OP. I am sorry you were talked out of the murphy bed. They are pretty expensive but leave the room available for other activities. When we built we had one put in our “music” room. LOL right now we have that queen, S’s queen (the official guest room) and what we call our G’s sons room with a twin daybed that could take a trundle. So we could sleep 5 extra people tonight.
Planning to move in the next year. Some of the sofa’s have memory foam pull outs.
So this is an interesting discussion. Expensive pull out or a murphy bed in our future?
@oregon101 - I think it was the aesthetic of the Murphy bed that the designer did not like - just having that panel of wood on the wall with functionality when not open. My husband sits and reads on our sleeper sofa (as a sofa) all the time. They do make walls beds that pull down over sofas. However, our room is only about 11’8” x 11’8”, so had we gone that route, the sofa would have been too far to in the middle of the room because you have the depth of the wall bed behind the sofa. The other issue with a sleeper sofa is the need to store linens and sofa cushions. We can tuck the two back sofa cushions under the bed when pulled out but the seat cushions have to go elsewhere. This means we have to have somewhere to store them - our bed is too low to store them under (as it has two drawers built in at the foot of the bed) so I have to keep a pretty big “hole” in my closet available to stash the seat cushions when we have guests. I have been told that if one doesn’t get a super thick mattress that at least the sheets and a blanket can remain on the Murphy bed when it’s folded up. We put larger ceiling fans in when we spruced our condo up, so now that would have to be changed as we not longer have enough clearance for a wall bed to fold down. All three ceiling fans in the condo match, too.
Our sofa bed is one that has a memory foam pull out. I can’t describe how it works exactly. It folds up in thirds but has no bar. One other challenge with it? This particular type of sleeper sofa requires special fitted sheets. Small on one the head end and very wide on the foot end. Again, hard to explain.
So the trade off between sleeper and Murphy bed is having the functionality of a sofa when we don’t have guests, but the need to store sofa cushions and linens when we do. The room looks very nice with the sofa in it. We have bookcases in there, a chair for my guitar playing (or for guests) - it’s a nice little room. I just feel bad when guests come because, honestly, no matter how “nice” the sleeper sofa is, there is just a stigma associated with it - lol. With either the Murphy or the sleeper sofa, you have to leave floor space for the bed itself. If you have much at all in front of it, you have to be able to stash whatever THAT is away. We have a small, round, mirrored table that we can easily move to the side of the sleeper sofa when it’s open. Serves as a nice bedside spot. The other side has a nightstand with three drawers. I stash my guitars and music stand (folding) when guests come as well. I have two small luggage racks and leave two feet of hanging space in the closet in there for guests. No one has complained. In fact, one friend who knows that the sleeper sofa is my nemesis said, “I don’t want to tell you, but it’s really very comfortable.” Ha ha!
Sorry this got so long! Hopefully, it will help others pondering which way to go if and when they downsize but want extra sleeping space. In retrospect, I should have pushed for the Murphy bed. Dh was against it to begin with, so once the decorator weighed in that she was not in favor, I didn’t stand a chance.
We opted for a cabinet bed. When there are no spillover guests, it’s our tv room. The tv and associated equipment sits on top of the cabinet. The bed unfolds from underneath.
I have been watching this HGTV show about Airbnbs, and I never knew all the options for convertible furniture … cabinets, ottomans, chairs that fold out, etc.
The cabinet bed does sound like a great idea. I had never seen that before.
What size(s) is (are) the cabinet bed(s)?
Ours unfolds into a queen.
Here’s an example of a chair bed. I think this or an ottoman bed would be great for my nonexistent grandkid.
https://tracking.deepsearch.adlucent.com/adlucent/Redirector?retailer=potterybarn&adl_channel=productads&adl_sku=7536263&adl_adType=PLA&adl_adid=346311404061&adl_device=c&adl_plaid=611284239757&location=9028313&audienceid=pla-611284239757&url=https://www.potterybarn.com/products/luna-upholstered-twin-sleeper-sofa/?catalogId=11&sku=7536263&cm_ven=PLA&cm_cat=Google&cm_pla=Furniture%20%3E%20Sofas%20%26%20Loveseats%20%3E%20Fabric%20Sofas&cm_ite=7536263&gclid=Cj0KCQjwvdXpBRCoARIsAMJSKqIoXd_WU8IoT63GsYvSwvdVhpHNg8IMz5lzkV8gPMQC6W_dilML9msaAh2ZEALw_wcB
Here is a comfy lounger that folds flat - no removable cushions.
https://www.costco.com/Caldwell-Beautyrest-Fabric-Euro-Lounger.product.100376546.html
^I think that one is only a double BB.
In hindsight, the cabinet bed might have worked well! Of course, you can’t sit on it when it is closed up. I’m not sure I’d put anything large on top (like a TV). I’d be worried it would fall on the sleeping person!
Here’s another lounger-bed.
https://www.amazon.com/Lounger-Smaller-Furniture-Apartment-INCLUDED/dp/B00GEG37HW/ref=sr_1_15?keywords=lie+flat+lounger+bed&qid=1563829423&s=gateway&sr=8-15
@BunsenBurner have you seen the Costco piece? It would definitely work for me, but I wonder if they have it to try in the store.
Huh, now I can no loner see the one BB posted! Says, “product not found,” for me.
@oldmom4896 - our store had it! We sat on it. Comfy, and has USB charging ports on both sides for those pesky iPhones that tend to lose battery juice. 
Just checked the link. Must have sold out - Costco removes products no longer in stock from their site. It can reappear if they stock more!