If you have visitors popping that sometimes turn into overnight guests and you don’t have a spare room, then how do you provide adequate bedding for them? I’m sure you’d rather not turn them away to the nearest motel or make them drive home late.

Keeping a couple of cheap double mattresses around is a great way of looking after your visitors – whether they are couples or individuals – and they needn’t even take up much space, if you choose the right type.

There are two kinds of mattresses that fit the bill perfectly for space and cost saving – the air mattress and the futon bed.

The air mattress can be packed away into a closet and, when needed, brought out and inflated quickly and easily using the electric or battery–operated pumps. If you keep a bed in a bag handy you can conveniently add all the bed linen and have the bed made in minutes. Whether your guests sleep on the living room floor or in the hallway, they can get a good comfortable night’s sleep from a well-made double air mattress, which is easily adjustable for their desired level of firmness (just inflate or deflate a little!). You can usually pick up these mattresses for $50 – $200 online.

Futons are usually cotton-filled mattresses that will be used flat on their frame as a bed or upright on their frame as a sofa. They save space because they are dual-purpose so, like the air mattress, they are ideal for apartment living. Futons come in a variety of sizes and many different styles of covers are available, making them easy to maintain and able to fit in with all decors.  Depending on what style of frame and mattress you choose a futon will cost you anything from under $100 to $750.

These are two instances where inexpensive double mattresses can be put to good use in the home. The key is that they are only for occasional use (unless you are also using the futon as your main sofa, of course) so will not have to be the most robust, best made items that have to stand up to daily wear and tear. In the case of the futon that you use as your main sofa, of course it’s worth spending a bit extra on that to ensure a good quality wooden or steel frame and a mattress that will retain its comfort over time.

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