What is a Daybed and How is It Different from Your Regular Bed?

If you’re looking for something that can double up and fulfill both your seating and sleeping needs, but you also want to save space in your home, you’ll likely have come across many recommendations for daybeds. However, you may be wondering what they are exactly?

What is their intended purpose? Can you use them like you would a normal bed, or is it one of those things where the logical interpretation of the name could be misleading? How do they even differ from a sofa? We’ll answer these questions throughout this article.

But first, what is a daybed?

Essentially, a daybed is a piece of furniture that is similar in some ways to a sofa, usually incorporating elaborate head and foot ends in their design, which gives it the feel of a bed.

Available in both wooden and metal frames, daybeds can be an attractive and affordable piece of furniture that can be used to sit on during the day and to sleep on during the night.

What is the Point of a Daybed?

Daybeds come with a number of advantages, as well as a number of possible uses.

There are a variety of different forms, designs, and styles, but they’re most commonly used to furnish lounges and guest bedrooms if you still want to use the room as a living space.

Historically, daybeds were used for reclining in social situations dating back to Egyptian times and were similarly adopted by the Greeks and Romans.

They provide the perfect mix of comfort and relaxation without being too casual for company, and for many years they have been considered as suitable seating for a number of activities.

Daybeds can also be used for decorative purposes due to their design, being a more aesthetically appropriate option for lounges and living areas compared to traditional beds. There are, of course, simpler designs at the more affordable end of the price range.

There are even daybeds available for you to purchase that double as additional storage, complete with drawers under the bed for neatly tidying your things away. This is the perfect place to keep fresh linens, throws, and comforters for your daybed, making it easier to transition from day to night with everything you need within a convenient reaching distance.

Can a Daybed be Used as a Regular Bed?

If space in your home is limited, there is no reason as to why you can’t use a daybed as you would a regular bed. The only caveat we would add to this is that you need to make sure that it is sturdy enough to withstand this much regular use on top of its use during the day.

But, I’m sure you’re wondering, will it be comfortable enough to use as a regular bed?

The answer to this depends entirely on the type of mattress you use and the quality of it. We would recommend a memory foam mattress as it’s less likely to form divots in places where the daybed has been sat on during the day because this can cause you to sleep awkwardly.

The difficulty of using your daybed as a regular bed is having to transition it from day to night, assuming you will still want to use it during the day, that is. The best way to do this is to have one particular look for the daytime, and a different look for the nighttime.

This could be as simple as changing the throws you use on the daybed, to swapping out different pillows and cushions to create a different look. You should also change and clean the linens more regularly than you would a regular bed, as it will get twice as dirty faster due to it doubling as daytime seating and having to withstand twice the amount of use.

What’s the Difference Between a Daybed and a Sofa Bed?

Daybeds provide the same level of comfort you desire from a sofa, but whilst taking up significantly less space in the room it’s in. A standard daybed is typically around the same size as a twin bed, and there’s no transformation required for it to function as a bed. Except for, of course, the daybed accessories, throws, cushions, and linens.

Where some sofa beds can look quite obviously like a piece of furniture that is used for sleeping, daybeds are a more subtle form of sleeping arrangement.

This makes them an ideal choice if you often have people to stay, as they function as a guest bed for the evenings without detracting from the look of your living room in the day.

They’re comfortable enough for the majority of adults to recline on either side and face any direction they choose. Although they’re smaller than most sofas or sofa beds, daybeds are also typically a roomier option to snuggle up on compared to the majority of loveseats.

What’s Better, a Daybed or a Futon?

If you’re thinking about getting a new piece of furniture for your spare room, you may be wondering which is the better choice between a daybed and a futon.

It’s a difficult question to answer as in most cases you will have to make up your own mind, but there are a few key differences that set daybeds and futons apart. Daybeds are closer to beds on the similarity spectrum, whereas futons more closely resemble a sofa bed.

Futons are also available in a wider range of sizes compared to a daybed, but they can be as equally as comfortable for both seating and sleeping arrangements depending on the mattress you choose to pair with it. With that said, some people prefer the comfort of a daybed to that provided by a futon, so it will ultimately come down to personal preference.

Final Thoughts

We hope that throughout this article, we’ve been able to answer any questions you may have had about daybeds. From futons to loveseats to sofas to daybeds, we’re sure you’ll be able to find the perfect piece of furniture for your home.

Happy lounging!