Small Apartment Studio Furniture

[Enrique989]

Hello Community Family,

I’m thinking of offering my small studio apartment to Airbnb. It unfurnished and I need to buy all new furniture. It has a small kitchen and bathroom and a small living space. My problem is that I could add a queen size bed or I could add a sofa bed that converts to a queen bed. What would be your suggestions? What would people prefer? Thank you. 

[Pat271]

I suppose a sofabed is the most practical, but I have to say that personally, I find sofabeds to be very uncomfortable and would prefer just a comfortable bed and a couple of chairs or small loveseat. Maybe someone here knows of a sofabed or futon or some other more recent furniture designs that are more comfortable. A comfortable bed is one of the most important, if not the most important amenity, IMO.

Exactly how big is the space?

[Marie6762]

Definitely a bed!  Folks are used to a small studio with just a bed, and I agree with @Pat271  that most sofa beds are (a) uncomfortable and (b) a hassle to set up!  Folks would be inclined to just leave it as a bed for that reason - which defeats the purpose of the sofa bed.  

Lastly, many Millenials and younger guests hang out on the bed to watch shows, etc., so unless they need a desk for work, there’s no problem there.  There are some great fold-down desk options, and perhaps even a good -quality folding chair to go with?

All that being said, I almost bought an excellent sofa-bed 3-4 years ago:  it was 3-4k then, and would have taken several weeks to arrive; company in Texas (don’t remember the name)  if you decide to go that route.

Best of luck, and keep up with the AirBnb forums as you will get lots of great suggestions and advice!

[Clara116]

@Enrique989 as an over 5 yr Airbnb superhost with a small converted (garage/spa/)Airbnb cottage now excellent idea was the queen size bed... people spend most of their time usually in that bed unless they are living there while at work too. The best investment is a good bed/mattress...if folks don't sleep well you will hear about it...if they sleep great you will for sure hear great stuff and others want to read about that. 

Use the space for a bed bed....you will be glad you did. Mine is Muse sleep. Happy hosting 

[Debra300]

@Enrique989,

We furnished all of our studio spaces with beds, and a couple of chairs for seating.  There is a higher likelihood of damage to the sofabed by guests who improperly convert or revert it.

[Chris232]

@Enrique989 

Why not use a "Murphy Bed"

I have one in the Log Cabin, (which is my preferred escape from the hassles of the world) very comfortable and is used injunction with a sofa.

Best part is that the bed is ready made and takes a few seconds to drop down and jump in

[Pat271]

Another downside of at least the traditional type of sofabed is the possibility of injury, mainly due to the mechanical moving parts on the sides. Big and little hands can get pinched in there fairly easily.

Whenever I consider an amenity for a rental, among other things, I try to consider how prone it might be breakage and/or injuring someone. Furniture, games, art objects, appliances etc. with moving parts always give me pause. Sometimes the usefulness and convenience outweigh the small chance of injury, but I will always opt for the simplest construction given two equal options.

Also on the subject of safety, injury liability is a very important reason to carry a hefty insurance policy, plus possibly an umbrella policy to supplement it. For me, it’s worth the extra expense, if only for peace of mind.

[Emilia42]

Definitely, definitely, definitely a bed. And a nice one (mattress, sheets, and pillows, that is.) In a small space, guests should be there primarily to sleep. Make that experience as comfortable as possible. 

[John5097]

Queen size bed or possibly a Murphy bed.  I had a sofa bed for the living room, to include 2 more people, but the frame was broken twice in first 6 months. Guest put the headrest up and not put it back down, then force it closed. Not an easy repair as the hinges bend and pop the rivets out. I finally had to put a strap across it so it can't be pulled out, or even couples would decide to pull it out to watch TV in the living room. I didn't even think something so simple would need instructions but guest will break anything and everything. Some won't read instructions ether so expect to go to clean up and find the sofa bed broken.

I haven't tried one, but a Murphy Bed could work well in a studio like that. Use a good mattress and it will be like a bed. It would depend on the lay out of the room. If there is room for another place to sit, I think I would prefer stowing the bed up in the daytime. 

[Anna11293]

If I were you, I would use a tool like pricebuster com website. This is where I manage to find interesting ideas for decorating my home or office.

[Huma0]

@Enrique989 

I've never used a Murphy bed type system, even though there is one in my house (stupid builders damaged it. Maybe I will revisit this at some and get it replaced but the room is big enough to house a regular bed) but I have friends who have had these in their own homes and it seemed like a great solution. 

Like anything though, it has to be idiot proof. I don't think these things are cheap to buy/install, so if you go this route, be sure that it is not something that guests find difficult to use or are likely to break easily. 

[Huma0]

@Enrique989 This might suit my interior design tastes more than mine, and I would want this to be at least a double sized bed (think it's called 'standard' in the US), but here's an example I found on Pinterest of a Murphy bed style set up, which looks quite nice.

[Petr958]

Wow. Looks awesome

[Huma0]

@Petr958 

It does look nice, doesn't it, and a clever use of a small space. The only thing is that there doesn't seem to be anywhere to sit in this particular room (maybe there is seating on the other side, I don't know), so if this was an Airbnb, guests would probably leave the bed down the whole time, which kind of defeats the purpose!

The version I have is in a much bigger room, but it incorporates a desk as well. I don't have photos of the bed when it's down, but it's two x single beds behind the bookshelves and desk, which you spin round before pulling the beds down. So you can have just one single down or both. There was a padded section that you add between the singles to make it into a king, but the stupid builders threw it out for some reason.