In this paper, an initially straight beam with torsional springs at its two hinged ends is subjected to an axial force and its buckling mode shapes are found. Any shape which is a linear combination of the modes is taken as the as-fabricated stress-free form and then subjected to a transverse actuating force. Post-buckling analysis is used to compute the force-displacement characteristic of such a beam and thereby check if bistability exists. Two special cases of the torsion spring constants being very large and zero are presented. The former is a known result where a cosine curve is the fundamental buckling mode that does not give bistability unless its asymmetric second mode shape is avoided by a physical constraint. When the spring constant is zero, a single sine curve profile, which is the fundamental mode, can be made bistable without having to physically constrain the asymmetric buckling modes. This is realized when pinned-pinned boundary condition is used, which further allows the element to have enhanced range of travel between its two stable states, reduced switching force, and provision for secondary lateral actuation. To realise a monolithic compliant bistable element without any kinematic joints, torsion springs are substituted with equivalent revolute flexures. Physical embodiments of three types of bistable curved beams, namely, fixed-fixed, pinned-pinned, and revolute flexure-based, are presented. © 2015, Indian Institute of Technology, IIT. All rights reserved.