Being parents is a challenge especially if your kids are young and like us, your family support network is overseas.
When the kids are sick, life in this household seems to grind to a halt.
With my husband working full time, I take much of the nursing duties upon myself.
I recall one particularly stressful time soon after we moved into our new home.
My family seemed to come down with colds followed by a bad round of gastro shortly after which brought vomiting along with it.
My son in particular had great difficulty during this period.
Being a child with special needs means that he can’t adequately communicate what he’s feeling.
While my older, typically developing daughter could wake me up in the middle of the night to reveal she’d thrown up all over her bed and bathroom, I would often get up in the middle of the night to check on my son and find him covered in vomit. Yuck.
My solution of course was to bring him to bed with me but after a couple of sleepless nights and no clean sheets left, we found ourselves sleeping on the couch.
Our couch isn’t the most comfortable to sleep on so my husband and I decided it was time to invest in something comfortable and practical for the living room at times where one of us is left sleeping on the couch with one of our kids for whatever reason.
It’s not hard to imagine that there are several different options for such a purpose.
The range of different sofa beds and futon beds is endless both online and instore.
We had tried the leather futon option before but were left disappointed when we found that it was very uncomfortable to sit or sleep on for long periods.
PU leather futon sofa bed
Another option is a fold out sofa bed.
This is generally more expensive than a futon bed but the issue for us wasn’t so much the cost as the style.
The new contemporary style of furniture we often come across isn’t really to our taste.
We’ve always wanted to have a house with plenty of character and rustic charm. Our style is a blend of traditional and rustic.
As usual I looked to Pinterest for reference and came across a picture of a timber day bed and was immediately inspired.
The concept of a daybed is a piece of furniture which functions as a sofa by day with a seat long and deep enough to sleep on at night.
There are several options out there that come in several different materials and styles but these things aren’t cheap. Daybeds seem to cost anywhere from AU$200+ here in Australia depending on the style.
After much research and internet sleuthing I was able to locate a daybed which fit within our style and budget.
The answer is this wooden timber daybed and trundle which we picked up from Crazy Sales online department store for which at the time of purchase (May 2016) was around $230 plus approx. $49.95 shipping to Sydney metro.*
White pine timber futon and trundle frame with mattresses
This is fantastic value for what is essentially 2 x timber single bed frames.
This particular style of daybed and trundle package has also been made available on other sites including Real Smart and My Deal at varying prices.
It comes in a classic white and is made from solid pine and plywood.
White pine timber daybed and mattress side view
White pine timber daybed – back rest
White pine timber daybed – base slats
The trundle can be raised off the ground on fold out legs. Speaking of which, the fold out legs are attached to the trundle with bolts that are provided with the frame. The problem is that while they are the correct length according to the instructions, the bolts provided are actually too short.
The hardware provided allows for 4 x 40mm long bolts to attach the fold out legs to the trundle when you actually need 60 – 80mm long bolts to slot through the thickness of the legs and secure them properly into the trundle base.
Trundle legs and wheels
Luckily we had some longer bolts spare from another project and was able to attach the legs without too much hassle.
I have found that the trundle does sit slightly lower than the daybed when it’s raised so while the internet listings indicate that the two can be put together to form one large king bed, they actually function better as two separate singles.
Overall, the assembly is at least a two-person job and it took my husband and I a couple of hours to work out the instructions and put the whole thing together with our kids climbing on top of us.
This is one of the most affordable timber daybed options I could find and it fits in with a classic, country interior theme.
The daybed and trundle bases fit full single size mattresses. We chose to purchase 2 x foam mattresses from Fantastic Furniture for $49 each.*
This is how it looked after all the assembly.
Assembly complete
Finding blankets and bed dressings wasn’t all that difficult. We used fitted sheets, duvets and blankets picked up from Kmart.
Finding cushions was perhaps the most difficult part because the seat back is higher than an average cushion so finding affordable cushions big and plush enough to be supportive wasn’t easy.
My solution was to buy square European pillow cases from Kmart and stuff them each with 2 x European pillow inserts. The same was done for the long pillow that lies across the front of them.
This is just a long body pillow case with 2 x long body pillow inserts.
Having two inserts in each case fills them out and makes them more plush and supportive.
The rest of the smaller cushions were picked up from Masters on sale at 5 for $10. Bargain!*
So far this piece has been a real lifesaver.
We use it for during those unfortunate nights when our kids are sick and it will work out great for guests who sleep over.
And if one of us should end up “in the doghouse” and sleeping on the couch, he could hardly complain about having to sleep on this could he? *wink*
- Lady V xoxo
Lady V Shopping Spree 