FURNISHINGS : High Tech’s on a Roll in Rocking Designs

Moving furniture takes on new meaning in these high-tech times. So does reupholstering it.

The former might range from a swaying bed to adjusting the height and depth of a favorite armchair. The latter might mean replacing the arm that Fido chewed rather than redoing the entire sofa.

“Thanks to the universal appeal of being rocked to sleep, consumers have been very receptive to the idea of motion furniture for the bedroom,” says Monty Thull, president of Swaymaster Swaybed in Toronto. “The motion is similar to that of a glider rocker or a porch swing.”

The mattress and box spring are suspended by four heavy-duty springs from a tubular metal frame, complete with headboard and footboard. Chains curb the motion to a gentle sway.

The bed, $299 to $599 depending on size, is assembled at home with an Allen key and a small wrench included in the package. It is available in metallic finishes plus white, red and blue enamel. A wood version is on the drawing boards.

Thull says the bed is generally safe, but “we put a warning label on it to let parents know that kids shouldn’t stand on the bed or get involved in a lot of horseplay.”

Horseplay and pets may be reason enough to consider This End Up furniture in informal rooms. In its “Creative Collection,” each element of a chair, sofa or love seat can be replaced.

“The point behind the quick-change possibilities is flexibility,” says Caroline Hipple, vice president of the retail chain based in Richmond, Va.

“If the dog chews one arm, you can replace just that arm instead of having to recover the whole piece. Also, customers can order an additional cover for seasonal changes.”

Other possibilities include changing the style of the arms or legs or seat back, or even the type of skirt.

For people long on overnight visitors but short on space, there’s the Convertible Ottoman from Park Place Furniture of Greenville, S.C.

The 28-by-33-inch ottoman converts to a single bed, thanks to a metal frame that folds into three parts. The bed, also available in twin size, has an innerspring mattress atop a flat spring.

The ottoman, introduced at the spring furniture market in High Point, N.C., retails for about $499 in one of two fabrics.

Sam Botero, a New York furniture designer, didn’t have the average person in mind when he designed a new line of upholstered pieces. A slide mechanism allows the buyer to adjust seat depth and height as well as the pitch of the back on sofas, love seats and chairs. In stores by fall, prices are not yet firm.

For home entertainment buffs, Botero put an electric outlet for recharging a laptop computer and storage space in the armrest for, say, a hand-held video game.

He also designed cabinets for home electronics. They’re on casters for mobility with doors on front and back. The front doors hide the components when not in use, those in back offer easy access to all the cables and wires.

Botero designed not for the couch potato but for a “very active person who needs a lot of things around--reading, computer, electronic games and home theater.”

“As the communications highway becomes more of a reality,” he says, “we have to have furniture to meet these needs.”

Swaymaster Swaybed: (800) 792-9233.

This End Up: (800) 627-5161.

Park Place Furniture: P.O. Box 30827, Greenville, S.C. 29608.

Sam Botero: 150 E. 58th St., New York, N.Y. 10155.