If you’re having guests at Christmas then why not offer them somewhere comfortable to sleep and look at a guest bed.

Guest beds come in different forms, from the traditional bed frame with a pull out bed, to folding guest beds and sofa guest beds.

As a traditional guest bed is a standard bed with a pull out bed then these are ideal for everyday use, and when a guest comes to stay simply pull out the bed from underneath and you have somewhere for your guest to sleep. In addition to this many models offer a pull out bed which can be raised up to the same height as the bed frame so that if there are two guests staying they can effectively sleep in the same bed.

Sofa beds are a fantastic invention; they offer the flexibility of a sofa suitable for every day use and a great place to sleep for any guests. Due to the varying styles, materials and colours you can be assured to fit in with any current décor and as they look like a standard sofa they can be used in more than just a spare bedroom.

Folding guest beds (or futon guest beds) are ideal for anywhere where space is of a premium. Instead of having a traditional bed frame or a sofa which can take up valuable space a folding guest bed can be folded up and hidden away when not required, and when required then simply unfold and you have somewhere for your guests to sleep. Many folding beds come with castors so you can easily move them between storage and where they will be used.

Guest bedrooms should be treated in a different way to your own. While you know who is going to be sleeping in your room, your guest bedroom is going to have to accommodate different people and even different numbers of people. A double bed might seem like a great idea, but is it really?

By having two single beds, you get greater flexibility. You’re not just catering for couples. However, two single beds might take up too much space in your room. If that’s the case, why not get a single bed with a pull-out bed underneath. Or you could get a fold-out bed that can be hidden away the rest of the time.

Another alternative is to get sofa beds. By having a sofa bed, you can have a space to accommodate guests, but you can also use it as another room in your home the rest of the time. Sofa beds are perfectly comfortable as both sofas and as beds.

Finding the right guest bed can be challenging, but it is something that you will want to get right as we generally keep our guest beds for far longer than our main beds – if only because they are used less frequently.

Think carefully when you buy your guest bed, because you’re likely to have it for twice as long as your own bed. It might seem counterintuitive at first, but if you think about it, it makes sense – guest beds don’t get used every night.

Modern mattresses are longer lasting, so there may never be any need to replace the one on your guest bed, depending how often it is slept in. With that in mind, you’ve got to look to the future when making a purchase.

So what should you be thinking about when you’re in the market for a guest bed. Most importantly, you want to consider the size. If you have a small guest room, don’t get a king-size bed that will make it awkward to move about. If it’s only used occasionally, a normal double bed should be fine or you might even be better off with a single. Many single beds also come with a pull-out bed underneath, which can be great for occasional use. Plus, they’re more affordable.

Even if you have more space, it might be worth having two single beds. Having two single beds means you can accommodate different visitors, not just couples and it also means that if only one person stays, you only need to wash single bedding, which is more efficient.

It is common for newer houses to be built with smaller rooms. As a result of this, many people are getting single beds for guest rooms as well as for children’s rooms.

A single bed isn’t just a single bed though. There are all sorts of varieties. There are children’s beds, which may be smaller or may be decorated more vividly. Similarly, there is more than one size of adult single bed as well.

Beyond that, there are different styles. You can get single beds made out of all sorts of different woods and metal beds in different designs. Divan singles will offer extra storage space in the form of drawers that are built into the base, which can be great for saving even more space in a room.

You can also get special guest single beds. These might look like a standard single bed at first glance, but they might feature a pull-out bed underneath, offering additional sleeping space for when more people come to stay.

With so many different types of single bed on the market, there’s no reason why you can’t get something appropriate no matter what size the room you’re putting it in.

The thing with guest beds is that while you need as good a bed as possible so that you are considered a good host by those come to stay at your home, the bed itself is actually used quite rarely. It seems foolish to plan a whole room around a piece of furniture that only serves a purpose for some of the time.

The key is to look for flexibility. If you have a large house, you might be able to cope with having a room which is rarely used, but for most of us, we need to maximise the use of space in our homes and use it as intelligently as possible.

With this in mind, it’s often worth looking for guest beds that can be brought out or expanded as and when you need. Think of sofa beds, folding beds and pull-out beds.

These days fold-out beds are just as comfortable as conventional beds, but they have the added advantage that they don’t clutter up your house when not in use. Sofa beds obviously double as sofas, which can be a huge advantage in some rooms. So think carefully and make your home welcoming for guests without compromising on space when they’re not there.