Buyer's Guide

Choosing a sofa bed

Sofa beds are amazing and when made properly are an invaluable addition to your home. The create space, they are an invitation to guests to spend time with you, they give you the freedom to use your room as you need to.

We’ve put together a little guide get you thinking and to help you choose the right sofa bed. After all, you’ll want it to meet the following basic criteria - look lovely, be right for the room and - perhaps above all - be comfortable.

Sofa beds are a great way of really maximizing the use of space. But sadly, they’re not all the same. So here are a few things to consider when choosing yours: How big is it?

Does it look and feel like a sofa bed?

Sofa beds have a certain look, which may be all good and well for your spare room where its never seen, but if you want to make your sofa bed a central part of your home (even in a spare room) then you’ll want it to look lovely – Sofa Beds can look and feel as good as any quality sofa.

What size do I need?

That depends on how you intend to use it and who’s going to be sleeping on it. If its going to be for couples, then choose something with a minimum size of a double bed, depending on how much space you have you may be able to go even larger. Chair and Small sofa beds are a perfect size for one. High street sofa beds are usually offered in one size only, find a company that offers a range of sizes that will fit your space perfectly.

Can I get the fabric and colour I want?

We believe you should choose the colour and fabric that you love and will work in your home. Don’t let the retailer dictate what colour you can have. Spend time looking at all the fabric options and if you’ve still not found the perfect one ask if you can source your own for a truly bespoke option.

Are sofa beds good enough to be a every day bed?

Choose your sofa bed based on what you want it to do, if its going to be used very occasionally on the days your mate misses the train home then you may not need the quality of a sofa bed that can bed used more frequently.

If its going to be used regularly or if you just want your guest to have the best sleep experience possible choose sofa beds that are specifically designed to bed used every day – they are of a very different build quality to a regular sofa bed and often have a greater choice of mattress and sizes.

How much room does it occupy?

The footprint of a sofa bed is determined by 4 factors, the width of the sofa, the design of the arms, the open length of the bed and the width of the mattress. Depending on the space you have you may want to prioritise the use of the sofa bed, if its going to be used very occasionally as a bed but everyday as a sofa, choose the size and design that works for you. If you’re looking to get the biggest bed into the smallest space, choose a model that has very slim arms or no arms.
Sofa beds where the cushions stay on when deployed will offer you the smallest open bed footprint.

Do I get a choice of mattress?

Like any decent bed, you should be offered a range of mattresses, always look for the deepest sofa bed mattresses can range from 5cm to 14cm like any bed purchase, if possible try them first.

How easy is it to deploy?

Sofa Beds should be easy to operate by people of all ages and strengths. It should be a quick simple action without additional unnecessary steps. Choose a sofa bed where the cushions stay on the mechanism so that you don’t have to remove them and find somewhere to put them. Some sofa beds allow you to store bedding in the bed when not in use.

Why do some cost more then others?

They may look similar, but they are far from it underneath! The quality of the materials and workmanship varies hugely. sofa beds made in China are often mass-produced to a cost, whereas others produced here are carefully hand made with enormous attention to detail. If you choose a small, British company the chances are you’ll be carefully guided through the buying process and the after-sales care will be good too. As with many things in life, you get what you pay for.

There’s lots to think about. But get it right and it will be money very well spent, sofa beds truly do offer the best possible way to host friends and family.

Go on... Sleep on it!