10 Easy Pieces: Grown-Up Guest Beds
I moved from New York to a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco a while back, and the list of friends that I’ve said “come and stay!” to has been growing and growing. The problem is I don’t like sleeper sofas—and while an air mattress is perfectly fine, there’s something very dorm-like about them. It’s a sad image: Our guest—a parent or sibling or best friend—standing over me with a pillow in hand as I unfurl the plastic and start up the blower. That’s not the kind of host I strive to be. Instead, I’d rather have a grown-up guest bed: a wood daybed in the corner of the room that expands into a proper bed for the night—and gets put back together in the morning. No air blower needed.
Above: Designed by Martina Bautier, Guest Bed is a convertible daybed made of solid oak. The bed slides out from a daybed into a double bed and the top mattress flips over onto the frame; €4,950 at Bautier.
Above: The Harwood Armless Storage Sofa is $1,499 from West Elm (and, bonus, it has hidden storage beneath for guest linens).
Above: The Serena & Lily Spruce Street Track Arm Sleeper Queen is currently on sale for $6,208.
Above: The Remix Night Couch is designed by Gesa Hansen, founder of the Hansen Family. It’s handmade with a solid oak frame, comes in any textile from the Hansen Family or Kvadrat lines, and folds out flat into a platform bed. Prices start at $3,190.
Above: The Stacking Modern Bed designed by German cabinet maker Rolf Heide is $1,075 for each section at Müller.
Above: The Softline Design Team’s Duet Daybed in Pumice (shown) and Fog is currently on sale for $1,756 at Design Within Reach.
Above: The ultimate in guest beds is the Donald Judd Single Day Bed 32, still available through the Judd Foundation. It comes in a range of wood options and fits a twin mattress. Price upon request.
Above: The Frohna Upholstered Daybed folds down and opens into a queen; $849.99 at Wayfair.
Above: The Room & Board Oxford Pop-Up Platform Sleeper Daybed has a lower bed that pulls out and pops up to meet the upper making the twin size daybed into a queen; $2,499 at Room & Board.
Above: The West Elm Midcentury Daybed in white is currently $1,099.
For more daybeds and sleeper sofas see our posts:
- 10 Easy Pieces: Modern Daybeds
- 10 Easy Pieces: Best Trundle Beds for Sleepovers
- The New Guard: 8 Modern Daybeds with Character
- 10 Easy Pieces: Best Trundle Beds for Sleepovers
N.B.: This post is a rerun; the original story ran on February 20, 2019 and has been updated with new prices and information.