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Original poster

Do we have to have a spare room?

30 replies

muddleduck · 13/09/2010 12:27

We live in 4 bed house with 2 ds's. The 4th bedroom is a combined office/laundry/spare room. I work from home alot and DH uses the PC in there a lot in the evening. It is the largest bedroom in the bouse, but it is a shambles.

AIBU to get rid of the double bed in there? My view is that it is no longer a proper spare room so what is the point having a double bed that takes up so much room.

MIL is our only regular overnight visitor. Would it be unreasonable to put the boys in together when she is here and put her in DS1's room? DH things this is unfair on her. He also thinks that it is unwelcoming for others who might want to visit if we don't have a proper spare room. He has suggested a sofa bed, but I don't really see the point.

(We have a double futon mattress in the loft which we could bring down for the very rare occasions when we have a couple come to stay.)

OP posts:

scurryfunge · 13/09/2010 12:30

It depends entirely on what suits your family.

As time goes on your children might not like the disruption and I like the idea of a guest having a special room, where there is room in the wardrobe for their stuff.

A sofa bed is a great idea...you get the space you need when there are no visitors.

QS · 13/09/2010 12:31

Why not get rid of the double bed and get a bunk bed? Or a daybed?

Such as: ikea daybeds

or
(if your mil is of the adventurous climbing kind?)

a loft bed?

QS · 13/09/2010 12:32

We have to uproot one child from his room and put in with the other when we have visitors, and it is a true palaver.

BudaisintheZONE · 13/09/2010 12:34

Agree that a sofa bed would be a good compromise. It is nice to have somewhere to put visitors and yet it does seem silly to have a double bed take up the space all the time when you only need it occasionally.

CMOTdibbler · 13/09/2010 12:39

I would always want a spare room, even if it only had a decent sofa bed. You never know when someone will need it (having spent the last month in ours as I have to sleep with my arm up on pillows following several breaks, and will be there for sometime yet)

wastingaway · 13/09/2010 12:43

Sofa bed seems a good solution, unless you need the wallspace I guess.

Bunbaker · 13/09/2010 12:44

I agree that a sofa bed is the way to go. We have a spare room which is a proper bedroom and a playroom/upstairs sitting room that has two single Ikea sofa beds.

Neither of our families live near us so we need room to put them up when they come to stay. DD's bedroom is the smallest in the house so she decamps to the playroom when she has any friends sleeping over.

We have some friends who we have stayed with a few times (before DD was born) and have slept on their dining room floor simply because their "spare room" isn't a bedroom. Not very comfortable.

lostFeelings · 13/09/2010 12:47

my kids hade being forced out of their beds, if yours arent now - they may in the near future
how about a single bed there?
or a small sofa-bed?

Original poster

muddleduck · 13/09/2010 12:52

so what you're saying is that DH is right!

Good point about the upheaval for the boys. I guess that while it is easy now it will not always be that way.

No wardrobe space whatever we do. But I do have a nice-ish hanging rack (that I usually use for laundry).

So my feeling about sofa beds is that most of them make crap sofas. Is this inevitable?

OP posts:

scurryfunge · 13/09/2010 12:54

Sofa beds can be decent quality occasional sofas too.....depends on price. Futons tend to hold their shape better as a sofa.

BudaisintheZONE · 13/09/2010 12:55

I don't think so. Ikea have a good range. Like anything it depends on what you pay really. I wouldn't go for really cheap but a mid range one. That way it should be a fairly comfy bed and a good sofa.

PS - Don't you just HATE it when they are right??!

lostFeelings · 13/09/2010 12:58

I htink a sofa bed would be good for you too
whe nyou are working from home you don't want to be forced to sit on an office chair all day

Jacaqueen · 13/09/2010 13:19

I dont have a spare room anymore since DS2 arrived and dont miss not having one.

If the children have sleepovers they want to sleep in the same room anyway. Most of our friends and relatives live nearby. The only time anyone stays is to save them from having to drive home and that usually means there has been so much alcohol involved they dont care where they sleep.

We bought a proper Aerobed which is fantastic. It usually goes in the sitting room next to the downstairs bathroom. If the guest is older than us, DH and I sleep in the airbed and give the guest our bed.

I have been looking at sofa beds for our holiday home. A decent one with a sprung matress which makes a good sofa and bed costs around £1000.

lalalonglegs · 13/09/2010 13:39

I'm considering a wall bed/desk combi like this one

lalalonglegs · 13/09/2010 13:43

This one is much better but couldn't find it right away.

lukewarmcupoftea · 13/09/2010 13:50

I inherited a sofa bed with my first flat. It was an amazingly comfy bed, and also a proper big comfy sofa (except the feather cushions were sooo heavy and took a bit of plumping). So it is possible, however, it would have been excrutiatingly expensive new.

If you don't really need it as a regular sofa, or as a regular bed, does it matter too much how good it is?

QS · 13/09/2010 14:29

You really dont want a sofa bed. You need to keep the same amount of floorspace FREE as you now use for your double bed. A daybed can be used for a nap where you can stretch out full length without faffing about with anything.

LadyBiscuit · 13/09/2010 16:22

I have an Ikea Beddinge which is not the world's most comfy sofa but when I need the room to be an office, it takes up a lot less space than a double bed. It is also a v comfy double bed should you ever decide you want the double bed back in there permanently.

lostFeelings · 13/09/2010 16:24

but that free space can be the same as they now have for an office chair or storage boxes which double up as office furniture

I guess kids would be happier to keep their own room and have a couple of storage boxes each when granny visits

ChasingSquirrels · 13/09/2010 16:26

or what about one of those single beds that have another single underneath that folds up to make a double, like this.
That way you generally only take up the single bed space, but have the option of a double if you need it.

MaamRuby · 13/09/2010 16:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

QS · 13/09/2010 22:26

Or the Hemnes daybed from Ikea, It has storage drawers underneath, and can double up as a double bed should you need it.

Original poster

muddleduck · 14/09/2010 09:08

my head hurts!

Does anyone hat the Hmenes daybed?
I can't quite get my head aournd how it works as a double...

OP posts:

QS · 14/09/2010 09:42

We have it.
You pull out the entire drawer section to form the base when it is double. The materess is folded up when it is a single, so you just flip it over. It becomes a large 1.80 double bed, as it is 90 cm wide as a single. Plenty of storage underneath for duvets, toys, whatever!

voituredepompier · 14/09/2010 09:46

Do you have room outside to park a caravan? Second hand they are quite cheap and would make a great spare bedroom. It could also be used as an office.

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