Loaf has a space-saving £195 solution for hosting overnight guests, and it's one of the most stylish spare bed alternatives I've seen
It's a great option for small homes
If you want to host overnight guests but don't have a dedicated spare bedroom, then there are a few options you can choose from, and as Ideal Home's Sleep Editor, I've tried them all.
If you don't mind making the space in your home for a permanent piece of furniture, then you could invest in one of the best sofa beds on the market. Or, if you're after a more temporary hosting solution and want to save some cash, you could consider one of the best blow-up air beds.
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Now Loaf's Sleepover Floor Cushion might at first seem like an overly simple, some may even say basic overnight hosting solution, but bear with me, because, in my opinion at least, that's actually part of its genius.
Technically, yes, this is simply three very prettily upholstered foam cushions attached into a concertina that can be folded into a pouffe, a spare seat to lean against the wall, or laid out flat to form a mattress. But, when you have the occasional overnight guest, that's often *exactly* what you need.
Don't get me wrong, I've tested plenty of sofa beds, and they can be a great solution for hosting overnight guests. But, not only do they take up a lot of floor space in a home, but most are also *expensive*.
A top-of-the-range sofa bed can easily set you back between £1000 and £3000, and even one of the best chair beds or a good bed-in-a-box can cost around £500. That can be well worth the investment if you regularly host guests, but if you only occasionally need to offer your home as a crash pad to friends or family, I think Loaf's solution is a brilliant one.
The other downside of a sofa bed is that, at the more affordable end of the market, most budget-friendly sofa beds are *firm*. And that means the extra expense of investing in a mattress topper so that your guests can have a little more cushioning during their stay.
This soon adds up, with many of the best mattress toppers alone easily costing more than Loaf's floor cushion does.
Unlike a sofa bed, you can also stash this sleepover solution away under the bed when your guests have gone home, freeing up floor space and making a small living room or small bedroom feel a lot bigger.
The more affordable alternative – the humble air bed – also isn't without downsides. Air beds certainly don't look as stylish as Loaf's Sleepover Floor Cushions, can be prone to deflating during the night, and, in my experience, aren't as comfortable.
The joy of foam is that your shoulder and hip have something to sink into. I've always found an air bed to offer much less 'give', which can make for a pretty firm sleeping experience in a slightly different way. You also can't fold an air bed up into an extra seat like you can with this floor cushion.
Now, admittedly, not all guests are going to be comfortable sleeping this close to the floor. If you have elderly visitors or anyone less mobile coming to stay, they may not appreciate floor camping. I've included some alternative options below if so.
However, if you're simply after an extra sleeping space for your kids' friends, teenage family members, or otherwise sprightly friends and family members, then I think the Loaf Sleepover Floor Cushion is the ideal solution.
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You could opt for one of the best chair beds instead. The Habitat Roma is one of the most affordable on the market, coming in just over the Loaf Sleepover Cushion's £195 price tag. You're guests will also be (slightly) higher off the floor, although I would say you'll need to add a mattress topper to make this option more comfortable.
Alternatively, the Innovation Living Cubed 140 Sofa Bed is one of the most compact double sofa beds I've come across if you prefer the option to sleep two guests at a time. It's a great buy and comes flatpacked which makes it easier to get upstairs if you need to, however, it certainly isn't as easy to put together as Loaf's Sleepover Cushion, or as light!
Or you could go all out and invest in a top-of-the-range chair bed, like Darlings of Chelsea's Weymouth Loveseat, which features a dedicated pull-out mattress that's a lot higher from the floor than our other options. It also comes in over 175 upholstery choices, but it's a definite investment.
