Waterbed Furniture Gets Fancier

Once considered clunky and poorly made, waterbed furniture has gone upscale to suit affluent, design-conscious buyers.

Following trends in furnishings, bedroom suites designed around a hardside water mattress - a traditional waterbed supported along the perimeter by an external frame - are showing up in fine hardwoods and pine, as well as sleek laminates.

Styles also reflect those popular for conventional beds. Lorts Manufacturing Co. will introduce waterbed furniture collections in Southwest, country and traditional designs at the 1990 Waterbed Manufacturers Association Trade Show and Convention in Los Angeles March 9-12. Contemporary modular units are the specialty of New Visions Designs Inc., while B.P. John offers ornate nostalgic looks in oak.

People who purchase softside waterbeds - which have a sturdy foam frame built into the mattress itself - do not need to buy new furniture because such mattresses are made to fit standard-sized bed frames.

But sometimes they purchase new furniture anyway. Teen-ager Ryan Gamble wanted his softside waterbed to be the center of his highly organized yet comfortable room. When planning with his parents and designers Sandra Linn and Elly Uliano of Brooks and Associates, of Altamonte Springs, Fla., he chose a platform bed as the focus of built-in gray laminate units that include areas for storage, study and entertainment equipment.

``I wanted more of a modern look,'' Ryan said, ``something new, but not space-age.''