Ultimate List of Guest Bed Ideas for Different Rooms

Whether you live in a big house or in a small house, having extra accommodation for guests is a must. If you have a very large house, you can designate a whole room to be used as a guest room, but for most people, this isn’t practical. The good news is that there are other ways to provide accommodation for your guests. Any room in your house can be used as a guest room if you choose the right kind of guest bed for that particular room. That doesn’t mean converting every room into a bedroom. The trick is, rather, choosing the right furniture to either utilize unused space or to convert into a bed for guests.

Your living room, study room or any other room in the house does not have to look like a bedroom to have a bed. You can provide a guest bed for guests even if you live in a studio apartment! In this article we’re going to go over all the different types of guest beds and ideas for creating guest accommodation in every room:

Guest bed ideas for small rooms
Guest bed ideas for rooms with high ceilings
Portable guest beds so you can use any room in the house
Guest beds you can rent
Guest beds you can hide
Guest bed ideas for kids’ rooms and sleepovers
Guest bed ideas for studio apartments

Guest Bed Ideas for Small Rooms

If you want a guest bed for a small room, there are two things to be considered before buying a bed. The first is the size of the bed and the other is the kind of accommodation the bed provides.

For a small room, you’ll obviously want a small bed that can fit in. One great option is to get a sofa bed like the one shown in the picture below. Sofa beds will fit in the smallest room, and they’re multi-purpose; when not in use as a bed, you can easily convert it into a comfortable sofa.

When a friend decides to stay overnight, you can offer him/her this super comfortable sofa bed or use it yourself while he/she sleeps in your bed.

Soft bed guest bed idea for a small room

If this sofa-bed is too small for you or if you want accommodation for at least two people, there are other options. Sofa beds come in various styles and sizes; you can choose the one that suits you best.

Below we show our suggestion for a sofa bed that fits two people. This sofa bed has no wooden or metallic frame, making it very easy to adjust. It comes with soft round pillows, which can also be used for sleeping pillows.

If you want to accommodate more than two people, going for an even bigger sofa-bed is not a practical option. This is so because a bigger sofa bed is going to take a lot of floor space. An amazing way to provide more space in a room with less floor space is to use a bunk bed with an attached trundle bed.

Yes, bunk beds do come with attached trundle beds! This creates a trundle bed/bunk bed hybrid. A bunk bed with an attached trundle like the one shown below will easily accommodate 3 people comfortably.

Bunk bed with trundle for a 3 person guest bed room

Guest Bed Ideas for Rooms with High Ceilings

One of the best options for rooms with high ceilings is to use a canopy bed. Canopy beds typically have four elongated bedposts and a frame on top. The frame is mostly hollow but some canopy beds are covered from the top by a sheet of wood or other materials forming a canopy. Here’s a guide to draping canopy beds.

Canopy beds can also be covered from the top by using a fabric of your choice. To increase privacy, you can hang curtains around the canopy beds. The reason why canopy beds are a great choice for rooms with high ceilings is because it gives a look of grandeur and increases the aesthetic value of the whole space.

While canopy beds give a feeling of grandeur from the outside, while in bed, closing the curtains gives a feeling of security and coziness. If you have space, canopy beds are a great idea for a guest because your guest will be made to feel special and at home at the same time.

Below are two types of canopy beds. The first image shows a metal canopy bed in black that gives the room a classic English look and the second is a wooden canopy bed with a house frame. The house frame gives the canopy bed a very lively look and a very modern touch to the room.

Another great bed option for rooms with high ceilings is a loft bed. This is a space-saving option perfect for smaller rooms with high ceilings. Installing a loft bed will also provide your guest with more space in case they need to get some work done, or just want to hang out in their room. Make sure you know the weight limit of your loft bed.

Another great thing about a loft bed is that when guests are not around you can use the lower portion of the loft as an office area with a desk, or as a storage area with shelves. The loft bed that we have shared below is perfect as a guest bed for rooms with high ceilings and the lower part of the loft is also suitable to be converted into a workstation. We also have a great guide on how to make loft beds look cooler.

Portable Guest Beds So You Can Use Any Room in the House

Portable guest beds are beds that are mobile so you can move them to any room in your house whenever needed. If you are looking for a portable bed you should keep the following three qualities in mind:

Guest Beds with Wheels

If there are wheels under the portable bed, it will be easy to move from place to place, allowing you the flexibility to set it up in any room in your house.

Remember that wheels alone will not help portability if you have to move the bed up or downstairs. For carrying a bed up and downstairs, it should be either compact or lightweight. An ideal portable guest bed will be the one that combines all three qualities, like the one shown below.

Compact Guest Beds

Another thing that makes a guest bed portable is its compactness. If a bed can be folded and packed in a compact manner, the bed will be very easy to carry. Some beds come with a metal structure that can easily be folded. When folded, the bed is small enough to be easily moved around. Some such beds even come with a storage bag with a handle for even more portability. You can see one such bed in the image below.

Light Weight Guest Beds

The last but not the least factor that contributes to the portability of a bed is its weight. The lighter the bed is, the easier it will be to carry. So what is it that determines the weight of the bed? Essentially it’s the mattress and the material the bed frame is made out of. But what if we could skip the weight of the bed frame altogether?

Futons, or floor beds, are one of the most lightweight options available. Most floor beds are foldable which means they can be both carried around and stored easily. Below is an image of one such floor bed that you can find on Amazon.

Folding Guest Beds for Guest Rooms That Convert Into Bedrooms

If you do not want to or cannot afford to designate a whole room as a guest room, folding beds are the best option for you. Folding beds will allow you to convert any room into a guest room instantly whenever you need it.

An ottoman bed is a very cool option for a folding bed. Ottoman beds are very compact, so when you don’t have guests, you can use the room for another purpose. When your guests come over, you simply stretch the ottoman out to form a bed. Voila! You have instantly converted your study room into a guest room.

The ottoman bed shown below can also be converted into a sofa and a recliner. This adds to the benefit of the bed.

4 in one ottoman that converts into a lounger, sofa, or bed

Another option is to have a foldable bed and a foldable mattress handy. A foldable bed can be unfolded very easily. The best is to keep a foldable mattress stored with it so that you do not have any difficulty in setting up a bed.

A great thing about simple metal foldable beds is that they cost much less than other kinds of beds and they take very little space when folded and thus can be easily stored. One such bed is shown below.

Using a full-size Murphy bed, like the one shown below, is also a great idea when it comes to having a room that can be converted into a guest bedroom. When the room is not in use by the guests, you can use it for any purpose whatsoever because the bed will be safely pinned to the wall and when guests come, all you have to do is to pull the bed down. Murphy beds tend to be expensive because they require installation, take a look at our guide on murphy bed costs, our in-depth guide to Murphy bed mattresses, frames, and bedding, 5 murphy beds for rooms with low ceilings, and our murphy bed weight capacity guide for more information. Also, make sure to learn about our top 10 Murphy bed accessories and why you need them.

Guest Beds you can Rent

If you don’t receive guests very often, one option is to rent a bed. There are many services that rent beds in good quality for use over a limited period of time. If the quality of the bed is not very good, it is likely that the rental company will charge you less money for the rental.

You can always ask the rental company about the condition of the bed and make your decision accordingly. If it is quality that matters, you can rent a bed that has not been used much. If money is the main factor, you can go for a bed that’s cheaper.

Most renting services rent portable and foldable beds like the two beds shown in the following images. This is because people rent beds for temporary use and portable beds are the best option for such use.

Foldable bed idea that can be rented for guest rooms

There are also some companies that rent regular beds and some even rent high-quality beds with beautiful headboards and aesthetic overall designs. This is a great way to give your guests the experience of a fancy bed without actually having to buy one.

Below the image of one such bed that can be rented. You can explore the extensive catalog of beds available for rent and choose the one that suits you the best.

How to choose a headboard
Do you need a mattress topper?
Do you need more storage under your guest bed? Take a look at five bed riser alternatives for some ideas.

Guest Beds you can Hide

Beds that you can hide are called Murphy beds. Sometimes Murphy beds come as a very big structure with cabinets and drawers on the side. The structure is fixed against a wall so that it looks like a huge closet. The bed can be pulled down or tucked away as needed. When pulled down, you have a full-size bed.

Some Murphy beds do not have extra shelves on the side, they just have a frame attached to the wall within which there is a bed that can be pulled down. Murphy beds come in various sizes and styles. We have shared a few examples below. Sometimes hidden beds also come in the form of furniture pieces (e.g. benches and drawer chests) that can be rolled out and transformed into beds.

Murphy beds are really the answer if you want a make-shift guest room that can also be turned into an office without any effort. Here’s a guide to how murphy beds work.

Guest Beds for Living Rooms

In order to have guest beds in the living room, the best option is to choose beds that come disguised as living room furniture.

Sofas are an essential part of the living room furniture and there are many types of convertible sofa beds. Sofa beds come in different styles. Some sofa beds are entirely made of foam and can be converted into a bed by simply flipping and pulling the back of the sofa down (similar to futons). Although the conversion of such sofa beds is easy, they do not add much to the beauty of the living room.

The living room is often the most used room of the house, therefore it is extremely important for it to be comfortable and pleasant looking. We advise you to choose a sofa bed that looks like a sofa. We have shared one such sofa bed below that converts into a super comfortable full-size bed. We bet no one will be able to believe that it converts to a bed until they actually see it happen.

Another guest bed idea for the living room is to use daybeds. The thing about daybeds is that they look appropriate both in a bedroom and a living room. This is because in day time the day beds can also be used as seats. We have shared a day bed below that is also a trundle bed. All you have to do is to pull out the trundle and you will be able to accommodate not one, but two guests.

Day bed with trundle for 2 guests in a room

Another option is a cabinet murphy bed. This bed is disguised as an attractive piece of living room furniture. When the need arrives you can simply reveal the bed hidden inside.

Classic murphy bed that fits inside a dresser

Guest Beds for Kids Rooms and Sleepovers

Kids’ rooms and sleepovers are all about having fun. That’s why it’s important to choose fun beds for these purposes! Trundle beds are a great option because kids sleep close together. Or choose bunk beds, which are always a hit with kids! We also have a great list of bunk bed accessories that make bunks comfortable for your children.

A third and better option is to combine the benefits of both trundle beds and bunk beds. You can get a bunk bed with a trundle! This option will provide all the fun with an added benefit of extra accommodation.

Here are some examples of very good trundle and bunk beds that can be used to accommodate guests in your kids’ room. Make sure you have enough space for guests and your bunk beds in the room with these guides to bunk bed frames sizes and bunk bed mattress sizes.

Bunk bed with trundle for kids room guest bed

Guest Beds for Studio Apartments

With no well-defined boundaries between rooms, the studio apartment can be a challenge to furnish. If you already have a part of the apartment that you use for your bed, you might not want to keep an extra bed in another part of the apartment, especially if the apartment is too small.

The question is how can you add a guest bed? One solution to this is to use a bed that will not look like a typical bed. If you want to keep a guest bed in the living area of the apartment, you can choose to have a daybed instead of a sofa. The benefit of using a daybed is that it will keep the living area looking like a living area because daybeds can also be used as seats.

For even more guest accommodation, choose a daybed that also has a trundle. This day bed, for example, will make any modern style apartment look amazing and also provide extra sleeping space for the guests.

Day bed with storage for compact guest rooms

Another great guest bed idea for studio apartments is to use a loft bed. This way you can use the lower part of the loaf bed during your regular days for any purpose you like. You can turn it into a desk, a reading nook or anything that you desire. Some loft beds also come with built-in sofas in the lower part of the loft. Below are some excellent loft beds suitable for studio apartments.

Loft bed with couch for a studio guest room

Compact storage bunk bed with a full size bottom bunk

And don’t forget about the ultimate guest bed of them all – the air mattress. But before you invest in one of your own, make sure you know how to inflate an air bed by reading our step-by-step guide.