The 10 Best Trundle Beds
This wiki has been updated 34 times since it was first published in February of 2016. Our selection of nifty trundle beds make for a convenient solution to providing overnight visitors a comfortable place to sleep without having to maintain a permanent guest bed. When you simply slide the bottom platform beneath the upper one, you get floor space back. They're available in a wide variety of designs with attractive frames, elegant finishes, and colors to match an array of decor. When users buy our independently chosen editorial selections, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.
1. Homelegance Tulney Sleigh
2. Zinus Suzanne
3. Atlantic Furniture Columbia AB55
Editor's Notes
March 31, 2020:
While everyone may benefit from an extra but temporary sleeping surface for guests, the decor and overall furnishing needs from one home to another can vary greatly. We believe our list of trundle beds showcases how versatile these items can be.
If you want to maximize space in a child's room, you may like the Max & Lily Bunk and the Atlantic Furniture Columbia AB55, both of which offer three sleeping surfaces, and fun but safe ways for kids to climb from the bottom to the top. Those looking to make the most of floor real estate in an entertainment area might appreciate the Little Seeds Ambrosia and the Homelegance Tulney Sleigh, which are both sophisticated-looking couches when the pull-out is tucked away. On the topic of style, we removed the Hillsdale Matson, since it only comes in one color that looks tired, and its overall design is a bit dated.
Since these beds regularly go through transformations and sometimes support several sleepers, durability was of the utmost importance, so the Poundex Blossom lots its spot as its faux leather upholstery can tear and show scratches easily. Instead, we like the Zinus Suzanne, with its sturdy steel frame and the Stork Craft Broyhill Kids Marco Island, which proves to be quite durable.
We also favored beds that can do much more than just provide a sleeping surface, almost substituting for a full bedroom set when there is not space for one. For that reason, we eliminated the Fashion Casey II because we felt there were similar options that offer even more, like the Discovery World Furniture Daybed, which not only has drawers but also bookshelves, and the Bedz King BK551, which also has ample storage space.
Special Honors
Pottery Barn Bailey Daybed Made from sustainable plywood and rubberwood, this daybed is ready for the environmentally-conscious home and is quite durable. It has soft-to-the-touch velvety upholstery and strong zinc hardware. Available in the two sophisticated colors brushed grey and cream, it's easy to match to a contemporary bedroom, and it comes in a full or twin size. pbteen.com
West Elm Urban Trundle Daybed The upholstery for this trundle is available in 15 colors and several fabric options, making it easy to match to your decor, and is wrapped around an engineered wood frame, which is durable and more resistant to humidity than solid hardwood. It comes with a mattress for both the upper and lower platform, so there's no need to shop for those, and when it's in its daybed position offers a deep seating area. westelm.com
4. Max & Lily Bunk
5. Little Seeds Ambrosia
6. Stork Craft Broyhill Kids Marco Island
7. Discovery World Furniture Daybed
8. Max & Finn Stackable
9. Bedz King BK551
10. DHP Manila
The Trundle Bed: A Host's Best Friend
A trundle bed solves all of these problems, and it does so without taking up any extra floor space in your child’s room.
If you have kids of a certain age, then you're undoubtedly familiar with the sleepover. As kids ourselves, it may never have occurred to us that we could be a burden on our friends’ parents, or that our own parents might secretly be thrilled to get us out of the house on any given night. In that sense, a sleepover is a kind of exchange program in which parents sacrifice their mental health for an evening with the understanding that, next time, their kids will go to sleep at the other friend’s house, and give them some much needed peace and quiet.
When it’s your turn to host, you want things to go as smoothly as possible. No trips to the hospital or the police station, no upset stomachs, and no sleepless nights. Of course, this isn’t always the case. Kids will be kids, after all, and they’re experts at harming themselves, eating the wrong food, and staying up too late.
There are a few things you can do to try to control the situation, however, and making sure that they have a comfortable place to sleep is a good start. If your little houseguest isn’t cozy when it’s time for bed, he or she will likely keep your kid up right along with them, making for a grouchy next day for everyone. Proximity to their friends is also important during a sleepover. Kids need to be able to talk, often in whispers, as they find their way off to sleep in the company of their best chum, so having a pair of beds across the room from each other might hinder that experience.
A trundle bed solves all of these problems, and it does so without taking up any extra floor space in your child’s room. That’s because a trundle bed’s primary sleeping surface is elevated just a little bit more than it would be on an average frame. Beneath it, there appears to be a set of drawers, but when you pull them out, they reveal an entire mattress space just waiting in there. It’s always ready when you need it, it’s as comfortable as any other bed most kids have ever slept on, and it positions them right next to their friend, so they can do the kind of bonding that creates lifelong friendships.
The Best Trundle Bed For Your Home
Choosing a trundle bed for your home shouldn’t be much harder than choosing any other piece of furniture, and much of the same considerations will apply. The differences among the models on our list are primarily stylistic, but there are some functional aspects of each bed that are worth investigating so you’ll have a better idea about what your favorite model can do.
What’s specifically important here is the mechanism that allows the lower bed to slide underneath the upper bed.
What sets trundle beds apart from other bed frames on the market is their retractable sleeping surface, so this is one of the first things you should look at when comparing models. What’s specifically important here is the mechanism that allows the lower bed to slide underneath the upper bed. Most units will use some kind of casters to allow you to easily roll the unit in and out from under the main bed, but some will simply slide along the floor. While casters may require an extra few minutes in assembly, they’re preferable to the models without wheels, as they make it much easier to pull out the bed on carpeted floors, and they pose less of a risk to hardwood finishes.
The frame supports on both the main bed and the lower bed are another important feature to examine. Some will use wooden slats, while others will employ metal, each with their own sense of number and spacing. Generally speaking, more slats will make for a more comfortable sleeping experience, and wood will give a little more than metal, which should also make for a better night’s sleep.
Since whoever sleeps on the main surface of your trundle bed is going to do so every night, you want to make sure that this surface is as comfortable as possible, and that the bed as a whole suits them. You’ll find a litany of styles on our list, one of which should surely fit the bill. It’d be a good idea to get their input here, as well. The last thing you want to do is order a bed, put it together, and then surprise little Johnny with it only to have him throw a tantrum and make you take it apart, ship it back, and select another.
Getting The Most Out OF Your Trundle Bed
With a trundle bed in your home, you’ll always have a nice, comfortable place for an emergency houseguest to sleep. Of course, it’d be that much easier to accommodate a guest if your trundle bed was ready to go the moment they arrived. To that end, there are a few things you can do to ensure your trundle bed is ready for guests.
With a trundle bed in your home, you’ll always have a nice, comfortable place for an emergency houseguest to sleep.
For starters, you’re going to want a good mattress for it. If you wait to get the mattress, there’s a good chance that you’ll start using the trundle space for storage, and when a guest goes to sleep there, they’ll be greeted by a hard surface of boxes. If you invest in a good mattress as soon as you get the bed, you’ll avoid any timing issues that could arise from a poor fit or other complication on the day your guest arrives.
To make sure you’re totally prepared, it’d be smart to have a set of sheets and pillows dedicated to the trundle bed. You’ll want to keep these clean and folded, so all you have to do is make the bed for your guest. You may be tempted to get some bedding, clean it, and have the trundle bed all made up and ready to go at all times, but this would allow it to potentially collect dust over time, or to encounter spills from the bed above it, which you might not even notice until it’s too late.
A wandering writer who spends as much time on the road as in front of a laptop screen, Brett can either be found hacking away furiously at the keyboard or, perhaps, enjoying a whiskey and coke on some exotic beach, sometimes both simultaneously, usually with a four-legged companion by his side. He has been a professional chef, a dog trainer, and a travel correspondent for a well-known Southeast Asian guidebook. He also holds a business degree and has spent more time than he cares to admit in boring office jobs. He has an odd obsession for playing with the latest gadgets and working on motorcycles and old Jeeps. His expertise, honed over years of experience, is in the areas of computers, electronics, travel gear, pet products, and kitchen, office and automotive equipment.