12 Tricks for the Best Air Mattress Setup for Guests

12 ways to set up the best air mattress for guests in a spare room or office for a welcoming temporary bedroom.

We pulled out ALL of the office guest room ideas we could think of to turn our home office space into a guest room. For Thanksgiving one year, we had 14 people sleeping in our house all at once, so that immediately set the wheels in motion to produce beds out of thin air for all of those bodies!

Our home office was the perfect place to set up a temporary sleeping space using some strategies to make a basic air mattress comfortable and more welcoming as a temporary guest bedroom. In the end, it looked like a legitimate dedicated bedroom with a real bed!

If you have a similar challenge, these tips will help you upgrade the look and feel of a simple air mattress to turn any size room or office into a temporary bedroom that feels inviting for guests.

12 Ways to Set Up the Best Air Mattress for Guests in a Temporary Bedroom

Here’s how our home office looks on a regular basis (except add in lots more papers and mess everywhere for reality’s sake… Marie Kondo and Martha Stewart don’t work here, okay?)

Can you believe this is an office turned guest bedroom using an air mattress?!

Yes, that cute bed is an air mattress to use as a temporary bed. I pulled together a few basic makeshift items from around the house and a few guest room essential amenities to make it as comfortable as possible for a functional space.

Really, these are great tricks whether you need some guest bedroom office ideas or need to stage a house and need to market a spare room as a bedroom. All the air mattress tricks and office guest room ideas to the rescue!

First of all, a moment for that DIY shower curtain art that magically works as an air mattress headboard. Happy accidents rock. (I wouldn’t normally hang a pendant light that low over a bed, but we’re just working with what we’ve got.)

Beef Up a Basic Mattress

1. Use an Extra Tall Air Mattress

If you haven’t bought your air mattress yet, it’s best to use a tall air mattress that’s at least 20″ high so guests can more easily slide into bed without needing to scoot onto the floor, especially if your guests are older and sleeping on a floor space feels difficult.

This 24″ pillowtop queen sized bed air mattress we used is the perfect height, is really comfortable, and has a convenient built-in pump so we don’t have to worry about it getting lost while it’s in storage between guests. We’ve used it off and on for several months with guests staying over and kids having sleepovers. There hasn’t been a single leak yet!

2. Add a Memory Foam Topper to Make an Air Mattress Feel Like a Real Bed

Even if you do already own the cheapest of the cheap thin air mattress though, a gel infused memory foam topper makes such a huge difference to help the mattress feel less “air mattress-y” and aid in pressure relief for a comfortable guest bed. The thicker the better; there are several thickness options out there, but anything is better than nothing.

3. Hide the Air Mattress Bottom With an Elastic Skirt

Out of sight, out of mind? By adding an elastic bed skirt around the bottom of the air mattress, you’re totally fooled into believing it’s a regular bed! If you need help keeping it in place, tape it up around the bottom of the mattress with a little bit of masking tape.

If you needed to stage a spare room as a bedroom when listing a house for sale, this is a great trick to use for an open house.

4. Make the Bed With Soft White Bedding

Guests usually prefer white bedding because it feels clean (plus, it can be bleached so it actually is clean).

Our favorite budget-friendly sheets feel so luxuriously soft. These down alternative pillows and duvet insert add a great cozy “squishy” feeling (that I use on all of our beds in our house actually).

I just threw this white duvet cover set on top along with some knit pillows and boucle pillow for extra coziness.

5. Add an Extra Blanket for Needed Warmth

Air mattresses are notorious for feeling cold since, after all, cool air is underneath you. So adding an extra layer like this plush sherpa blanket helps keep guests comfortable.

6. Repurpose a Stool or Crate as a Nightstand

It’s nice having a nightstand to place eyeglasses or keep a light handy, so use a stool or crate you might already have for that purpose.

I used this stool that I already had in our kids’ bathroom. Don’t go buying anything special. So many things you probably already have hanging around your house could work.

7. Have a Small Lamp or Nightlight Handy

It’s much more convenient to have a lamp at arm’s reach beside the bed, so look around at what you might already have that could work on the makeshift nightstand.

I used this small lamp I took from our bedroom.

8. Consider Including a Clock and/or White Noise Machine

Our family always sleeps better with white noise machines, especially in places away from home where strange sounds might keep us awake.

This alarm clock has soothing nature sounds, a dimmer, and can even project the time onto the ceiling.

9. Have Towels Handy

It’s nice having towels ready and waiting for you in the guest bedroom so they don’t have to go searching for any in a potentially embarrassing moment if they step out of the shower unable to find any towels in the bathroom.

These plush white towels are some of my favorites that we’ve used for years.

10. Include Toiletries in a Basket

Just in case guests forgot to pack a toothbrush or shampoo, it’s good to have some small toiletries at the ready for them. I like tossing everything into a basket like this. Whatever amenities hotels usually include in hotel rooms, I like to have for our guests too.

Related: See how to stock a guest welcome basket here + more recommended amenities to include

11. Add a Pillow Top Mattress Pad to a Futon

You could do this to your air mattress too for another soft layer, but if you’re using a futon in your home office as a guest bed in a small space, it’s especially helpful to add a plush pillow top mattress pad to prevent back pain and protect the upholstery. This faux leather futon turns into a full sized bed and has hidden built in storage space for bedding.

12. Provide a Bluetooth Speaker

Especially in a house with a lot of other overnight guests staying, it’s nice for guests to have access to white noise or music to drown out other noises in the house while they try to sleep. This retro style radio Bluetooth speaker is super functional while looking beautiful on an office shelf.

You can see this list of guest bedroom essentials for more items you can include to help guests feel right at home.

And you can get extra help here for stocking guest amenities in your bathroom too.

So now your basic air mattress is boogied up and guest ready! When we have a guest bed set up in our office, we get absolutely zero work done in here… and that’s exactly how it should be with loved ones visiting us. 🙂

Do you have any other home office guest room ideas or amenities you implement in your home to help guests feel comfortable in a spare bedroom?

Bonus: You can get my Wi-Fi password display printable here to make things even more convenient for your guests (because you know they’ll ask).

More Guest Bedroom Ideas

• 40 Amenities for the Perfect Guest Bedroom
• How to Stock a Guest Bathroom – Amenities for Visitors
• How to Make a Bed Like the Magazines

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