Guest bed

[Moodycoo]

We're shortly moving to a three bed terraced house so will finally have space for guests to stay! I'm debating about whether to get the IKEA day bed that pulls out to a double or just get a full time double bed? Maybe an ottoman or divan style for added storage? Does anyone have any recommendations? It would only get used occasionally for the odd night I think and we'd rather not spend a fortune but still want guests to be comfortable.

We bought a double metal bedframe and orthopaedic mattress from John Lewis. Very reasonably priced and comfortable. I was looking at an IKEA daybed and we slept on one on holiday - depending on the model, one person might have to climb over the other to get out of bed! Not great if you wake in the night, etc. A single bed with trundle underneath might be better and give more flexibility than a double.

I'd go with the pull out bed so you can optimise room use when you don't have visitors. You'll probably need the bed far less than you think and there's little point paying for space you can't fully use for 95% of the time. Speaking from -bitter experience of giving in & putting king size bed in my home office for the comfort of DH's family -who only stay when they've got a naice London jolly planned for themselves

If you want to use the room as a study etc too, then definitely a daybed or better still, a sofabed.

Don't get one of those trundle beds. They're higher and bigger (to cover the bed underneath) and take up more space. The mattress/sheet under the main bed gets dusty and you can't store anything under them. I hate ours.

We have the ikea friheten sofa bed. It pulls out to a decent size double and all our guests say it's comfortable. My brother has a pull up trundle type bed - I hate sleeping in it, it just feels like two very narrow single beds pushed together.

We have the Hemnes Day bed from IKEA that pulls out and it's brilliant the 3 drawers underneath are easily enough to store all the bedding and are useful storage for people who are staying. My Daughter (26) and her BF stay quite often and say it's very comfortable we do have a mattress topper on top of the 2 mattresses tho to make them into one this rolls up and is used as a bolster type cushion at the back when it's a sofa in the spare room....where I sit and chat to OH when he's doing paperwork etc

The fact you get a king size bed was the selling point for us

I would get a sofa bed with a sprung mattress in it. You can get ones that are almost as wide as a double (the mattress on ours is 131cm wide, a standard double mattress is 135cm wide). You could then use the third bedroom all the time, not just as a bedroom.

I have to say it's the hemnes IKEA day bed I've been looking at. I agree I don't want to give up all the space for a full sized double bed for folk who will literally stay one or two nights every six months or so. Going to IKEA tomorrow so will have a lounge about!

Poke in the drawers too

We recently bought a sofa bed from Ikea that looks like a corner sofa when not in use. It later oks great. The bed is very big when in use but it’s also very firm because there are no springs.

We've also got the ikea Friheten and it is excellent. Used as a corner sofa or a fairly big bed with storage in the long section. The only drawback is it's an odd shape for a base sheet. I use a large flat sheet to cover it properly

It’s also a bit firm.

It is a bit firm but for one or two nights it's OK

We have a permanent double in our guest bedroom and I really wish we didn't - it eats so much space, but is only used for about 20 nights a year. We're planning some building work in the next few years that will affect that room, and when that happens, we will be getting a good quality sofabed instead - which will cost a fortune and way more than an standard double because it will need to be good enough for our getting-older parents to be comfortable on.

This is a very rambling way of saying that I personally would now always prioritise space and usability for the permanent residents above any other considerations - but that probably isn't the cheapest option if you want quality.

Another vote for the Ikea hemnes. Ours is piled with cushions to resemble a sofa 99% of the time but I'm told it's very comfortable when pulled out to form a king size bed

I have an ikea single that converts to a double. It also has drawers for storage.

My dad sleeps on it as a single, he's 80 with 2 artificial hips and says it's comfortable.

www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/beds/guest-beds-day-beds/brimnes-day-bed-frame-with-2-drawers-white-art-00228705/

with the bed made into a double there's only about 2 feet floor space at the side so the room isn't big enough for a double permanently.

If I was putting a double in a spare room I think I'd get an ottoman so there is spare storage.

@Davros - a king size fitted sheet works well on that ikea sofa bed.

We also find it firm, but everyone who has stayed says it's comfortable. I am thinking about getting a mattress topper for it though, just in case anyone finds it too firm.

Thanks, I'll get one to keep in the storage section. We have another sofa bed in our basement which is a good quality one from Multiyork (since gone bust). It's a very different beast to the Ikea one but does the same job really

Also, the Ikea hemnes day bed is HUGE so measure carefully