Now that social distancing and staying at home are one of the main ways to prevent the spreading of the coronavirus, we’re starting to realize how important the furniture in our home is and the level of comfort it provides. While sure, aesthetics is also an important factor, it doesn’t really make much of a difference whether you’ll be powering through your 40-hour workweek sitting on a blue or beige sofa.
A couple of months ago I purchased a fancy day bed in a modern design with button diamond tufts which I intended to use in my home office mainly as a decorative piece. Little did I know that it would soon turn into an accent piece in my living room! Thanks to their hybrid design, daybeds are something between a sofa and a bed, so by getting one you get to reap the benefits of both. Here are some of them.
Flexibility – Given that it has a space-saving design, it didn’t take me long to start appreciating this furniture piece, as it’s easy to fit it in most rooms. This allows you to use it as whatever you want – a living room focal point, a guest room bed, a home office seat, kids’ bed, a nursery bed for that much-needed rest between nighttime feedings, or even as a hallway or a closet bench if you have a large closet.
Source: theblockshop.com.au
If you have an outdoor area, you can use it also for relaxing in the fresh air, and it would do well on the deck too for those who don’t have that spacious of an area to count on. For people who want something fixed, there are those types of day bed models that can be custom-made and fitted as window seats; yes, there are daybeds for everyone’s taste!
Storage – Though not all of the daybed designs have it, those with a trundle section feature a storage compartment. Since mine came with a mattress, it depends on where and how I use it; the first month I used it in the hallway as a bench, then I had it in the office for a couple of days, and now it’s in the living room.
Since I had to prepare to work from home, I had to acquire more supplies than usual and found myself short on storage compartments in the kitchen. Thankfully, the daybed came to the rescue. In homes with two kids sleeping in a small kids’ room, it`s a much better solution than a bunk bed for parents who are after an alternative that’s still compact enough and can be used for storage even when serving as a twin bed.
Source: theblockshop.com.au
Décor – For someone like myself who likes to play with décor, a day bed used as a sofa is the ideal decorating element considering there are various accessories you can transform it with: think cushions, throws, and slipcovers! Unlike a sofa, the seat is deep enough for you to splurge on cushions without cramming the area, and if you want to increase the comfort, just add a throw and you will get immediate cosiness and warmth. Since I want to make the most use of the cushions in terms of colour, I chose a contrast from the actual grey upholstery hue: magenta! The outcome is a vibrant piece of furniture that breaks the monotony of the otherwise whiteness of the room and goes well together with the maroon throw. For my next décor change, I might turn to crimson cushions for a more sophisticated effect.
What I like about the throw specifically is you can have fun placing it around the middle of the daybed mattress, folding and wrapping it over the frame, or draping it on one of its arms. As for the slipcovers, they are a trick up the sleeve when you want to give the whole daybed a makeover without actually changing the upholstery. They’re available in a variety of patterns so I already got three different covers I can experiment with. And oh, they’re the perfect layer of protection against stains and are a piece of cake for cleaning up and changing, which can’t be said about cleaning the bed itself.
Source: overstock.com
What to Look for in a Daybed
You can find different daybeds suitable for different tastes, but to be sure you make the right choice it’s important to consider a few things. For starters, consider the size; thought not all, most day beds can be twin beds and there are even those that are full size so choose adequately what would most fit in your home.
In addition, consider the room that you want to place it in and whether its size is appropriate to fit in other rooms in case you want to move it in the future. To answer this, you’d also have to ponder on the purpose of the daybed and decide whether you want a trundle or not. Lastly, finish off by deciding on the style and materials that will best fit your décor.
