is out of the way. The bottom zipper is placed slightly below the top of the mattress, ensuring it isn’t touched while sleeping. The comfort panel extends so the top zipper is covered. You can see the white fabric extending beyond the zipper in the photo below.
Aside from physical accessibility, Beddy’s has some other unique benefits for the disability community:
Sensory friendly. They offer all-cotton and minky fabrics.
Planning ahead. Fabric swatches can be ordered ahead of time, so you can feel and see what your potential purchase will be.
Choices for all ages & genders. You’ve heard me harp on almost every company for not catering toward adults. Well, Beddy’s is the exception. They create their products for toddler through king size beds, with a wide variety of colors and fabrics. No one is left behind here.
Reduced visual clutter. Many Neurodivergent people can be overwhelmed by visual clutter or too much visual stimulation. Having just one item reduces that.
Great customer service. Items can be returned for any reason within two weeks of receiving it, with no questions asked. They’re also very responsive.
A few threads to pull
With all the love for Beddy’s, there are a few caveats you should be aware of before deciding if it’s for you or someone in your life that could use accessible bedding:
Washing it is a thing. You can pull the entire bed set off and wash it—awesome. However, many people who have small washers/dryers don’t have ones big enough for Beddy’s. You’ll need to remove the comforter and wash it separately from the fitted sheet. This is totally fine, but has stumped a few people I know and could require additional assistance for people with motor differences.
It’s nice to have two. If you want to wash your sheets, you need to take off your whole bed set. Unless you’re great at following through on laundry immediately, it will be nice to have two sets.
How to make Beddy’s affordable for people who can benefit the most
A full-size Beddy’s starts around $289. When I worked with people receiving SSI and SSDI wanting these for greater interdependence, that was a high price to pay for bedding. The CDCS waiver was able to pay for the cost difference between Beddy’s and traditional bedding for some people, but most people do not have this waiver.
I would love to see the formal waiver pay for adaptive bedding, and even better—Medical Assistance (MA) covering it instead. Weighted blankets are now covered by MA in Minnesota with proper documentation, and I would love to see adaptive bedding added to this list.
Takeaway
Beddy’s is a low-tech tool making a big difference for many people at home. Over the past two years, we’ve all wanted our homes to be a bit comfier and to make them our own. Beddy’s has done that by offering people greater interdependence in their morning and evening routines, as well as offering a sensory friendly selection of products for all ages and genders.