We ended up with a futon couch that turns into a bed. This room is also my office when I work from home so I didn’t want a bed that was out all the time with my desk. We’ve had two sets of guests that have slept on it and both said it is very comfortable.
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Our S bought a futon bed that converts to a couch for his room when he was in HS. About a decade later, he replaced it with a new futon that glides more smoothly. I have been sleeping on it for several months—it’s pretty comfortable.
It’s a double/full bed, like the one in our master bedroom. Our bedrooms are small and we don’t want them all bed!
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I would love a Murphy bed for our guest room, but can’t find one larger than queen size. A few that I thought were king size were actually called that based on British/European size names. Apparently, what we call a king bed they call a super king. Even a California king would be better than a queen size. I am reluctant to try a custom Murphy bed since I haven’t found any highly regarded carpenters near us who could build a good one. Any suggestions for a company that makes one or even an online store?
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California Closets and other custom closet makers also build Murphy beds.
ETA: a California king is the same width as a standard king bed. It is just longer so works better for tall folks.
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I had a futon in my office for a few years. We have two downstairs guest rooms and D’s family take up both of those when everyone’s visiting. That relegates S and his partner to upstairs on the futon in the office. They found the futon uncomfortable, and because we love her and don’t want her to feel like she’s not as valued as D’s family, I decided to open up the futon frame and put a regular mattress on it for them. I miss the space as my desk is now a bit cramped and I don’t have futon as sofa to sit on while thinking, but balance that out with good will from S and GF. This is at our second home–primary home is much closer to family so not an issue there.
(I have taken over bedrooms to use as my writing office in both houses!)
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@garland - we actually had an old futon bed for years that was also very comfortable. This new couch/bed was a bit expensive, but since our guests have liked it the cost was worth it.
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My nephew just got married and they registered for a Murphy Bed (and got enough contributors to get it). They own a house with only 2 bedrooms I think, and her sister used to live with them but when she moved, she took her bed with her. Now they want to use the bedroom as an office, but when they have guests they need to sleep somewhere…so the Murphy bed will be great to fold away
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Thanks, I had no idea that California Closets builds Murphy Beds. I’ll have to see if there’s one in our area.
I was under the impression that California King beds are 4 inches narrower and 4 inches longer than a regular King. If that’s correct, then the bed would still be a foot wider than a queen size and should be comfortable. S might prefer a CA king since he’s quite tall.
This could be a good option for some families. When you open it it has 2 mattresses (though they are pretty thin… probably best for kids or small adults)
@Colorado_mom - I have been sleeping on something similar to this for the past two weeks at my parents house where I have been helping out. It is ok for me to sleep in by myself, but it would not work for H (6’2") and I.
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Yea, I figured it would not work for my H and me. (We are scouting ideas for guest room at son’s new house; he mentioned American Leather sofa beds… but they look pricey). Thought I’d post it in case helpful for somebody else who might be anticipating visits from grandkids.
Well, a queen airbed from Costco adding a nice pad cover works for us when visiting the D’s.
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I agree that a good airbed works well with the right mattress topper if you don’t want something permanent.
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Aerobed a can be quite comfy and we have found a topper that we now have on every bed in our house and my kids have in their houses!
BUT think about if you have space in your given room to inflate the bed and still have room to walk around it, not block doors/closets etc assuming you don’t just have an empty room to put it I ! If the room has other furniture measure out the air mattress space - it is also no fun to have to deflate and reinflate each night if you need to use or walk around the room.
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Would you mind sharing the topper you like?
We have bought this one recently after the other one we bought several times seems to not be available - this one is very similar though and seemed almost identical when I put it on a guest room bed recently - there’s a great coupon for it right now!
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How durable are air beds? Can a king size air bed support two large adults? The couple who’d use it the most are quite tall. It would typically be used for up to seven nights per visit, twice a year.
Do you put your air bed on a platform bed frame? We couldn’t just put it on the floor, but would have to raise it up. We have a sturdy metal bed frame that only takes H about half an hour to assemble/disassemble. It can be stored in the guest room closet, but there’s no room for the regular mattress.
We want to provide a comfortable place for guests to sleep, but it sure would be nice to have more use of the room the rest of the year.
I still like the Murphy bed idea mentioned previously, but H is so fed up with the trades and techs we’ve hired in the past few years that he will only consider a DIY solution.
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We use a Costco airbed for weeks at a time. We are on the shorter/ smaller side so not sure about taller people. There are different settings. We use the soft setting. Not sure it would fit in a frame but it sits pretty high.
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I will admit, I am perfectly fine sleeping on an aerobed. If my kids were visiting and we needed to use an aerobed I would be ok with offering that. However, if a friend or relative more my age was visiting I would feel bad offering an aerobed to them. While they can be decently high, they are not like a regular bed. I would not feel I was providing a great sleeping arrangement for them. That’s just me. Surely some people would have no problem with it, but some just can’t get past feeling like they are camping! 
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Our experience is that quality of air mattresses varies greatly by brand/price. Personally I struggle sharing an air bed with my husband. I do better when I’m alone on one but even then, I’m usually more comfortable on a couch.
If you have a platform bed frame already, I’d consider an actual roll up mattress (not air mattress) with a good quality mattress topper. (If it’s just a metal bedframe with no platform or slat system, then that won’t work (for the air mattress either).
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