You know how when you went to your Aunt Mary's house, she had a fold up bed in her spare room? A bed that had a chenille bedspread on it, and smelled like mothballs?
Fold up beds have come a long way!
Folding Crib
Today there are several types of beds that fold away, from the sofa bed that folds up into itself, to the futon bed that looks like a casual couch, to the Murphy or wall bed, which folds away into a wall when not in use. (They were originally called "Murphy" beds because they were manufactured by the Murphy Company.)
Which fold up bed that will work best for you depends on your available space and your needs. You may want to ask yourself:
1.Do you have a spare room for this bed, or will you have to place it in your living room?
2.Will your bed gets lots of use, or will it be used only a day or two each year?
3.What's your budget?
First, if you have a spare room that you'll want to use for your guest bed, you may want to consider a futon or wall bed. The advantages of a futon are that you can use it as a sofa when it's not being slept on, and they don't take up a lot of room. A wall or Murphy bed is nice, too, because it can fold up into a shallow cabinet on the wall. A Murphy bed can actually look like a bookcase or even a bar, and it can incorporate a desk or work area into its design.
Second, is your bed going to be used a lot? For example, you may have a studio apartment and the bed will be used each night. If this is the case, you'll want to consider a bed that can be opened and put away easily. In this case a futon might be the best, since it usually just takes a quick motion to flatten the couch into a bed.
Third, what's your budget? A few hundred dollars is going to point you toward a futon or maybe a sofa bed.
If you have a larger figure in mind, you may want to look at wall beds. They have changed quite a bit in the past few years! Wall beds now are available that fold into library cabinets, where the bookcases slide to the side to open the bed.
If your wall bed is going to be used in a spare room, it may need to share space with a table or desk area. Some wall beds are designed to have a sofa sit in front of them, and then fold down out of the way when the bed is opened. Even better news is the fact that a wall bed can use a traditional mattress, so it is very comfortable.
The cost for a Murphy bed can be rather expensive, and it is not unusual for prices to range 00 to 00. Futons are available for 0 to 0, and sofa beds are somewhere in between. You just need to determine which fold up bed meets your needs the best!