How to choose the best guest beds and mattresses for your spare room.
You have guests staying over and you’ve all had a wonderful evening. It’s time to get some sleep, but what options do your guests have? An airbed on the floor or a fold-out sofa bed? A spacious spare bedroom with a comfortable double bed, or a triple bunk bed that’s big enough for three?
If you regularly have family or friends staying with you, here are some helpful tips on how to make sure everyone has a comfortable night’s sleep.
A guest bed can be anything from a cosy single, a spacious double bed, or a pull-out sofa bed. They come in all different styles and sizes, and any bed can become a guest bed with the right additions.
If your guest bedroom isn’t always in use to accommodate relatives or friends staying over, a temporary arrangement means that you can use the room for various activities. If, however, you have a guest bedroom that’s permanently dedicated to providing your visitors with somewhere to sleep, you can choose a more permanent option such as a divan bed.
Before you start looking for a guest bed, it's important to consider your budget. Generally, there's no need to spend as much on your guest mattress as you would your own. Since it will be slept on less frequently, it won't deteriorate at the same rate as your mattress would. Of course, if you plan to have guests staying over often, you might consider choosing a more long-wearing mattress.
A standard mattress needs to be replaced at least every eight years because of how much it's used. Guest mattresses, however, can last almost double that if they're used infrequently. Consider that choosing a lower-quality mattress for your spare room will require you to replace it sooner than opting for a high-quality one.
So, while you might spend more initially, choosing a good quality style would mean that you would need to replace it much later and save money in the long run. Ultimately, how much you spend depends on how frequently you plan to have guests over and how often you would need to replace it. You can choose a budget mattress for under £300, however, that still offers great quality and doesn't break the bank.
Beds for guest rooms come in all shapes and sizes, from simple folding beds to divans. The type of bed you choose will depend on a lot of factors.
Divan beds are ideal if your guest bedroom is used frequently by family and friends. The divan drawers give you additional space to store bedding and other objects that you may keep in the spare room. You can fit any kind of mattress onto a divan bed (as long as it’s the correct size), and they last for years.
We provide divan bed and mattress sets, too, so you can complete your guest room in one hit with a complete bed set up.
Folding beds, also known as ‘Z-beds’, come in all shapes and sizes. They’re strong and comfortable, and they can be folded away and stored. Therefore, the guest room can revert to its original use when your guests go home.
Our range of Jay-Be folding beds are some of the most popular folding beds on the market and can be used for hosting guests in a hurry or even for camping trips. They're incredibly versatile and comfortable, with some styles even having a fold-out headboard!
If space is at a premium, then buying a sofa bed can be a great option. You don’t have to buy a mattress to fit a sofa bed either. The cushions or foam construction create an instant mattress to sleep on.
Once your guests go home, it instantly folds back up and can be used as a sofa again. This makes it an ideal choice if you have a small apartment but still want to provide a comfortable night’s sleep for your guests.
Guest bedrooms tend to be smaller than an average bedroom and beds tend to be the largest piece of furniture. If you're limited in space in your guest room or need a guest bed to easily pop up in your living room, there are plenty of options available to suit you.
You’ll need to consider a few factors when choosing the right mattress and bed for your guest room.
Guest mattresses, as we’ve already mentioned, should fall into the medium category of firmness so that they suit almost any sleeper.
However, there are different options when it comes to the type of mattress available, including memory foam mattresses, hybrid mattresses, and pocketed spring mattresses.
The Silentnight 2000 Mirapocket Luxury Mattress is a top-quality medium-firm mattress that offers exceptional luxury and comfort.
One of our best-selling mattresses, the SleepSoul Wish 3000 Series Pocket Cool Gel Mattress is a premium quality hybrid mattress at a budget price. On top of the spring core are layers of memory foam and a generous CoolGel foam layer. This creates a cooler, more comfortable sleeping environment.
The Coolflex ProAdapt™ Memory Foam Mattress is a medium firmness mattress with two incredible types of memory foam to support your guests' entire body. It also has a removable, breathable cover that can easily be machine washed between stays. It's also hypoallergenic, which not only helps if your guests are prone to allergies, but prevents the build-up of bacteria more generally for a cleaner sleeping environment.
Not sure which of these incredible mattresses is right for you? Our product experts have put together plenty of helpful guides to advise you on your purchase. For example, why not check out our favourite memory foam mattresses if you're particularly looking for a 'sink in' feeling as you get into bed. You can also read our Mattress Buying Guide for helpful tips and tricks for choosing a new mattress.
For help making your guest room as fancy as possible, read our post on 7 Hidden Secrets To Make Your Bed Feel Like A 5-star Hotel, which includes 7 tips on making your guest room hotel-worthy.