The automatic guest room

On our recent trip, my wife and I stayed with a friend in Sydney. That sounds normal - except our friend has a 1 bedroom apartment.

Yes this is going to be another example of clever furniture adding a lot of value without adding a lot of cost.

This is our friend's lounge room (when we're not in town).

The lounge cleverly rearranges into a double bed.

When it's made up, as it was when we arrived, it even looks like a bed.

It can even become two separate single beds, which is an added advantage over a traditional sofa-bed.

This is great for 2 platonic visitors or for when 2 parents and a sibling visit. The parents have the bedroom and the siblings can have single beds.

So how was it?

Absolutely fine. It took a few minutes to adjust to the novelty of having a kitchen in our 'bedroom', but then it was great.

Why do I love this so much?

This is so clever because it gives so many options. It also gives a small and affordable home the same function and usefulness as a bigger one - but without the price tag or the waste.

For example, our friend could have bought a 2-bedroom apartment and had a dedicated guest room. But that would be such a waste. A second room that would sit idle most of the time. A second bed that would barely get used. An extra $150,000 on the mortgage; that's the price difference between a 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom apartment where our friend lives. Definitely an expensive way to have visitors.

Our friend chose the much smarter option. Less mortgage. Less (but smarter) furniture. Same ability to have family and friends come and stay.

PS. This is the third of my travel series from our recent trip (here's the first and second). Subscribe above or follow on facebook for the rest of the series.
You may be also like this video of some more amazing furniture.