Murphy Bed vs Pull-out Couch

[JoC]

We're wondering what to put in our third bedroom. I've never known anyone with a murphy bed and the sleeper couches I've slept on were pretty uncomfortable with the bar. Does anybody have any advice? Thanks.

[Mikitv]

Our friends in Michigan have used a Murphy bed for a long time in their finished basement and we've slept on it a few times. It was just as good as my bed. They put the best mattress they could on it and was so much better than the old hide a bed couches and sleeper sofas. I would go with the Murphy bed.

[Barefoot]

We considered a murphy bed versus a sleeper sofa for our guest bedroom. Since we're only seasonal residents, we thought the murphy bed was too expensive.

We bought a pull-out sofa. Which was actually comfortable to sit on, but not to sleep on. So then we bought a foam pad about 8 inches thick which solved the problem.

[chuckinca]

First thing we bought was a Murphy bed for the third bedroom. It is like sleeping on a normal bed and way way better than any sofa hide-a-bed.

However, when we have guests it is usually our daughter and her family and we need four beds and, because the Murphy bed takes up the too much of the 3rd bedroom, three rooms (BR 2 , BR 3 and DR) in addition to the master where we sleep. Air Beds work great and in a pinch you can get three into a bedroom.

The air beds for $85 at Wal-mart are just as good as the $300 air beds (our daughter in Denver has one). We haven't moved furniture into our place yet as we only use it for a week or so a couple times a year; when we are by ourselves we sleep on an air bed instead of the Murphy bed, mainly because of the master bath and there isn't much difference between the Murphy bed, or any bed, and the air mattress except height. The $85 air beds are about 50% higher than the camping air mattresses and are no problem getting in or out.

If we could do it over, we would save the $2000 and not buy the Murphy bed.


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[mdain]

We also use air beds. We just store them under the bed in our guest bedroom. Very cheap and comfortable.

[beady]

I never considered a Murphy bed but I can see where it limits the use of a room. We opted for a single size sofa bed in the "office"..fits the room, great for kids. Queen size bed in the guest room and lots of air beds for more kids...grown-ups get the real bed. Works well.

[conn8757]

do you put fitted sheets on the air beds or just flat ones? just curious if the fitted sheets would stay on the bed.

[beady]

Yes the fitted sheets work just fine on the air beds. Most of the air beds blow up to be about the same thickness as a regular mattress...not the pillow top type.
:)

[Russ_Boston]

I just bought an air mattress that is 2 feet tall and has gussets(?) to hold the fitted sheet snug. Blows up with it's own built in pump and is reasonably comfortable for short hauls. Only $50 at a close out place in RI. I think keeping the 'den' as an office is the way to go unless you expect company all the time.

[Peachie]

We purchased a sleeper sofa from Southern Lifestyles which has a 3-4" air mattress with a pump that tops the mattress and can be easily inflated when company is staying with us. Gives us three separate sleeping areas in our villa which is especially nice if the grandchildren are in residence with their parents.

[MMC24]

We had a built-in Murphy bed put into our 3rd bedroom which we use as a den. It allows more flexibility for the use of the room. We have only used the Murphy bed for guests about 3 times in 2 years but it is very useful when you need it. It takes up very little wall space.

[chuckinca]

We had a built-in Murphy bed put into our 3rd bedroom which we use as a den. It allows more flexibility for the use of the room. We have only used the Murphy bed for guests about 3 times in 2 years but it is very useful when you need it. It takes up very little wall space.


Ours takes up nearly all the usable wall space.

If you put a box on a 14' long wall that is 6' long by 6'-6" high by 18" deep all that is left is 4 feet on either side of the box that can't be used for much because when the bed is down the bi-folding Murphy bed doors take up 2' of the available 4' on each side.

However, we use ours every time we are in town and may be impacted by it more. Hopefully, when we are around more and have to use it less, it will cease to be an issue.


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[chuckinca]

do you put fitted sheets on the air beds or just flat ones? just curious if the fitted sheets would stay on the bed.


We bought good quality mattress pads and use fitted sheets and they work fine.



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[Sgt Mac]

Hi JoC,
Take a look at this link it is a home for sale in the Villages that I think Maxed out the floor room and made use of the room for a hole lot of stuff
I would give them a A+ but that is up to you
the Murphy Bed in this room works great I think, let us know if that helps

take the tour and see for yourself

http://www.thevillages.com/homes/vls/detail4.asp?vls=205393

Sgt Mac

[punkpup]

I just bought an air mattress that is 2 feet tall and has gussets(?) to hold the fitted sheet snug. Blows up with it's own built in pump and is reasonably comfortable for short hauls. Only $50 at a close out place in RI. I think keeping the 'den' as an office is the way to go unless you expect company all the time.

Russ, did you find it at Ocean State Job Lot? If so do you think they have any more?

Here's a solution to those horrible sofa bed bars. www.sleeperhelper.com This one is kind of pricey @ $79 but I'm sure I've seen them for less!! Try Linens and Things as they are going out of business and may be discounting them BIGTIME!!!

[Russ_Boston]

Exactly - Ocean state job lot - They had hundreds of them. I've used it 3 times so far with good results (although you can never get it back into the original bag). The brand name is Intex and the queen size was on sale for $39 (reg. $50).

[JoC]

Thanks everybody. I knew you'd all come through. Every time I meet a new person here in TV I ask them if they know of this website. Usually they don't and I tell them they can find out anything here.

[PepperEvans]

What's nice about murphy beds is that it can save space. Very ideal for bachelor's pads or studio units.

[graciegirl]

I don't like the way Murphy beds look, at least the two that I have seen. Lazy Boy makes a good sleep sofa with a blow up top. We have one from Ikea that was used in the Inquisition. Guests never stay very long.

[djplong]

That could be an effective selling point!

[jblum8156]

I bought a daybed with trundle bed at Southern Lifestyles. Bought it with two really good twin mattresses. You can pull out the trundle and have twin beds, or put them together to make a king-size bed.

[SteveFromNY]

We have a sofa bed that is confortable for sitting but not sleeping. The mattress is an incredibly flimsy 3" thin coil that can be squeezed between your fingers like a marshmallow. We bought it as part of pur rental furniture.
Now that we are here, we started shopping for a more comfortable alternative. We looked at Murphy Beds, and thought the sideways one was a good alternative. Not so high against the wall, but of course longer along the wall. We salso saw the prices and we did not want to spend $2000 plus to buy one.
So we looked for sleepers with a quality mattress. Most places had the same one we already had, but at Kanes in Ocala (rte 200) we found sleepers with different quality mattresses. They had 3 levels of quality, the junk one, a moderate one, and one with a "temperpedic" style mattress. The temperpedic was really comfortable. Since we really liked the color of our orignal sofa, we went to Walmart and bought a 4" thick memory foam mattress topper and our old sofa bed is a good as a regular bed now.

[NJblue]

Does anyone know of an after-market air mattress designed specifically for use over the typically flimsy mattress of a pullout sofa? My wife heard about something like this but we have not been able to locate one yet.

Steve, what did the Walmart foam pad cost?

[ajbrown]

Does anyone know of an after-market air mattress designed specifically for use over the typically flimsy mattress of a pullout sofa? My wife heard about something like this but we have not been able to locate one yet.

Steve, what did the Walmart foam pad cost?

I have no direct experience with this company but found them as we were investigating, looked like a very comfortable (yet IMO pricey) solution. Their name is Air Dream.

We ended up going a different way in our den, we have 2 chairs instead of a couch and a blow up mattress in the closet for the occasional second guest.

[SteveFromNY]

Does anyone know of an after-market air mattress designed specifically for use over the typically flimsy mattress of a pullout sofa? My wife heard about something like this but we have not been able to locate one yet.

Steve, what did the Walmart foam pad cost?

For the full size, it was right about $100 for the 4" thick. At Sam's, the 2 1/2" queen was the same price.
It really made a difference, and it was around $700 less than a whole new sofa.

[JoC]

We decided to go with a Murphy Bed. We checked out several places, but liked the ones in The Villages the best. I think it really looks very nice. We got the bed (which pulls down) with a top closet on either side and drawers on one side bottom and enclosed shelves on the other. Still have a little room on both sides to the walls. We also have a daybed and an air mattress, so I guess we're ready for company. I hope they don't all come at once - 6 kids and spouses and 13 grandchildren!!

[juneroses]

Do the air beds have some type of heater that warms the air? I recall sleeping on a regular air mattress when a group visited a friend in Sarasota. Initially the air mattress seemed very comfortable but as the night wore on cold began to creep into these bones (which were a lot younger then!). I finally switched to the floor. Didn't mention the cold to anyone in our group.

The following night another of my friends chose the air mattress. The next morning she commented about how cold it became.

So, do the air beds get "cold" also?

[graciegirl]

Hey. It must be because you are from Cincinnati. I slept on an air mattress once and nearly froze to death. BUT...If you cover it with some thick bedding, some down comforters or one of those ripply foam things, it is o.k.

[Vichyssoise]

Go with the pullout couch. You can get more use out of a sofa. Can't sit on the piece of pine tacked up on the wall. Had a murphy at our other place, so we learned the hard way.