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Spare room bed - murphy, trundle, or sofabed?

18 replies

sqpeo · 20/07/2025 22:13

We are in a two bed flat. One bedroom for us and the other is an office. We don’t have space for a double bed out constantly in the office.

  1. Murphy Bed
  2. Trundle bed/day bed
  3. Sofabed
OP posts:
TheInvisibleWorm · 20/07/2025 22:25

No idea what a Murphy bed is.

Sofabeds are often a good choice as they're usable both ways round. Futons work particularly well I think - they tend to be less likely to have weird creases in uncomfortable places when sleeping.

Daisy03 · 20/07/2025 22:27

Ikea day beds are great, and the storage drawers underneath are really useful

AnOldCynic · 20/07/2025 22:29

If you can afford it a well designed Murphy bed would be the way I’d go.

thetooththewholetooth · 20/07/2025 22:36

We were looking at Murphy beds, but the fact that they need attached to the wall put us off.

tougholdbirdy · 20/07/2025 23:18

I lived in a studio flat and had a Murphy bed. It was great , but it did cause the carpet to crease up. But I’m sure with occasional use it wouldn't be an issue .

Zonder · 20/07/2025 23:19

TheInvisibleWorm · 20/07/2025 22:25

No idea what a Murphy bed is.

Sofabeds are often a good choice as they're usable both ways round. Futons work particularly well I think - they tend to be less likely to have weird creases in uncomfortable places when sleeping.

I was going to say anything but a sofa bed. In my experience they're neither comfortable as a sofa nor as a bed.

Isitreallysohard · 20/07/2025 23:19

sqpeo · 20/07/2025 22:13

We are in a two bed flat. One bedroom for us and the other is an office. We don’t have space for a double bed out constantly in the office.

  1. Murphy Bed
  2. Trundle bed/day bed
  3. Sofabed

Murphy all the way if you can afford it

lostinthesunshine · 20/07/2025 23:27

We just got a “click clack” sofa bed for the study a few weeks ago.

I agonised about what to get for iced a year because I wanted it to be a really comfy bed, but also look smart as a sofa. In the end I thought the one we chose was a big compromise because I didn’t think it would be so comfy as a bed.

However, I unexpectedly ended up sleeping on it for a week while DH had flu and it is SO comfy! I nearly didn’t want to move back to my own bed 😅I think the trick was to use a deep mattress topper on it so you don’t feel the fold.

Stumblingalongthroughlife · 20/07/2025 23:32

Agree that IKEA day beds are great! Proper mattress so comfortable as a bed, but they look quite nice in a room that's not primarily a bedroom too. And the massive storage drawers are a godsend too

spotddog · 20/07/2025 23:34

A well made and fitted Murphy bed (wall bed). They need to be properly made and fitted for safety. It stores bedding in made up bed and always ready for use.

Only sofa bed I found comfortable was a full length that back and seat opened to form a bed. There was nowhere to store bedding and you needed to buy a decent one. It also took up space.

parietal · 21/07/2025 09:19

How often do you have guests? Two people or one?

Paaseitjes · 21/07/2025 10:15

Depends how big the room is. We considered a murphy bed because sofa beds are uncomfortable and there wasn't any more room for a sofa than a bed. It just took up too much space and made the room too inflexible. In the end, we bought a full size tall electric air bed which has been brilliant. It was about £50, so even if it gets a puncture we can buy 10 before it costs the same as a half-decent folding bed. It's already been used at least 5 times and is still going strong and is much more comfortable than any sofabed I've slept on. Plus you can take it if you go to visit someone so you can avoid other people's terrible guest beds!

ForestFlowerFairy · 21/07/2025 10:21

We have this in our son's old box room.
Perfect for when guests come but all other times my daughter can use the room as a place to study.
We went for this one because many fold down with a huge gap between the wall and the bed, whereas this one pivots in a bit, when the beds pulled down we can still walk around.
You also don't need to remove things from the desk when you pull it down, it has a limit on mattress depth but we got a nice mattress from IKEA
https://www.wallbeds.co.uk/solutions/wallbeds-king-double-size/happy-table-double-wall-bed-system/

Happy Table Double Wall Bed System

This Desk Bed / Table Bed allows you to easily transform your sleeping area to a working study and vice versa whilst leaving all of your belongings on the desk.

https://www.wallbeds.co.uk/solutions/wallbeds-king-double-size/happy-table-double-wall-bed-system/

TheInvisibleWorm · 21/07/2025 13:26

Zonder · 20/07/2025 23:19

I was going to say anything but a sofa bed. In my experience they're neither comfortable as a sofa nor as a bed.

They're hugely variable for sure. Like I said, futons can work really well.

Twilightstarbright · 21/07/2025 13:50

We have an ikea daybed in our office/spare room hybrid space. I sleep on it as a single if I’m awake in the middle of the night to avoid disturbing DH but we extend it out for guests into a king.

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