My personal opinion is that a sofa bed is not very comfortable, especially for elderly parents. I think the armoire option is a great one, and the computer alcove will look great. I am in a similar situation and feel like the sofa bed is a tough sell for adults ---- a teenager, or kids, no problem, but the grandparents would likely prefer the murphy bed, or a real bed. But, then again, my sofa bed is 20 years old, so they might be more comfy these days.

One thing we have had suggested is a "high-boy" which is like a twin day bed --- set up like a couch most of the time, but it has a pop-up trundle that converts it into a king bed. Not sure about it yet, but I'm going to look into it.

Interested to hear what ideas others have... thanks for posting!

I don't know if this would work any better than the other two suggestions. Have you looked at the ZZZ Chest? It might take up less space than the Murphy bed.

Here is a link that might be useful: ZZZ chest

We have a sofa bed in our travel trailer that has an inflatable air mattress. Might be an option to consider, we find that bed to be quite comfortable.

I vote for the murphy bed--although that zzz chest is pretty cool. I have never slept on a comfortable sofa bed. My friend has a murphy bed in her office/guest room and it just fits in with the rest of her built-in office cabinets. Looks great.

I recently encountered one of the most comfortable sofa beds I've ever seen! Just for your information. I live in the Midwest and this particular one was at Nebraska Furniture Mart. The sofa itself came in leather or fabric upholstery and the sofabed came in queen or king! The mattress reminded me more of those Select Comfort mattresses... very, very comfortable. However, the price tag was quite hefty -- I think the queen was $3500, but just another option for you if you want to consider the sofa bed. Again, I wish I could remember the brand... Good luck!

Hands down I vote for the murphy bed. With a murphy bed the mattress doesn't have to be folded and that's what makes it much more comfortable than a sofa bed or a mattress folded into a cabinet. I have seen some murphy beds that have a computer desk and/or table built in. If you did that type, would it allow you enough room for the closet? Although personally I would forgo the closet. Most guests don't need a full closet. How many other bedrooms do you have? If you are thinking of resale, then most likely anyone else would also be using the room as an office if you don't have an office space somewhere else in the house. These days it seems every one needs computer and office space more than bedrooms.

Here is a link that might be useful: example of bed with shelves and table

Thanks everyone for your opinions and advice. The ZZZ chest is an interesting alternative, but I think since the mattress folds up, it may not be any more comfortable than a sofabed. Also more complicated to set up and break down than the Murphy bed especially for independent older folks who don't like to ask for help. The newer sofabed mattresses with the air mattress on top seems like an improvement over the old thin hard sofabed mattress, but we have a couple of Aerobeds and they are fine for younger people for a night or two, but for an 85 year old visiting for two weeks or more, I really want a very nice pillowtop mattress. So I guess I will go with the Murphy bed. But we still need to put the computer someplace. We think if we use two 18" file cabinets as the base for a laminate countertop going wall to wall with two 30" wall cabinets above we can make the 60" closet space look like we designed it to be a computer/office alcove and not like a closet with no doors.

If you eliminate the closet it is no longer a bedroom, which will hurt you in resale value (if that matters).

Why do you need a computer alcove? Will someone be working from home? I only use my home office when I work from home, right now I'm in the living room on my laptop. I guess I'm saying what is the primary use of the space?

How about a small computer armoire instead of the one you are thinking for your guests' clothes and keeping the closet intact for resale. The computer armoires come in a variety of sizes and price points. You also have the benefit of closing the doors of the armoire and hiding all of the computer clutter when guests come.

Here is a link that might be useful: Computer Armoire examples