Spare room musings... Talk me through this, please

[lalasmama]

We have a fairly good sized spare room. Maybe 12x12 or 12x13? It has a queen bed in it now, and could *easily* fit a king bed in there too, with maybe 3-4 feet at the foot of the beds, if that gives a better idea of how large the room is.

Currently, the room is a playroom for DGSs several days a week, and a guest room (and everyone who has read my previous posts knows that it is clearly "too comfortable" of a guest room, apparently). The "older" (preschool-aged) grandkids sleep in there a few nights a month. The bed in there belongs to my brother, who will be getting out of prison in a few months, and will need his bed back, which leaves us a few weeks to decide what bed we'll be getting, and do something about getting it. We rarely have overnight guests that aren't our children, and our (married) children stay maybe a night a month if that. Otherwise, it's maybe my aunt a night or two a year, and maybe my sister/niece for a night or two a year.

Bed options as I'm seeing them:
(1) No bed. Not really an option, as DD won't sleep on the floor (so guest can't have her bed), and DH can't stand the fold-out couch (so guest can't have our bed), and I don't know that the fold out couch could handle my sister and my niece at the same time (one morbidly obese, the other nearly so).

(2) Blow-up air mattress on a stand. Could be a fair idea, but we have 2 kittens. I don't want to spend $60-200 on something I'm going to have to patch up 3184513548 times because of kitten nails, ya know?

(3) Another queen bed. This is what DH thinks we should do, as it preserves the "guest room" feel. While there's still plenty of play space on the floor, I feel like the bed takes up lots of prime real estate that will eventually be needed for Hot Wheels tracks as the boys continue to grow.

(4) A twin bed with a pop-up trundle. This is my vote, as it allows for maximum play space, and the bed and trundle can be used together when a larger bed is needed (ie, both DGSs, or sister/niece staying over). But DH is concerned that it's a mean thing to do for guests, that it will be uncomfortable, that it will reflect "badly" on our ability to provide adequate guest accommodations.

(5) Futon/fold out couch. Not sure of the practicality of this--too low for an aging parent or aunt/uncle to comfortably get in/out of? Too easy for the kids to use as a jump-off spot for a game of "carpet is lava?" I'm not sure if it will look "right" in the room, but not sure why, if that makes sense. But my main concern there would be guest comfort, and reality of aging guests to get in/out of it easily.

(6) ???

[Mali]

What about a Murphy bed? My parents put one in their office/guest bedroom and it works great. I'm not sure what the weight limits are(that would be the one thing I'd check first) but if it worked you could still have a fully useable room with lots of floor space and then be able to have a queen bed in there when you needed it.

Barring that, I'd go with the twin/trundle idea. Two twins is a king size bed, so for two people it would be a larger bed and there are things you can put down the middle that mitigate the feeling of the gap. The year I was RA in college, I had two twin beds pushed together and didn't notice the gap on crappy college dorm mattresses with an egg crate and mattress pad. Besides, DH and I sleep in a king bed and the vast majority of the time we're not in the middle of the bed, so I can't imagine the middle, even if there is a noticeable gap, being an issue when it's a bed someone's only sleeping in occasionally.

[jgenie]

I would go with the twin / trundle. We had that set up in our old house once DS2 was born and we moved our guest bed to the basement. It worked fine for our visitors and left tons of space to play.

[Mommy_Mea]

IKEA Hemnes daybed. It is DS2's bed, and works awesome as a guest bed. Everyone raves how comfy it is.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30080316/

[KrisM]

Murphy or the trundle beds. Tying up space for a few nights a year seems silly to me when the room is played in regularly.

[specialp]

Murphy or the trundle beds. Tying up space for a few nights a year seems silly to me when the room is played in regularly.

:yeahthat:

[SnuggleBuggles]

Day bed or futon as it'll be mostly like a couch and then able to be a bed of needed.
And you know my thoughts on your family's tendency to keep the door open to guests. ;) I wouldn't be setting my house up for guests.

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[DualvansMommy]

Murphy or the trundle beds. Tying up space for a few nights a year seems silly to me when the room is played in regularly.

I would do that too. Will go through that next year when we move DS2 into the bigger guest room and convert his existing smaller bedroom as occasional guest room/every day office. Also, we have guests less often than you do; only 3-6 x a year for our various friends and my out of country mum.


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[123LuckyMom]

I'd definitely go for a queen size Murphy bed! My aunt has one that we sleep on when we visit, and it's just a regular bed. It's equally as comfortable, and it's very easy to flip up during the day, which is nice even for guests. Heavy folks using it shouldn't be a problem, either. I really wanted to do one in my guest room/office, but I didn't have a wall without windows that could accommodate a Murphy bed. I'm still trying to figure out how I could manage one.

If that's not an option, I'd go for a twin and trundle. I like to have a queen in the guest room, though, for couple visitors, but it sounds like you're not expecting couples to visit. An air mattress won't be comfortable for two large people to share. If one turns over or gets up, the other will feel a significant shift.


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[gymnbomb]

We currently have a full sized be (so doable but tight for when parents visit) in our guest room. This summer we will need 2 places for guests (my parents + my grandfather are coming) and soon the double bed will become DS's bed, so we will transition our guest room anyway. Which means we are also looking for new guest bed right now. Our room is smaller than yours and currently has a futon in it, but it is very uncomfortable and DH says it is tippy when you sit on the edge, so not an option for 90 year old grandpa.

We are most likely going with the IKEA BRIMNES day bed/trundle. I like the look of the HEMNES better, but the high sides won't work that well in the space we have when it is pulled out. So we are going for the low/no sides version. We will keep it as a twin most of the time, and only pull it out when we need 2 people to sleep on it. As a twin there is space to move around easily in the room, as a king it will be a tight fit but I think that is fine. People who are in there when it is a king will really just be sleeping and getting dressed in there.

We hadn't considered the Murphy bed option, so I am going to go research those now before we buy the day bed later this week :)

Edit: Our guest room currently gets slept in between 4-6 weeks per year on average, and with both sets of our parents living far away and retiring within the next couple of years I anticipate this will increase. So I do want something that will be comfortable! My Mom visits a couple of times a year, usually for 2+ weeks at a time, in addition to visits from other people.

[KpbS]

Honestly, I would get two sleeping bags for the nephews and an inflatable mattress that is just for your DD on the occasion she will give her bed up for a guest. Keep the sleeping bags in the closet, the inflatable mattress high on closet shelf (away from the cat) and keep the room ready to play in for young people. As kids get older, their toys get bigger and take up more space. I would keep all of the toys in this room and have it be a kid playroom/hangout room. No longterm guests need apply!! ;) But seriously, furniture and mattresses are expensive (including murphy beds!) and I wouldn't invest in anything right now when you can easy have the grandkids over for sleepovers with just sleeping bags. Easy, affordable.

[Globetrotter]

I vote for a queen size Murphy bed! I think you have the ideal situation for that.

[bisous]

Murphy or the trundle beds. Tying up space for a few nights a year seems silly to me when the room is played in regularly.

Agree! I think twin trundles work well for guests. My dad had one growing up and it was great because it was very flexible. And because they are real beds they are comfortable.

[nfceagles]

My mom has a twin day bed with pop up trundle and I love it. For couples, it's the size of a king. As someone who sleeps in a king regularly, a king when we travel is huge bonus. My kids actually usually sleep in that room when we visit. When they were littler we could keep one low to the ground and put a rail on the upper. And as they get older we separate the twins which is nice when you have older kids of different genders.

[bisous]

Also, with a twin and trundle it can be set up like a day bed and those are nice to relax and play on. :)

[abh5e8]

Have dd sleep on the pullout couch and guests use her bed. Buy her a nicer mattress.

Boys use sleeping bags. Grown kids can use air mattress on floor. Shut the door to keep cats out. Boys can use the mattresses when older.

My mom has a Murphy bed in her office and it is great, but they are expensive.

I would go with the least expensive option, and see how it goes. You can always add a bed later. 12x13 is not really big enough for a bed and a play room and the boys will be there way more then any over night guests.

[lalasmama]

Day bed or futon as it'll be mostly like a couch and then able to be a bed of needed.
And you know my thoughts on your family's tendency to keep the door open to guests. ;) I wouldn't be setting my house up for guests.


Oh, believe me, that's why I'm trying to avoid getting a queen bed in there! LOL! Holy cow, I don't want our house to be comfortable for guests any more! I'm seriously giving thoughts to getting rid of "guest towels" too, just to make it clear that we aren't a long term bed-and-breakfast... I may not even let people know that there's a trundle in there!


My mom has a twin day bed with pop up trundle and I love it. For couples, it's the size of a king. As someone who sleeps in a king regularly, a king when we travel is huge bonus. My kids actually usually sleep in that room when we visit. When they were littler we could keep one low to the ground and put a rail on the upper. And as they get older we separate the twins which is nice when you have older kids of different genders.

I really am thinking the trundle option may be the best... having the high/low options could come in really handy in the future as they grow.

DH was concerned about the break between the mattresses in the middle. Then we discussed that no one will likely be in the middle of the bed when the trundle is up, as it's not like anyone's going to be gettin' it on in our guest room. Especially if it means they will fall into the crevasse between the beds ;)


Have dd sleep on the pullout couch and guests use her bed. Buy her a nicer mattress.

Boys use sleeping bags. Grown kids can use air mattress on floor. Shut the door to keep cats out. Boys can use the mattresses when older.

My mom has a Murphy bed in her office and it is great, but they are expensive.

I would go with the least expensive option, and see how it goes. You can always add a bed later. 12x13 is not really big enough for a bed and a play room and the boys will be there way more then any over night guests.

Unfortunately, DD will (literally) refuse to sleep anywhere that's near anyone else. It's seriously a PITA--if she thinks someone else *may* potentially be up, she will stay up until she can assure herself that she's the "last man standing," and then will consider sleeping... We have to get connecting rooms at hotels now because she won't sleep otherwise :-/ So, having her sleep on the pull out couch means she won't sleep until the adults are asleep for several hours, and then will wake up at an adult's first stirring, even if that means at 4am trip to the bathroom. I swear "Go the F*** to Sleep" was written by someone looking in our windows at night, LOL!

After talking about it more with DH, we've decided to do the Hemnes (sp?) daybed w/ trundle at Ikea... He'd like to get a "real" mattress for it, but I've talked him into waiting until we've tested in out in the showroom to think about mattresses.

Thanks all for talking me (us!) through this decision... and confirming that I was probably heading on the right solution!

[Globetrotter]

I always thought a trundle meant one person sleeps at a lower level! I didn't know some pop up to the same level. Good to know!!

[Mommy_Mea]

DH was concerned about the break between the mattresses in the middle. Then we discussed that no one will likely be in the middle of the bed when the trundle is up, as it's not like anyone's going to be gettin' it on in our guest room. Especially if it means they will fall into the crevasse between the beds ;)

I was concerned about this as well, and I think I might even posted about it here. But with the Hemnes, it has never been an issue. We use two of the thin IKEA mattresses, and even without a thick mattress pad, no one has even noticed the break between the mattresses. Not sure how well it works with a more traditional pop-up trundle though...

[gymnbomb]

I always thought a trundle meant one person sleeps at a lower level! I didn't know some pop up to the same level. Good to know!!

The IKEA ones I have looked at (Hemnes and Brimnes) do not even pop up -- they just pull out at the same level as the original bed. When used as a twin/couch you stack the 2 foam mattresses on top of each other, then when you pull it out you lay the mattresses side by side. And they have 2-3 big drawers underneath. It's actually a pretty cool design.