Decor

Build-A-Bed

This may just look like an Ikea daybed, but oh, it is so much more. 

Remember how my friend Morgan has this magical ability to put together the actual, for-real, zero-exaggeration most comfortable bed in the world? Like, the kind of bed that I want to fall onto and then stay there forever and always because nothing has ever felt that good, ever? And remember how sometimes my children nevertheless come up with diabolical plans to stop me from sleeping anyway?

SHE DID IT AGAIN.

Morgan recently moved and did some moving-related redecorating, and in the process she switched up the guest-bed situation. I was a little distraught about this, because excuse me that is why I visit so often (well, that and the fact that she agrees with me that it’s totally fine to let the kids use a mattress to sled down the staircase so long as it keeps them entertained enough that we can attend to important matters like wine-drinking and Bachelor-watching). But then she told me that the reason why the guest bed isn’t the same as it was before…is because it’s better.

BETTER. Somebody pass me a palm frond; I feel faint (or rather sleepy).

So I got her to give me the names of the specific products she used, so that I could then pass them on to you. (And also so that I can recreate this entire thing in Goldie’s room as soon as I have a little extra cash laying around, because I love the idea of having one bed that functions both for her and for guests, as opposed to a toddler bed she’s going to grow out of in five seconds and a hideous futon that I have to keep covered with blankets because the dogs will not stop digging in it. I also love the idea that when I accidentally fall asleep in my daughter’s room, it will not be in a three-foot-long bed that forces me to do a horrible Exorcist-style thing with my neck if I want to be able to fit.)

how to create a comfortable and inexpensive guest room

See that thing on top of the mattress? That is memory foam, and it is MY FAVORITE. 

Morgan’s (Not So) Secret Recipe For The Perfect Guest Bed

  1. Start with the Ikea Hemnes Day Bed. It appears much more expensive than it actually is ($329), and I like how clean-slate it is – you can stick with a minimal, all-white look or add colorful throws and quilts; whatever suits your taste. It’s a twin bed, but pulls out into a king, so it’s a perfect solution if your guest room also happens to be a child’s room.
  2. Add a three-inch memory foam mattress pad on top (you won’t be able to leave the mattress topper on the bed when it’s folded up, but omgggg it’s worth the effort, trust me).
  3. Finish with Martha Stewart Sateen Sheets and a Sherpa Reversible Throw.

And then the last step is that you sleep forever and ever. Unless you have children sleeping on either side of you (or, more precisely, parked on top of your face), as I do whenever I visit, in which case you won’t sleep at all. But you’ll be extremely comfortable while not-sleeping, so that’s something, anyway.

how to create a comfortable and inexpensive guest room

The aftermath. 

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