To ask... if you were a guest in someone's home would you

[monkeymamma]

prefer to sleep on:

a) a futon (e.g. posh Futon Company style one)

b) a day bed (e.g. IKEA Hemnes) with decent mattress

c) a traditional fold-out sofa bed

I am veering towards option B because the mattress would be firm and supportive rather than the foam options that the traditional fold-out sofa offers.

We would use it 2-3 times a year, the main people using it will be 70+ (and one has back problems) so the more comfortable we can make it the better.

It's to go in our playroom, so as a sofa to sit on it doesn't need to be wildly comfortable (we have other sofas for sitting on).

I'd prefer something compact to maximise space for playing. Don't mind spending more if anyone has ideas beyond the above but I don't want a big old sofa that takes up loads of space.

IABU to put this in AIBU I know. Especially as this topic has been done before just not very recently.

Thanks for reading.

None. My parents are 60+. They will not sleep on a, b or c. Because we don't have a proper spare bed for them to sleep on they won't stay over at our house and stay in a B&B / budget hotel instead. Our friends sleep on an inflatable Aerobed which is normal bed height from John Lewis. I find this a lot more comfortable than a,b or c.

B or C would be fine - for the age of your regular visitors it's the getting in & out of it that can be a problem so pick the highest solution

I'd give them my bed. I'm guessing they are relatives?

I had a futon, mainly for my niece when she stayed. Slept on it once and never again.
We now have a sofa bed (like the John Lewis one a PP has)
It's great, my mum and dad love it. Really firm and the pull out bit of the mattress is the same thickness as the sofa cushion. Same issue as the day bed tho. The person on the inside is stuck in there.
Looked at traditional sprung sofa beds but a 2" mattress didn't do it for me. Ours was expensive though and the ikea day bed looks a much better price. Where do you store the mattress tho?

def not futon, very uncomfortable. possibly day bed? dont know how big your room is but i have a good quality single bed with a pull out guest bed. its pushed to side against wall with lots of large cushions and nice throw. also use spare room as hobby room, play room. bed looks neat, doubles up as somewhere to sit/lounge with book, kids to play. when guests stay over takes minutes to convert into a guest bed single or double. close large cupboard where toys, craft stuff kept, remove cushions, pull out butlers tray table for bedside table. have hooks with nice hangers on back of door and a small chest of drawers. guests say how comfortable it is.

We have a decent bed settee, the mattress is sprung not just foam, and we bought the thickest option as it is the most comfortable. We sleep well.on it when necessary, but it is not as wide as a standard double.

The sofa bed we had was for everyday use as opposed to occasional use. There is a marked difference in the mattress and the price!

fwiw we have a soda bed with an inch thick matress, but because of the trampoline sprung base it's very comfy. plus we put on a memory foam topper (that we had from an old bed).

We have tried all three for my mil and partner (both 70+). The day bed (hennes) took a million days to make and wasn't all that comfy even with a great mattress on as the person sleeping against the sides is pinned in. The fold out flat sofa bed wasn't awful... futon a complete no go. We found a sofa bed in Ikea which works perfectly as it rolls out to become a full height doubled bed. And is a very comfy sofa. Look at Lycksele.

Why not get a single bed with truckle bed underneath? Then it can be converted into a good sized comfortable double. Something like this.

theoakbedstore.co.uk/products/heywood-solid-oak-guest-bed-3ft-single?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=googlepla&variant=1619129668&gclid=COWczOHz8tMCFQa77QodycgHFw

lelly that's literally what an IKEA day bed is

Except a day bed has a railing or 'back' up on side so it's more difficult for someone to get out.

Watching the thread with interest, interesting people complaining about the side you can't get out of with a day bed, I might get something like this instead which you can pull into the middle of the room, but it doesn't look as nice when not being used. In fact it's a bit ugly.

http://direct.asda.com/george/george-home/airsprung-2-in-1-guest-bed/001785022,default,pd.html

Oh sorry I see Lelly just posted a more attractive version!! That looks good!

Another option is the double height inflatable beds. Get a good quality one and they are incredibly comfy, height of a real bed and you just plug in to inflate and deflate. We have one and get lots of people tell us it's really comfy. We've slept on it too and it really is. It obviously is out of the way when you don't need it.

Surprised and very pleased to see how many replies there are! Thank you so much all of you. There is some absolutely great advice here too.

The day bed is definitely the winner for me. The issue of one person being stuck at the back and not being able to get out for a wee is not a problem as whoever ends up sleeping there will be on their own. We also have a double bed in a proper guest room and DS1's proper single bed (he'll come in with us or sleepover with his brother) so we are generally providing pretty comfy accommodation. It's more at peak times (Christmas for example) we will have three people (all over 70, only one with mobility problems) and want to offer each of them a separate, as-comfortable-as-possible bed and room to themselves. Because of the rarity of such an occasion though, we don't want to take up oodles of space in the playroom and not leave any room for playing.

!Drip feed alert! We did have a traditional sofa bed that folded out in there, but we had so many complaints/guest asking if they could sleep on the actual sofa in the lounge instead that we decided to get rid of it. It was also taking up all the playing space so I basically sold it. But now need to replace it before we have visitors ha ha!

I am going to buy the Hemnes and take a PP's advice about sourcing continental sprung mattresses (or perhaps just one, as space is an issue and it will mainly be a single bed) from Amazon or similar!

Thanks again and good luck to those of you who are also looking for (same or similar or quite different) solutions!

Lelly and chopsticky those beds look amazing. The only thing is that I feel like DC should be able to use whatever we get as seating/sit and read on there which might feel strange on a bed. Also I do a lot of entertaining/play dates in there which might take on a new dynamic if the other parent is sitting with me on a bed drinking coffee! Hahaha!

We originally ordered the Eleanor day bed and trundle bed for underneath, but had real problems with the order - it took much longer than they'd said, because it was coming from abroad, and when it did arrive, they'd only ordered the sofa part, not the trundle bed - and the sofa part was broken.

This was just before Christmas 2015, and we needed a double bed in the spare room by Christmas - ds1 was coming to visit, and needed a double bed - he's too tall for a single. The company couldn't guarantee we'd get the day bed before Christmas, and definitely couldn't get us the trundle bed, so we cancelled the order and went for the Hemnes.

Sofa bed seems practical in your situation as they're usually double so you could accommodate a couple. But when not in use can be used as a sofa.

Futons are the Devils work.

Another option is the double height inflatable beds. Get a good quality one and they are incredibly comfy, height of a real bed and you just plug in to inflate and deflate. We have one and get lots of people tell us it's really comfy. We've slept on it too and it really is. It obviously is out of the way when you don't need it.

I find them all awful. Like sleeping on a bouncy castle but having to hold on for dear life to avoid falling off the edge. I don't sleep a wink (and I'm someone that can sleep anytime, anywhere!).

OP, the Ikea daybeds (Hemnes and Brimnes) are 80cm wide and a standard single is 90cm wide. Something to bear in mind if you're getting different mattresses.

It is possible to pull the Hemnes day bed out only a little to accommodate a 90 cm wide mattress ( ours is currently being used this way by a very tall family guest) but you would either still need 2 x 80cm mattresses or somehow get hold of. 70 wide to turn it into a 160 queen. ( it's also 200 long which is longer than a standard uk bed length - useful for taller guests)

Definitely not futon!

We have a good quality inflatable mattress that is very comfy, it has flocked finish so bedding doesn't slip. It stores away small and perfect for occasional guests. My friends and family have all slept well on it.

Update: Hemnes (and posh continental sized mattress) have arrived!! Planning to put them together over the weekend 😁

How did you get on monkey?