How Do You Furnish a Kelowna Secondary Suite? Beds That Fit 968 Sq Ft

Last updated October 2026 by the Forward Furniture team

Kelowna homeowners add secondary suites for family, for guests and for long term renters. The City caps how big a suite can be, so every square foot has to work. A bed that folds away turns the same room into a living room by day and a bedroom at night.

This guide sums up the City rules that matter when you furnish a suite, then does the floor space math with the real sizes of the beds we sell. Browse our Murphy beds or the freestanding Olivia cabinet bed as you read.

In this guide

• How big can a secondary suite be in Kelowna?
• What else does the City require?
• Why a fold away bed suits a suite
• How much floor does each bed take?
• Will a wall bed fit your ceiling?
• Which bed is right for your suite?
• Where can you see one in Kelowna?
• Questions

How Big Can a Secondary Suite Be in Kelowna?

The City of Kelowna Secondary Suite Bulletin 26-01, updated April 14, 2026, defines a secondary suite as a self contained unit inside a dwelling with a maximum total floor area of 90 m2, which is 968 sq ft.

That 968 sq ft has to hold a kitchen, a bathroom, a living area and somewhere to sleep. The City page on carriage houses and secondary suites adds a few more limits:

• A suite must have its own entrance, kitchen, bathroom and living area.
• Its size is also limited by the size of the main home.
• Where zoning allows it, a lot can have one secondary suite or one carriage house, not both.

Many Kelowna suites are much smaller than the maximum. A one bedroom basement suite or a studio often has well under 968 sq ft, which makes a bed that folds away even more useful.

What Else Does the City Require for a Suite?

From the same bulletin and City page, here are the rules most owners ask about:

• Permit: a building permit is required to create a secondary suite. A $300 sewer development fee may apply where the home is on City sewer.
• Registration: every suite must be registered with the City, and a building inspector checks it before anyone moves in.
• Parking and path: the suite needs off street parking and a lit, hard surfaced path to its entrance at least 860 mm (34.4 inches) wide.
• Alarms: smoke and carbon monoxide alarms must be hard wired and interconnected.
• Building code: the current BC Building Code applies to ceiling height, exits, ventilation and fire separations.

Rules change, so read the bulletin itself or ask the City before you build. This guide is about furnishing the suite once it is approved, not legal advice on the suite itself.

Why Does a Fold Away Bed Suit a Secondary Suite?

In a small suite the bed is the biggest piece of furniture, and a normal bed sits there all day. A fold away bed gives that floor back when nobody is sleeping. There are three kinds:

• Vertical wall bed: stands on end in a tall cabinet and folds down from the head. It needs the most ceiling height.
• Horizontal wall bed: lies on its side and folds down from the long edge. It is wide and low, so it fits under a window or a low basement ceiling.
• Cabinet bed: a chest about waist high that opens into a bed. It needs no wall mounting, which suits renters and concrete basement walls.

Wall beds are anchored to the wall. The Heidi full and queen, for example, go into at least two wood studs. If you rent the suite out, think about who owns the wall before you drill. Our guide to the disadvantages of a Murphy bed covers the trade offs.

How Much Floor Does Each Bed Take in a 968 Sq Ft Suite?

We worked out the floor space of each queen bed we sell, closed and open, from the maker's width, depth and open reach on our product pages. Then we compared it with the 968 sq ft City maximum.

Floor = width times depth closed, or width times reach from the wall when open, from the maker's specs on our product pages. 968 sq ft is the City of Kelowna maximum suite size (Bulletin 26-01).

What the numbers say:

• Closed, every bed takes about 10 to 12 sq ft. That is close to 1% of a 968 sq ft suite.
• A queen mattress alone covers 33.3 sq ft (60 by 80 inches), before the frame. Folding the bed away frees about 21 to 24 sq ft every day.
• The Heidi Grey is the slimmest closed, at 9.8 sq ft, but horizontal beds need about 85 inches of wall.
• Open, the cabinet beds need the least floor: about 36.0 sq ft for the Olivia, against 44.2 sq ft for the Key West vertical queen.

Leave room to walk past the open bed too. Plan for the reach from the wall plus a clear path, and keep the path to the suite door and bedroom window clear when the bed is down. Our Murphy bed dimensions guide lists the space each size needs.

Will a Wall Bed Fit Your Suite Ceiling?

Many Kelowna suites are in basements, where the ceiling is lower than upstairs. The bulletin leaves ceiling height to the BC Building Code, so measure your own room from the finished floor to the lowest point on the wall, including any bulkhead. Then compare it with these maker specs:

• Key West vertical queen: 88.1 inches tall closed and needs a 92.1 inch ceiling to swing down.
• Claremont horizontal queen: 64.2 inches tall closed.
• Pur Horizontal queen: 66.6 inches tall closed.
• Olivia queen cabinet bed: 40 inches tall, and the Stow Queen is 42.5 inches.

A vertical queen needs a ceiling of almost 7 feet 8 inches, which many basements do not have. A horizontal wall bed or a cabinet bed fits under almost any ceiling. Our post on Murphy beds for Calgary basement suites walks through the same check with Alberta numbers.

Which Bed Is Right for Your Secondary Suite?

Sizes and mattress limits are the maker's specs on our product pages. Prices are live from our catalogue on the day this page was built.

A simple way to choose:

• A tenant sleeps in it every night and wants a regular mattress: a horizontal wall bed.
• You cannot drill into the wall, or the bed may move house with you later: a cabinet bed.
• The suite is mostly for visiting family and you want the room back as an office or gym: either works. See our tips to host guests without a guest room.

Fold Away Beds for a Kelowna Suite

Olivia Cabinet Bed
Preorder, charged in full at checkout: see the current price

Freestanding hardwood cabinet bed with a tri-fold queen mattress included. On the floor at our Kelowna store.

Heidi Grey Horizontal Murphy Bed
From $1,424.99

Folds down sideways, the slimmest closed at 16.54 inches deep.

Claremont Horizontal Murphy Bed
From $2,119.99

Folds down sideways. Queen is 64.2 inches tall closed.

Stow Queen Cabinet Bed
$2,417.99

Acacia wood chest, 42.5 inches tall, with a 6 inch tri-fold gel memory foam mattress.

Where Can You See a Fold Away Bed in Kelowna?

The Olivia cabinet bed is on the floor at our Kelowna store at 2495 Enterprise Way, Unit 105. We are open Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm and Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm. Open and close it yourself and see how little floor it takes.

Bring your suite plan, the width of the wall and your ceiling height, and we can help you pick a size. Pickup is free at the store, and every bed comes with at least our 3-year warranty. See what else we carry on our Kelowna furniture store page.

Kelowna Secondary Suite Furniture: Questions

How big can a secondary suite be in Kelowna?

The City of Kelowna bulletin sets a maximum total floor area of 90 m2, which is 968 sq ft. A suite is also limited by the size of the main home.

Do you need a permit for a secondary suite in Kelowna?

Yes. A building permit is required to create a suite, every suite must be registered with the City, and an inspector checks it before anyone moves in.

What are the building code requirements for secondary suites in BC?

In Kelowna, the City bulletin says the current BC Building Code applies to ceiling height, exits, ventilation and fire separations. Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms must be hard wired and interconnected.

Can you have a secondary suite and a carriage house in Kelowna?

No. Where zoning allows them, a lot can have one secondary suite or one carriage house in addition to the main home, not both.

What bed takes the least floor space in a small suite?

Closed, every queen bed we compared takes about 10 to 12 sq ft. Open, a cabinet bed like the Olivia needs about 36 sq ft, less than a vertical queen wall bed at about 44 sq ft.

Still choosing between styles? Read cabinet bed vs Murphy bed.

Find a Fold Away Bed That Fits Your Suite