Fold away bed

Although most people have standard beds in bedrooms, there are times when you may require an extra bed for short term use. Some people call these put-me-up beds and they are ideal if you have an unexpected guest who wants to stay overnight.

The advantage of a foldaway bed is that it can be used at short notice and then folded away and put back in storage. It can also be placed in any room that can accommodate it which means that you can use it as a supplementary bed in a bedroom, or even in another living area.

Types of foldaway bed

There are a number of foldaway bed options and they are all very different. The basic variations are the folding bed, the inflatable mattress bed and the futon or sofa bed.

Each of these beds folds up but in very different ways. Here is a summary.

• The standard folding bed can be opened up or folded away within a minute. When not in use it stores flat, either in a cupboard or under another bed etc.
  

  Folding beds of this type normally have steel frames although the cheaper models may be made from wood. They have their own mattress and they are usually in a single bed size format.

• The inflatable bed is actually a mattress that has its own small pump. It auto inflates and comes in single and small double bed formats. Because it can be fully deflated it will store in its own small bag and takes up only a very small amount of space.

  The inflatable bed (or air bed) rests directly on the floor and it is very much a temporary bed.

• The sofa bed and futon are a different variation of the fold up bed. These beds do fold up, but in so doing they transform into another item of furniture, either a chair or a sofa.

  The advantage of this type of fold up bed is versatility and dual use, however it cannot be folded away completely and stored when not in use.

Naturally a fold away bed does not offer the same levels of comfort and support that you would expect from a normal bed, however its purpose is very different.

Fold up beds vary greatly in price. The well designed sofa beds can be expensive, but they are also undistinguishable from ordinary sofas, so their additional purpose remains hidden. The inflatable beds can be cheap, but they are a very short term measure and do not offer high levels of comfort. The fold up or fold away beds are ideal if you have the space to store them when they are not in use. Some of these beds can be quite comfortable.