It might depend on how often you anticipate someone actually sleeping there. Dressing it for every weekend or once a month guests might be different than dressing it for once a year guests.

I recently saw a daybed in a very high end setting, which surprised me a bit as a lot of people don't like them.

What they did in this case was to use upholstery fabric to create a skirt, a bedspread and large back cushions. The upholstery was all piped, so it had a very tailored look. Almost like a sofa. Then, on top of that, were throw pillows.

I have been scouring images for my new project so sorry I don't recall at all where I saw this!

forgot this link

Here is a link that might be useful: some ideas?

This is one of two guest rooms so it will not be used often at all. Maybe once every three months or so.

I made my daybed cover out of a full-sized comforter because I couldn't find a well-made, not cheap-looking cover that I felt would work in my Western guest room. Finished, it looked great (IMO) and fit like a glove over the bed. The problem was that once off, my guests would inevitably leave it folded up on the floor or on the easy chair throughout their stay. It was too much of a bother to put it back on every day! It was also very hard to launder it once they left. So, I bought a nice looking, easy to launder, thin, quilted cotton comforter and have packed the original cover away. I'll probably end up donating it to Goodwill.

I used to keep sheets and a blanket or down comforter on the bed, so that it was ready to go for any guests, but now don't. I like to sleep on sheets that smell fresh and clean, and I think they loose that freshness after a while. Since we never have unexpected company, I now just put on freshly laundered linens the day (or day before) my company arrives. As for the new, thin cover, I wash it after every guest leaves.

Another problem I encountered is that all my throw pillows also ended up on the floor while guests were staying here. I finally solved that problem by buying a large woven basket to hold all the pillows at night and just make a point of mentioning that it's to hold any pillows.

We don't have company every month and the guest room, now with a different furniture layout than in the pic below, is also my study. I've become very frustrated with the daybed lately. I find it too high to comfortably use as sofa and end up sitting on my very comfortable leather easy chair (not pictured below) instead.

I'm ready to rethink the room. I'm planning on selling the oak daybed and trundle and buying one of those very good quality automatic airbeds that I can collapse and store in the walk-in closet when not in use.

Sorry, I'm most likely giving you more info than you wanted. As you can probably tell, I'm not a fan of my daybed today (LOL).
Lynn
My "Before" guest room:

mtnrdredux- thanks for the link. I like the idea with the back cushions with piping and then some toss pillows in front of them.

lynninnewmexico- your room looks very cozy and inviting to me. We have a queen bed in the other guest room and I kind of wanted something different. The room is small and won't hold two twin beds which is what I originally had in mind. My sister had the Savannah iron daybed that she wasn't using so I decided that would be a nice alternative to using one twin.

I have a vintage wood day bed that changes as guests come and go. When no one is visiting it's loaded w/pillows, one being a 4' bolster, and can function as a comfortable place to sit. When company comes, I remove all but 3 decorator pillows, storing the others in a closet. I used to leave all the pillows on the bed, but when the guest would make the bed, the pillows would always be piled up in a corner. If my guests were the type who liked to spend time alone in the room, it might be different. Seems we always gather together to watch TV, converse, and even read, sitting in the family room or great room.