The spare room bed is the one you never sleep on yourself, which is how it ends up being the worst bed in the house. It doesn't need to be. Several of our beds were designed for exactly this job: spare rooms, flats, rentals and the bach, where you want something solid and comfortable for a sensible price. Here's how to choose.
Quick answer
- Go medium or medium-firm when you don't know who's sleeping on it. It's the feel most people find comfortable.
- Single or King Single for one guest or kids; Double for couples in a small room; Queen if the room takes it, because that's what most couples sleep on at home.
- Spend $600 to $1,000 on a bed set for an occasional spare room. More if it's a bach that's full every summer.
- Put a waterproof protector on it before the first guest.
Firmness when you don't know the sleeper
You'd buy your own bed for how you sleep. A guest bed has to suit your mother-in-law, your mate from uni and a teenager on a sleepover. Medium to medium-firm is the feel that offends the fewest people: enough give for a side sleeper, enough support for a back sleeper. Avoid anything very soft or very firm unless you know your regular guests want it.
Which size
- Single (92 × 188 cm): one adult or a child, and the most room left over in a small bedroom.
- King Single (106 × 203 cm): the better single for adults and teenagers. Longer, so tall guests don't hang off the end.
- Double (137 × 188 cm): two people in a small room. Cosy for two adults, fine for a couple of nights.
- Queen (153 × 203 cm): what most couples sleep on at home, so it's what they'll be comfortable on at yours. Needs a room about 3 m wide to walk round.
Dimensions for every size are on our size chart.
The beds we built for spare rooms
All prices are for a Single bed set, mattress and base together. Larger sizes are on each product page.
- Sense-A-Tech Backcare, from $599: firm, 170 mm deep, continuous coil, soft foam comfort layer. Our entry bed set and the right answer for a room that gets used a few times a year.
- Sense-A-Tech Elegance, from $659: medium-firm with a thicker foam layer, 200 mm. The one we'd pick for a spare room if we had to pick one.
- Promotional Innerspring, from $769: medium feel, 175 mm, made from whatever ticking we have in odd colours, which is why it's the price it is. Same spring unit as the beds above.
- Medicoil Firm, from $824: firm, 185 mm, with a quilted pillow top. For guests who like a firmer bed, or a teenager's room that doubles as the spare.
- Monarch, from $989: medium-firm, 220 mm and double-sided, so you can flip it. If the spare room is really a second bedroom in constant use, this lasts.
- Anniversary Pocket, from $769: our entry pocket spring, medium-firm, 280 mm. Buy this one if the guests are usually couples; the pocket springs stop one person's turning waking the other.
They're all in one place in the spare room beds collection.
Rentals, flats and the bach
Rental property: buy firm and plain. The Sense-A-Tech Backcare or Medicoil Firm, a waterproof protector, and bed legs on castors so the tenant can move it to clean. Keep the receipt; the 5 year warranty applies.
Student flat: the Promotional Innerspring or Sense-A-Tech Elegance. Delivery is $39 within 50 km of our stores, which covers most of the flats in Christchurch, Wellington, Nelson, Blenheim, Invercargill and Queenstown; elsewhere a Single bed set freights for $120.
The bach: it will be full every January and empty in June, with sand in everything. Go a step up on quality because it's hard to replace, and think about a Down Under Trundler for the kids' room: two beds in one, the lower one rolls out and lifts to the same height. If you're renting it out, protectors on every bed, and talk to our commercial division Ferryway about bed-bug-treated ticking.
Airbnb or motel: that's Ferryway's job. Commercial ticking, kiln-dried beech bases with a lifetime guarantee against squeaks, and zipped twin sets that convert between two Singles and a Super King.
Make it a bed people want to come back to
A waterproof mattress protector (from $56) is not optional in a guest room. Two pillows per person, one medium and one soft, covers most preferences. A spare blanket at the end of the bed sorts out the temperature argument. If the room is short on storage, divan drawers in the base give guests somewhere to put a suitcase's worth of clothes.
How much to spend
For a room used a dozen nights a year, $600 to $1,000 for a complete Single or Double bed set is plenty, and you'll get a 5 year warranty on it. For a bach or a second bedroom that's used most weeks, $1,000 to $1,500 buys a pocket spring or a double-sided mattress that will see out ten years. Everything we sell is made to order in Christchurch and covered by the 100 Nights Customer Satisfaction Guarantee, and you can split the cost with Afterpay.
Frequently asked questions
What type of mattress is best for a guest room?
A medium or medium-firm innerspring. The Sense-A-Tech Elegance and Promotional Innerspring are the two we sell most for spare rooms.
Should a guest room have a Single or Double bed?
Single or King Single for one guest; Double for couples if the room is small; Queen if it isn't.
Firm or soft for guests?
Neither extreme. Medium-firm suits the widest range of people.
How often should a guest room mattress be replaced?
Judge it on condition. A lightly used spare bed can last well past ten years if it's been rotated and protected.
What should I put on a guest bed?
A waterproof protector, two pillows per person in different firmnesses, and a spare blanket.
Sort the spare room in one visit
Have a look at the spare room beds, or come in and lie on a couple. Most people are in and out in twenty minutes.
Related guides: Best mattress firmness for every sleeping position · NZ mattress sizes · Delivery and shipping
