Yeah, I have a bad back and can't do a sofa bed.

I agree with you. I don't think it makes sense to dedicate an entire space in a home for the rare occasion someone is going to come visit. I think it is great if it is your preference and it is great if you have the space, but if things make sense to have it function better for your family I think that is best.

Also, it is not going to be a playroom forever. Down the road when the kids don't need as much play space you can convert it into a traditional guest room.

I wouldn't be worried about ILs staying in a hotel. It makes sense they would feel more comfortable sleeping on a bed so they can stay in the hotel. It is ridiculous to try to dictate or request or guilt someone into how they should decorate and make their home function, especially for such infrequent visits.

We have a 3 bedroom house, our girls share a room and we have guest come to visit frequently (6+ weeks out of the year) so needed a guest room with a comfortable bed. Considered doing the guest + playroom thing but it didn't seem to really work out, and sleeping in a playroom really isn't as psychologically comfortable for my elderly parents

So the solution we've recently settled on is to have a sleeping room and a playroom, and when guests come to stay the *girls* will sleep in the playroom. We're only part way into the transition - loft bed for playroom comes next week - but so far this set up is working really well. The guest room has a nice queen bed where the girls are happy to sleep and it's a cozy room, but since all their clothes and toys are in the play room it's easy to clean up when guests do come - we just change the sheets and collect the handful of stuffed animals and books that have migrated into there.

The other added benefit is that it actually makes it easier for me to keep that room under control because I can easily sort/purge clothes and toys after the kids are asleep. So it's a somewhat unorthodox approach but seems to work really well for our family.

We have a sofabed that is actually quite comfortable. Because it is in our basement though, we usually have my parents stay in our daughter's double bed in her room and our DD stays downstairs. (Actually, our kids often take turns rotating beds and each of them wants to stay down there with my mom for "sleepovers" and my dad gets the bed to himself.

I can't stand my in laws. Turned guest room into an office, no bed, no sofa ]. No overnight guests, ever.

Problem solved.

We got a murphy bed for our extra room and it's really great! We've been sleeping in it since our a/c went out! It's a queen with a very comfortable mattress. When it's back up in the wall, there's a table top thing that folds out to make a desk. And the kids play xbox on the tv in that room. It was made in PA, delivered to our house, and I hired a handyman to install it. It cost about $3500 total. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:What about a twin with a trundle that pops up?

Do this with a king sized memory foam pad spread over the top of both pushed together. It makes a comfy kingsized bed. This is what DH and I sleep on at my folks sometimes if there is a house full and the queen ensuite is taken.

Our office doubles as a guest room. Can you put a queen bed in your office?
If you're truly stuck, then I would have them sleep in your room while you take the pullout.

Be a nice person and provide a comfortable bed for any guests you may have.

Anonymous wrote:We have an American Leather sofa and have slept on it ourselves for weeks at a time. It is quite comfortable. (I actually think it is more comfortable as a bed than as a sofa). So that's been our solution for our guest/playroom.

+1. American Leather sofa beds are super comfortable. They have a different mechanism from regular sofa beds.

What's so wrong with ILs staying in a hotel?

Anonymous wrote:American Leather makes a sofa bed that is actually quite comfortable.

Plus one. My 70 year old father actually asked me what kind of mattress it was, he wanted to get it for his own bed!!
Look at Room and Board.

Husband and MIL are discussing too much.

In laws should just arrive - and then try - whatever you have made available to them. If they don't sleep well, then they know, and can book other arrangements.

Anonymous wrote:There are really comfortable futons now. That is what we have in out play room and no one has complained yet.

I was just going to say this. Great minds and all.

My DIL put me in the guest room that had a futon. That thing was so comfortable. I not only slept all night but half the morning. That was probably the best night sleep I've had in a long time.

How old are your kids? If they are on the younger side then you won't really want them playing upstairs unsupervised. You won't want to sit upstairs in a bedroom all day supervising them.