The tufting does not run in lines or diamonds. It fans - upward and outward from a single point low in the centre of the headboard, the way first light comes over a horizon. That is where the name comes from, and it is the only decorative move this bed makes. Everything else is done by the black border wrapping the panel, and by a television that rises out of the footboard on a remote and vanishes again when the film ends.

The lift is motorised and remote-controlled, built for screens up to 55 inches and 40kg, with the mechanism, power feed and cabling routed inside the frame. No bracket in the plasterboard, no cable down the wall, no stand in the corner.

Two-tone is the hardest finish to get right

A pale bed against a pale wall disappears. Most of the market solves that with a metal trim; the Alba solves it with fabric instead, which is quieter to live with, has no hard edge to knock in a family room, and is considerably more difficult to make.

The difficulty is the join. A dark border against a cream panel shows every seam, every millimetre of drift in the width of the border, and every place the tension is uneven - there is no forgiving mid-tone to hide in. It is the Neapolitan tailor's problem exactly: facing a pale jacket with a darker edge is easy to draw and hard to cut, and nobody notices when it is right. Ours is cut, joined and hand-finished in our Liversedge workshop, on a hardwood frame, which matters more on a television bed than an ordinary one because a moving mechanism puts load through the footboard every day of its life.

The fan itself is set out the same careful way: every ray is a different length and meets its neighbours at a different angle, and they all have to resolve to one point. Each is built as its own padded section with the foam stacked from the base up, so the rays still hold their shadow at eleven at night with one lamp on, rather than flattening into something that looks printed on.

The footboard deliberately says nothing - plain cream, a soft rolled top over the screen housing, with the black returning only at the corner posts so the two halves of the bed read as one object.

What makes the Alba work

• Two-tone contrast border - a dark surround framing a pale panel, which stops the bed disappearing into a pale wall without adding any metal to the room
• Sunrise fan tufting - rays set out from a single low centre point, each built as its own padded section
• Motorised footboard TV lift - remote-controlled, for screens up to 55 inches and 40kg, fully concealed when down
• Plain rolled footboard - undecorated on purpose, so the headboard is the only thing speaking
• Hardwood internal frame and concealed cabling - the structural work that keeps a moving mechanism feeling solid and the room looking empty of wires

Choosing your fabrics

The Alba is upholstered to order in any of our 15+ designer fabrics, and it is the one bed in the range where you are choosing two. Cream with a black border is shown here and is the sharpest version; a softer pairing - oatmeal with charcoal, or greige with chocolate - gives you the same definition with much less contrast, which suits a room that is already busy. Order a free fabric swatch of both before you commit, because two fabrics that each look right alone do not automatically look right beside each other, and that is not something a screen will tell you. Our guide to weave, wear and feel is a good starting point, and we are happy to recommend pairings if you tell us the room.

The questions people actually ask

• Can I choose both fabrics? Yes - the panel and the border are specified separately, so you are not limited to the combination shown. Ask us before you order if you want a second opinion on a pairing.
• What size television fits? The lift takes screens up to 55 inches and 40kg. The television is not included - the mechanism, the mounting bracket and the internal cable routing are.
• Is a cream bed practical? More than its reputation suggests, and the dark border helps: the part of the bed most likely to take a scuff - the outer edge - is the part that is not pale. Choose a tight weave or a velvet for the panel rather than a loose open weave and it wears well.
• How long does it take? Every Alba is made to order in Liversedge, so please allow 15-30 business days from order to delivery.
• Where do you deliver? Free delivery to mainland UK addresses (England, Wales and mainland Scotland), kerbside as standard. White Glove delivery to your room of choice is available as a paid upgrade at checkout.

Complete Dimensions

Handmade to order, which is why we ask you to allow 2-3cm of variance across the range - the mark of a bed actually built by hand rather than stamped out.

If the Alba is close but not quite

The Luminosa solves the same pale-bed problem with a gold inlay rather than a contrast fabric, the Riflesso does it with bevelled mirror, the Onda ignores the problem entirely and stays quiet, and the Aureo moves the lift into the headboard instead of the footboard. They sit together in the television bed collection. For the rest of the room, the Luxe and Eleganza collections share the same fabric range, and the ottoman gas-lift beds are where to start if storage matters more than a hidden screen.

Order your swatches, choose your two fabrics, and we will start cutting. If you would rather spread the cost, payment options are available at checkout.