How to Furnish Your Tiny Home for Restful Sleep

In the past few years, Tiny Society points out there was a surge in the popularity of tiny homes. While living in a tiny home certainly has its advantages, like affordability and flexibility, it can cause some slight difficulties if you want to host overnight guests. Fortunately, there are plenty of steps you can take to create a more restful experience for you and your guests — without breaking the bank.

Create a Restful Environment With a White Noise Machine

Sleeping in an unfamiliar environment can be difficult. National Sleep Foundation explains strange noises often jolt even the heaviest sleepers into wakefulness, a problem that can be significantly exacerbated in a tiny home. Because you are sleeping in such close proximity to other people, it is far more likely that you and your guests will be making noises that keep each other awake — the sounds of sighing, snoring, or even simply rolling over can seem drastically amplified in smaller spaces.

White noise machines are a great way to combat this problem. Verywell Health explains these devices are helpful to those with insomnia; they create background noise that can help block out distracting sounds and lull people to sleep. At prices ranging between $20 and $70, it’s easy to find a machine that fits into your budget. Their small size also makes them a great choice for a tiny home.

Find a Great Air Mattress at Macy’s

No amount of white noise will help someone fall asleep if they’re physically uncomfortable — and that’s where an air mattress comes in. Air mattresses can easily be deflated and stored when you don’t need them, which makes them the perfect space-saver if you only have occasional overnight guests. 

Best of all, a good air mattress doesn’t need to be expensive. Trusted stores like Macy’s offer high-quality mattresses for as low as $59 — and that’s before accounting for any sales. Deals sites (like this one) typically offer coupons and promo codes that can save you even more money. Use those savings to buy a cozy set of sheets, and you’ll have your guests sleeping like babies.

Physical Factors To Consider

There is one thing that tiny house owners, and traditional homeowners have in common; the need for a good night’s sleep. The mattress is an integral part of any home and is essential to living a long and happy life. However, finding the right mattress for tiny living space can be difficult. Let’s take a look at some things you should consider.

In a tiny cabin, you are most likely going to have to scale back on the mattress size. You are unlikely to be able to fix a ‘California king’ sized mattress within a home that is designed to be efficient and compact. This means that you are going to have to make a sacrifice in size, but you don’t have to make a sacrifice in comfort.

Thickness

The thickness of the mattress itself is going to depend largely on your own personal preference. Some prefer a thinner mattress at 2” (5cm), while some really want a thick and hearty mattress at 12” (30cm). For the most part, this is up to you. However, consider that if you will be folding the mattress away into storage when not in use, you will want a thinner mattress for ease of storage.

Size

As a general rule, smaller is better. However, this depends on your available space and if you will be sleeping alone or not. Single tiny house owners can likely get away with a twin-sized mattress (90cm x 200 cm). If the bed will be shared by two people, I would recommend a double size (140cm x 200cm), but not any larger unless you have substantial space in a bed loft.

Durability

You never want to find yourself buying a new mattress every year. Durability should be a huge factor. Tiny house living is about cutting down the cost, and unnecessary extravagance, but you absolutely want to spend money on a quality mattress. You will save money in the long run.

Other Factors to Consider

Aside from physical factors, you will have a few things you should consider as well.

Comfort

This seems like a no-brainer. But comfort is key. You should always take the time to actually test out the mattress before purchasing, if at all possible. Your physical well being is too important to sacrifice comfort.

Warranty

The warranty is important for any mattress purchase. You want to make sure that your mattress is covered for any potential damage, sagging, or otherwise failure over a reasonable amount of time. This is like insurance – you hope you never need it, but you’ll be glad that you have it if you do.

Price

Cost is always going to be a factor for tiny house owners. Cutting down on cost, and ensuring that unnecessary spending is minimized is the whole point. Don’t worry, you can still find a top-quality mattress for a reasonable price. Of course, it is hard to say a definitive price overall that you should be spending, but as a general rule for a tiny house mattress, $150-$500 is a reasonable range depending on the thickness, warranty, and size that you choose.

How to Find The Best Tiny House Mattress

It’s impossible to say that there is any ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to finding the perfect mattress. Everyone has their own priorities, needs, and budget to consider. Ultimately, you will have to decide for yourself what factors are the most important to you.

In general, you want to:

• Go as small and low profile as reasonably possible.
• Consider thickness if you will be folding, or storing the bed away when not in use; thinner is better in this case.
• Avoid overspending. A $5,000 mattress sounds nice but is likely overkill, especially in a tiny house that only costs $20,000.

All things considered, you have a lot of freedom in regards to the mattress you choose. Just remember, your sleep is important. Make sure that you have comfort above all else!

Utilize Dual-Purpose Furniture

If you have guests fairly frequently, it could be worth looking into furniture that can serve more than one purpose. These sorts of space-saving objects help to keep your tiny home organized and comfortable while still ensuring that your guests have a place to rest their heads. 

Daybeds are a particularly good option. They act as comfortable couches throughout the day but can be easily made up to become beds on nights that you have guests staying with you. This is a great choice if you have limited floor space or multiple guests — not everyone needs to stay on an air mattress. To make it even better, day beds often have plenty of storage space underneath, meaning that you can free up more room throughout the rest of your tiny home.

Another idea is to add storage ottomans. They provide seating or a place to put your feet up, and some come on rollers so you can slide them out of the way when you need floor space.

Tiny cabins can help you take stock of what really matters in your life by forcing you to cut out the clutter. While it may seem like the limited space will make it impossible to host your friends and family, this couldn’t be further from the truth. With a little bit of careful planning, you can find affordable ways to make your home restful and cozy for all your guests.