Yes, those air mattresses are a far cry from the ones from my youth - the kind that you blew up and used to float at the beach, too. We have that set up in our second bedroom in Florida for the same reason you do. Here, in a more rustic setting (and with older visitors) we really need to stay with the twin bed.
I'm rethinking my plan. Simple sometimes is just better. We have only have 16 x 25 inches of counter space and the peninsula style bar counter is almost 42 inches high which is much too high for someone of my stature. I think I'll just put risers under the kitchen table. The light is good there. There really is no reason to cut in the bedroom.
I am going to visit the vintage stores around here soon so I'll keep an open mind but this might be my best bet.
Thank you all again!