Sofa bed - yes or no?

[alnmike]

Hi all. Your thoughts please. We have a double bed in a large bedroom on ground floor. And 2 singles in our mezzanine.

Our visitors have commented that we could easily fit a sofa-bed in the

bedroom. We only have one loo so I feel that 4 is enough guests, but

should I offer the option of 4/6?

Thanks[:D]

[The Riff-Raff Element]

I'd say no. No more frequent complaint have we heard about previous

lodgings from guests here than that available space has been stretched

too far. Most commonly this has been done with sofa beds in what would

otherwise be living space, but cramping bedroom space is also common.

I'd let your guests continue to luxuriate and resist the temptation to

expand.

[Smiley]

The only problem with sofa beds is that they are uncomfortable by and large. OK for 1 night but a week? There is another option. You can get roll out beds which go under the main double. These are far more comfortable and less conspicuous. It would give the option, if you have a family with say 3/4 young children, to accomodate them.

I think generally most people don't like overcrowding.

[JJ]

We have a two bedroomed gite and put in a very expensive IKEA sofa bed (Ektorp) into the lounge area which is very comfortable.

Do not bother with click clack or cheap sofa beds as in my experience they are not that confortable.

In two full seasons, not a single person has used the sofa bed, so I think we have wasted some money, it is a very confortable sofa though.

The other important consideration is if you provide a sofa bed, the guests may have to put it away every day, which is a pain with the bedding etc. Also they will need storage space for clothing etc.

Also if you expand your occupancy, then you need to think about how many bathrooms you have.

 

[Coco]

We had a couple of people suggest this to us when we used to rent our house as a 2 bed, 2 bath property.  However, whenever we had gone away ourselves in the past we had always rented something at least "2 people" larger than we needed as inevitably there was a sofabed somewhere, and has been said, they're OK for a night or two but not a week.  We also had many more people as return guests, who came back because they said they liked the space.

I think if you're expecting to have 6 people in the house with one bathroom, and 4 sharing a bedroom you're not going to be able to charge very much more than for a comfortable, spacious 4 person property - but you could experience a lot more wear and tear.  It never ceases to amaze me how people must hurl their suitcases at our walls for all the marks that are on them by the end of a season, if they have to fold and unfold a sofabed every day what could that do to your walls!

I agree, avoid the temptation and stick with a good quality 4 person gite.  If you really can't resist then I think the idea of the mattresses under the bed (for kids only) or blow-up mattresses is a better idea than spending a fair bit of money for a comfortable sofabed.

[nimportequoi]

I have sofa beds, but do not count them in the number of people the gites sleep. I really only have them for French guests who don't seem to mind the overcrowding at all and always want to accommodate extra people.

In your case, I would have a spare lit pliant or something like that for use if required for an occupancy of greater than 4, but not compromise the existing space you have.

[alnmike]

As ever - thanks all very much for sharing your thoughts! I think that

if I am getting some new furniture I may consider one, but not increase

the occupancy!

[Coco]

[quote user="JJ"]

We have a two bedroomed gite and put in a very expensive IKEA sofa bed (Ektorp) into the lounge area which is very comfortable.

[/quote]

Sorry, I have to hi-jack this thread for a moment!!

By November/Christmas we should be able to start furnishing our "private living room" in our B&B, which my OH is currently building.  However, by the time the stairs are in we won't be able to get a normal settee up there.  I know we could put one in before the stairs, but then we couldn't get it out!!!  So we were thinking about flat pack stuff - but then worried about how comfortable it is.  I have been looking at the Ektorp sofa on the Ikea website (not sofabed though) and wondered if it was really as comfortable as it looks.  The trouble is, our nearest Ikea is Paris and I don't mind going if I think I have a more than 60% chance of liking and buying the sofa when I get there.  But I really do want to sit on one first. 

JJ - do you think it is comfortable enough for a settee in your own home, or just a good quality one for a gite/holiday home?

[JJ]

St Amour

The Ektorp is confortable enough for our home,we purchased two, one forthe gite as described, and one for a room in our main house which has had a lot of use by friends and family (as a sofa and sofabed) It has always recieved positive reports.

But I do agree that yout must try one out first in the store.

Good Luck

[nimportequoi]

I can second JJ's comments about the Ektorp sofa bed, it looks stylish and is good quality, both as a sofa and a bed (the seat cushions don't slip as much as they did on a previous design). We got ours delivered (with other Ektorp sofas) as our closest Ikea is Nantes an hour and a half away.

[Jc]

We bought a "click-clack" bed from BUT,no complaints about that one either.

[Coco]

I suppose because we've only ever had flat pack kitchen or bedroom furniture I'm a little curious as to how soft furnishings go together.  Do the covers on the "hard" bits go on OK?
Thanks for the comments.  We're the same as you SusanAh, either Nantes (about 2 hrs) or West Paris (similar) so it's worth having good reviews before we try it for ourselves!

[nimportequoi]

St Armour, it was strange when they were delivered as without the legs and cushions the hard frames looked tiny! However, it is so easy to put the soft furnishings on the frame, it took about 5 mins to get the sofa ready. The covers are wash well too, which is another big advantage, although it is expensive to buy a spare set.

J'attends avec impatience Ikea à Rennes!!! But the opening keeps getting delayed....

[Coco]

Thanks Susan, that's really encouraging.  The colours I like best are the lighter ones but I was worrying about washing!  Yes, I was hoping Rennes would be open by now.  Now Alexis says there's going to be an Ikea at Caen but I dare say I will have bought everything I need long before that's open.

[Alexis]

September 2007.  They have promised me for Rennes...

(paper yesterday said September 2008 but I'm sure it was a printing mistake!)

Nantes is two hours from me.  I don't go often these days - no hospital visit every day - but I go about once every three months for a little look and a tour of St Herblain.  I know it like the back of my hand now.

They have a Chinese restaurant too....!

[Coco]

[quote user="Alexis"]

They have a Chinese restaurant too....!

[/quote]

What?   In the Ikea?  Any good?

[Alexis]

Close to IKEA.  Stand with your back to IKEA facing the escalators and the Chinese is on your right after a couple of other restos.  There are a LOT of restos.  All packed to bursting at lunchtime.

MMMmmm.  Nems.  Foreign stuff!  Luvverley.

Worth the trip I think[:)]  You could always stop at the Chinese supermarket in Rennes (if it is on your route) too.

Last time I ate at IKEA it was rubbish so that is the end of that.

[Miki]

[quote]

Last time I ate at IKEA it was rubbish so that is the end of that.

[/quote]

Balls ? [;-)]

[Alexis]

Exactly.