7 Amazing Slide-Away Bed Ideas And How To Use Them

A comfortable bed is an essential piece of furniture, but it usually takes up lots of space, making it hard to use or decorate the rest of your bedroom, especially if you live in a small apartment or a house with small rooms. You can, however, open up floor space and make your room spacious by using a slide-away bed. There are many slide-away bed ideas you can implement in your interior decor and so we will take a look at some of the best options to help you better understand how these beds work and which one is right for you.

Slide-away bed ideas for a small room include a daybed or trundle daybed, a slide-away platform bed, a Murphy bed, a sofa chair bed, and a trundle sofa bed in a guest room. Use a slide-away bed to free up limited floor space in a studio apartment, child’s room, and guest bedroom that doubles as home office space.

Slide-away beds can easily be hidden when they are not in use. This allows you to have some extra floor space during the day and makes your room feel bigger. Our article about slide-away bed mechanisms is a handy resource to help you learn more about these space-saving beds.

Slide-away bed ideas like this are a great way of keeping an extra bed that can easily be hidden when not in use.

How To Hide A Bed In The Living Room

If your living room is also used as a bedroom and you don’t have enough space for a full-size bed, you should consider purchasing a slide-away bed. Slide-away beds are suitable for small living rooms because they can easily be hidden when not in use. This helps you to maximize your living room floor space during the day. And your guests may not even notice that there is a bed hidden in the living room.

To hide a bed in the living room use a trundle daybed, a slide-away platform bed, a trundle sofa, a sofa bed, a sofa chair bed, or a Murphy bed.

Trundle Daybed

If you live in a studio apartment—or your living room doubles as a bedroom—consider getting a trundle daybed instead of a regular bed. A trundle daybed is a 2-in-1 piece of furniture that saves ample floor space.

While the daybed on top allows you to take a nap or relax during the day, you have an additional bed hidden underneath for extra sleeping space at night. If you are not sure whether a trundle bed would be the right choice for you, read our trundle bed pros and cons guide with some tips and tricks to get the most out of your bed.

This trundle day bed is a great slide-away bed idea for a living room that is also used as a guest room.

Regular Daybed

If you use your living room as a bedroom and need to free up floor space, consider purchasing a regular daybed with a single sleeping surface. Regular daybeds are great if you’re on a budget because they typically cost less than a trundle daybed. You can add a few throw pillows so that your living room doesn’t look like a bedroom during the day.

While you might think that daybeds are solely for naps and not for everyday use, that’s not the case. This daybed is a regular single bed with a frame on 3 sides. As long as you use the right mattress or mattress topper, your daybed will work wonderfully as a regular bed. If you want to learn more about mattress toppers then read our mattress topper guide.

The benefit of a standard daybed like this one in your studio apartment or small living room, is that it looks like a stylish couch and allows you to match it with the overall aesthetics of your living room.

This sturdy daybed looks like a stylish couch and can be decorated to match the aesthetics of your living room.

Trundle Sofa

A trundle sofa like this is another alternative to regular trundle beds or daybeds. When the lower slide-away bed is not in use and hidden, it looks like a regular sofa. That makes this type of slide-away bed ideal for studio apartments and tiny living rooms.

A big benefit of a trundle sofa is that it can accommodate up to 2 sleepers. The only issue is that the upper sofa part of the bed might not always be as comfortable as the lower bed that slides in and out. However, you can always add a suitable mattress topper like this.

This trundle sofa is a great slide-away bed idea for a sofa that doubles as a bed in your living room.

Sofa Bed

If you are looking for a hidden bed for your studio apartment or living room, a sofa bed like this should definitely be on your list. Sofa beds are aesthetically pleasing and can be integrated into your overall living room design. They are also affordable and easy to use.

Whenever you want to take a nap or go to sleep, you can just remove sofa cushions and pull the front of the frame up and out. While some sleeper sofas come with a built-in mattress, others only include a metal bed frame. In this case, you just put the sofa cushions on top. However, sofa cushions are not designed for comfort throughout the night, so consider adding a mattress topper for sufficient support while sleeping. If you need help selecting the right type of mattress topper for a sofa bed then our article is just for you.

Sofa beds are aesthetically pleasing and can be integrated into your overall living room design.

Slide-Away Platform Bed

If you want to use a platform bed in your studio apartment or living room, but don’t have enough floor space, consider installing a slide-away bed under a platform floor. While this trick allows you to hide the bed when not in use, it is also visually pleasing.

You can put a sofa or other pieces of furniture on the upper platform surface, while the slide-away platform bed is hidden underneath. If building a platform floor seems a bit challenging, our step-by-step guide on how to turn a platform bed into a Murphy bed could prove to be quite helpful. This is another way to hide your platform bed in a small living room.

A platform bed is a visually pleasing slide-away bed idea for a living room that is also used as a bedroom.

Murphy Bed

A Murphy bed like this, also referred to as a wall bed, fold-down bed, or pull-down bed, is a slide-away bed that can be stored vertically against the wall. While Murphy beds are ideal for small bedrooms, they are also perfect for studio apartments and tiny living rooms. By simply folding up against the wall, you can conceal the bed and free up floor space in a few seconds.

What makes Murphy beds so popular is that they can be folded into closets, cabinets, TV sets, and more, so incorporating a wall bed in your living room design is a straightforward job. Before purchasing a Murphy bed, explore these 15 Murphy bed ideas for studio apartments, campers, and RVs. Be mindful of these safety tips as discussed by Stuart David Furniture, if you are planning to install a Murphy bed.

A Murphy bed can easily be concealed to free up floor space.

Sofa Chair Bed

If your studio apartment or living room is not large enough to accommodate a trundle day bed or sofa bed, consider a sofa chair bed instead. You can even purchase a couple of armchair beds so that you get extra seats and sleeping space at the same time.

A tri-fold sofa chair bed is a convertible sofa that functions as a regular armchair and a single bed, an ideal bed option for small living rooms. This sofa chair bed can be unfolded in a couple of ways, making them comfortable while sleeping or resting. For extra support for different areas of your body, consider adding a mattress topper like this once the chair bed is unfolded. This will ensure that you get a comfortable night’s sleep.

A tri-fold sofa chair bed can be used as a chair and unfolds into a single bed.

The Versatility Of A Pull-Out Bed Under A Platform Floor

Whether you live in a studio apartment or have a relatively small bedroom, using a platform floor to hide the bed underneath is an ideal option. This allows you to save some floor space when the bed is not in use. While the area can be used for an array of activities, this will also make the room look much more spacious.

The versatility of a pull-out bed under a platform floor is noteworthy but it requires a bit of design and planning. It is a great way to save floor space and make a room feel larger. The platform space can be used for a variety of purposes, including office space and a play area for kids.

Use a Pull-Out Bed Under a Platform Floor For A Convertible Office Space

To convert your desk/office area into bedroom space, you could build a platform floor and hide a pull-out bed underneath. This is an excellent way to make the room serve as a bedroom and a home office at the same time.

When the pull-out bed is not in use, it will not be noticeable. The room will look like a regular home office. Whenever you pull the beds out, the area will be converted into a cozy bedroom. This article shares the list of materials you will need to build a pull-out bed under a platform floor.

Using a pull-out bed under a platform allows you to convert an office space like this into a cozy bedroom.

Hide a Pull-Out Bed Under a Platform in A Kids’ Room For More Play Space

While pull-out beds offer a variety of perks in small apartments and bedrooms, they are especially useful when it comes to a kids’ room. Children need plenty of space to play and have fun during the day. Having enough space ensures that your children are involved in various fun activities essential for their development. It is also important to consider how safe a child’s room is generally as explained in this article from Make Safe Happen (a website by the Nationwide Children’s Hospital).

These pull-out beds can be pushed back under the platform to leave plenty of space for kids to play.

Install a Hidden Pull-Out Bed Under the Stairs

One of the best ways to utilize the extra space under your stairs is to install a pull-out bed. While building a hidden bed under the platform floor gives you additional space to accommodate your guests, the structure also makes the area look more aesthetically pleasing. You can put cabinets above the pull-out bed as well to fill in any extra space.

Installing a pull-out bed like this is a great way to utilize extra space under your staircase.

Guest Bed Ideas For Small Spaces

Although some people prefer using full-size beds in guest rooms, others want to maximize space and use slide-away beds instead. These beds not only make the guest room look larger but also give you plenty of free floor space when they are not being used.

A slide-away bed is a great choice for a small guest room. A trundle or slide-away bed can also be placed in the living room tucked out of the way until it is needed as a guest bed.

Trundle Bed In A Guest Room

If you want your guest room to look more like a regular bedroom but still sleep two people, consider a trundle bed. This is great if your guests are staying over frequently because it’s easy to slide in and out. By using a trundle bed like this you can easily accommodate two people without wasting floor space by adding a separate bed to the room.

A trundle bed like this is a great slide-away bed idea to create sleep space for two people while only taking up the space of one bed.

Slide-Away Hidden Guest Bed

You can also use a slide-away bed in your guest room to maximize floor space when the bed is not in use. Slide-away beds like these are ideal for those who want to accommodate guests in a living room.

A slide-away bed can easily be hidden under the platform floor or folded up against the wall. In this way, the bed occupies your floor space only when it is being used by the guests. If you want to use a Murphy bed like this in a guest room that will also be used as a playroom for kids, check out our article that discusses Murphy bed child safety tips.

A slide-away bed like this can easily be hidden under a platform or cupboard to save space, when it is not in use.

Slide-Away Bed Ideas

Slide-Away Bed Design	Purpose & Use	Example Product
Living Room Trundle Daybed	A living room trundle daybed serves as a daybed during the day and a trundle bed at night. It can accommodate up to two sleepers at a time.	Upholstered Daybed and Trundle, Sofa Bed Fits Twin Size Mattress of 6-Inches
Living Room Daybed	A living room daybed is a budget-friendly alternative to trundle daybeds. This type of bed is useful for single sleepers.	Novogratz Brittany Upholstered Bed Daybed, Twin
Living Room Trundle Sofa	A living room trundle sofa is an excellent option that adds aesthetic value to a room while saving floor space. The bed can accommodate two people.	Baxton Studio Trundle Sofa, Queen, Light blue
Living Room Sofa Bed	A living room convertible sofa bed can be transformed into a bed in a studio apartment and living room that doubles as a bedroom.	DynastyMattress 4-inch Cool Gel Memory Foam Mattress for Convertible Sofa
Living Room Platform Bed	You can hide a platform bed under a platform floor in your living room. This creates an elevated area for your couch or TV set while having a sleeping space hidden during the day.	These are usually custom built
Living Room Murphy Bed	A Murphy bed is a bed that can be folded up against the wall when not in use. The wall bed saves floor space and you just fold it out whenever you need to use it.	Mounting Wall Bed Spring Mechanism Heavy Duty Bed Support Hardware Kit
Living Room Sofa Chair Bed	A tri-fold sofa chair bed is an armchair and single bed in one. It could be very handy in a studio apartment or living room.	Sofa Bed, Convertible Chair Bed Multi-Function Sleeper Chair
Office Space Bed Under a Platform	An office space bed under a platform is an optimal solution for those who use their bedrooms as a home office. You can hide the bed under the platform floor during the day and pull it out at night.	These are usually custom built
Kids’ Room Bed Under a Platform	A kid’s room bed under a platform floor gives your children extra space to be involved in an array of fun activities Space above the platform floor can be used for storing toys or adding a desk for kids to study.	These are usually custom built
Hidden Pull-Out Bed Under the Stairs	A pull-out bed under the stairs can make the area look more aesthetically pleasing while adding an extra sleeping area. This bed is suitable for everyday use and guests.	These are usually custom built
Guest Room Trundle Bed	A trundle bed makes a guest room look like a regular bedroom. The bed can accommodate up to two people and saves floor space when you have a single guest staying over.	Merax Solid Wood Twin Size Platform Bed Frame
Hidden Platform Guest Bed	A hidden platform guest bed is ideal for those who do not have a separate guest room as it can be installed in a living room without taking up any floor space.	These are usually custom built

Key Takeaways

Optimized Space Utilization

Slide-away beds are a boon for those residing in small apartments or houses with limited space. They are designed to be tucked away when not in use, thereby freeing up floor space which can be repurposed for other activities during the day. This feature is particularly beneficial in multi-functional spaces like a living room that doubles as a bedroom, or a child’s room which also serves as a play area.

Variety and Versatility

The market is rich with a variety of slide-away bed designs catering to different needs and room setups. Whether it’s a trundle daybed, a sofa bed, a Murphy bed, or a slide-away platform bed, each design brings a unique flavor of versatility to the room, all the while ensuring that the aesthetic appeal of the space is not compromised.

Guest Accommodation

For homes that frequently host guests, slide-away beds are a perfect choice. They can be pulled out to accommodate the guests and tucked away post their departure, reverting the room back to its original setup. The ease of transitioning between the two setups makes slide-away beds a convenient choice for guest accommodation.

Enhanced Aesthetics

Apart from being functional, slide-away beds contribute to the aesthetic appeal of a room. Especially designs like the Murphy bed or beds hidden under a platform or staircase, which when tucked away, blend seamlessly with the room decor, making the space look organized and clutter-free.

Cost Efficiency

Slide-away beds are often more affordable compared to traditional bed setups. Additionally, they offer the benefit of reducing the need for extra furniture or room expansions to accommodate sleeping arrangements, thereby presenting a cost-effective solution for space management in small living conditions.

Easy Transition and Usability

The ease of transition between a seating area and a sleeping area with minimal effort makes slide-away beds a practical choice. The user-friendly mechanism of most slide-away beds ensures that the transition can be done by anyone, adding to the usability factor of these beds.

Enhanced Comfort with Additional Accessories

While some slide-away beds come with built-in mattresses, others can be paired with comfortable mattress toppers to enhance the sleeping experience. The option to customize the comfort level makes slide-away beds a preferred choice for many.