How To Make A Queen Size Bed Look Like A Daybed

A daybed sounds deliciously indulgent – it's somewhere you can lounge with a book, perhaps while someone feeds you grapes. In fact, a daybed can be a brilliant practical solution for smaller homes or studio apartments, doubling as a comfy sofa and a place to get your beauty sleep. And you can easily create your own. Simply take a queen bed, push it lengthways against a wall and cozy it up with lots of lovely cushions and throws. This is also perfect if you have a spare bedroom (lucky you!) and want to get more use out of the space when you don't have guests. Get your bed working day and night with a few easy steps. No one will know the difference.

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Or headboard, rather. If your bed has foot and headboards of equal height, that's fine. But otherwise, it'll look too much like, well, a bed. The easiest solution is to unscrew the boards, creating a more modern look. Or buy two matching, ideally cushioned headboards and attach them at either end. This provides extra coziness while still enabling the bed to masquerade as a sofa.

Daybed covers or "bed skirts" hide a multitude of sins. They also hide bedsprings, mattresses and anything else that could be a dead giveaway. Better still, if there's space underneath your bed, you can stash away your bed covers during the day and tuck away any superfluous pillows and cushions come bedtime. Make sure you store them in lidded boxes, though. No one wants a dusty duvet.

If you've removed the headboard or have a box-frame bed and prefer to be a little more hemmed in, create a clean, cool look using short, sturdy bookcases. Situate one on either side, with the shelved sides facing outwards. A queen bed is about 60 inches wide, so select a bookcase of the same width or place two 30-inch bookcases on either side.

Have a recess or nook that's at least as wide (80 inches) as the length of a queen bed? Then lucky you. This will be the perfect place for your cunningly disguised bed. Use shelves to fill in any significant gaps. If there are just tiny amounts of space, thick throws and/or quilts will sort those out.

Actually, as mentioned above, you can keep your duvet if you wish. You'll just need to tuck it away when your bed is wearing its daytime look. It might be easier to layer up with different covers, blankets and throws, however. Standard sheets won't cut it. Use a quilt or a queen-size mattress cover, ideally in a block color or snazzy stripes. They just look more sofa-like than chintzy, flowery patterns.

Here's the really fun bit. Pillows, cushions and throws are your best friends when it comes to creating a space that's equally inviting for daytime perching/lounging as it is when you're ready to crawl under the covers at night. Start with bolster cushions along the back and to replicate armrests at the sides, then just go for it. Drape with textured throws and arrange large cushions, more suited to the daybed style, around the back. Just remember to leave enough room to actually sit (or lie) down.