Here's to a good, floating night's sleep

Amsterdam: A young Dutch architect has created a floating bed which hovers above the ground through magnetic force and comes with a price tag of 1.2 million euro ($1.54 million).

Janjaap Ruijssenaars took inspiration for the bed from the mysterious monolith in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 cult film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The end result was a sleek black platform, which took six years to develop and can double as a dining table or a plinth.

"No matter where you live all architecture is dictated by gravity. I wondered whether you could make an object, a building or a piece of furniture where this is not the case and where another power actually dictates the image," Ruijssenaars said.

Magnets built into the floor and into the bed itself repel each other, pushing the bed up into the air. Thin steel cables tether the bed in place.

"It is not comfortable at the moment," admits Ruijssenaars, adding it needs cushions and bedclothes before use.

Although people with piercings should have no problem sleeping on the bed, Ruijssenaars advises them against entering the magnetic field between the bed and the floor as they could find their piercing suddenly tugged toward one of the magnets.