The best sofa beds for sitting and sleeping
We scoured the British high street for this year's best sofa beds. A sofa bed promises a cunning space saving solution for all your hosting problems. A decent one should serve you as a settee for entertaining and relaxing, a spare bed for guests staying the night, and might even offer a fair amount of secret storage space on the sly. What's not to like?
The answer, historically, has been the fact that sofa beds often reneged on this promise. In the past, they've been either uncomfortable to sit on or unforgiving to sleep on. Quite often, they've managed to be both.
So the good news for anyone looking at the best sofa beds today is that the new breed are much improved compared to their spring-ridden, lumpy ancestors. As I've learned while scouring homeware and furniture emporiums (including Healâs, Made, Dwell, Habitat, John Lewis, and of course â IKEA), sofa beds are now cleverly designed and comfortable. Really comfortable, in fact â I'd go as far as saying they'd do for temporary lodgers, as well as ad hoc stay-overs.
Generally speaking, they divide into two categories. There's the click-clack mechanism, whereby the sofa's back cushion simply fold down and click flat, so you lie on the same material you sit on. And there's the more traditional pull-out frame, where the cushions are removed to reveal a mattress and frame. The former tends to be cheaper but easier; the latter more comfortable. Click here to see more.
And, of course, there are sofa beds that don't fit into either of these categories â like the very one that I found to be my favourite when testing and reviewing the best on the market.
Here we present our pick of only the very best sofa beds, tried and tested...
1. 3-seater sofa bed
Why we like it: a fantastic, firm sofa that cleverly morphs into a bed. It's really hard to find fault with the John Lewis Sansa. This is an excellent family-sized sofa (it easily sits three adults) that converts into a large, welcoming bed in a matter of seconds. And it even offers hidden storage space for blankets and bedding.
I love a good L-shaped corner sofa because it means two people can comfortably lounge, horizontally, with a decent view of the telly. It definitely passes the sit test: the cushions are firm with a decent bit of bounce and give, and the dimensions are accommodating. You wouldn't know this is a sofa bed when sitting on it, which is the litmus test in these things.
Recommended: The John Lewis "Sansa" sofa bed topped our list for comfort, style and practicality.
Then, come sleep time, to convert the bed you simply pull out the large drawer concealed under the two-seater portion and up pops a mattress, to turn the L shape into a rectangle. Itâs neither a click-clack mechanism nor a traditional fold-out, but it certainly does the trick.
If we're going to nitpick here, it's worth pointing out that there are small gaps between the cushions (as there are on any sofa), so this is no uniform mattress for your guests to kip on. However, those cushions really are very comfortable, so I didn't find the crevices mattered. If it bothers you, then an easy fix would be to squirrel away a memory foam mattress topper in the storage area built into the chaise part, which would cover the gaps.
The wooden frame comes with a 10-year guarantee, and you can choose between a light or a dark finish on the wooden legs. Thereâs also various arm rest options: personally, I like the classic scroll arm best (all the better for sprawling over), but thereâs also a choice of splayed arm, narrow arm or armless.
Storage solutions: keep sheets, bedding and a memory foam mattress topper in the secret storage space.
You can choose your own fabric, colour palette and pattern too, and the choice is dizzying: wool blend herringbone, velvet pink, synthetic neutrals, green linen. If youâre not sure whether to go for wool, velvet, chenille, cotton or linen, and how to care for each type, then the John Lewis upholstery care guide is a good resource.
John Lewis offer standard UK delivery within 12 weeks, depending on fabric and leg combination selected. The 3-seater measures H84 x W251 x D152cm, and it must be well liked by people who buy it, because John Lewis have been selling variations of this sofa bed for years now.
Why we like it: a guest-ready, entry level space-saver.
Super compact, neat and retro. The Haru comes as both a single and a double (there's a rainbow of colours, from Gen-Z yellow to understated quartz blue or versatile marshmallow grey). The double mattress measures L182 x W120 x H26 cm.
It's lovely addition to a larger kids room (my nephew has one of these and a bunk bed, which means he can host up to three friends at once without having to faff around with an air bed), or perhaps useful to keep in a study, summer house, annex or reading nook.
The single is an attractive chair in itself and is particularly easy to fit into the lounge if you already have an incumbent âmainâ sofa, although obviously it will only fit one person (laid out, it measures L182 x W77 x H29 cm). You can choose between chrome or pine legs, depending on preference. When folded up, the legs are cleverly and discreetly zipped away. More at World of Sofabeds
The Haru is also available as a single (a chair, rather than a sofa bed)
More of a temporary bedding solution for a night or two than a permanent sleeping arrangement, the Haru isnât quite inviting enough as a sofa to serve as a slump station, on which to binge on box sets or feel sorry for yourself when hungover. This is more of an extra, to slot into the corner of a bedroom or spare room and to be unpeeled for impromptu overnight stays.
Itâs portable enough to fit through doors, weighing 32kg.
As a bed, itâs more comfortable than your average click-clack sofa, and folds out and in easily. While it doesnât have a headboard, you can keep a section of it tilted up at an angle for watching TV, reading or eating breakfast in bed.
3. Louis purple velvet 4-seater sofa
Why we like it: A squashy sofa and a firm pull-out bed, all in one
The trend for velvet furnishings isnât going anywhere â and neither is ultra violet.
This plush example made my top three for its pure sumptuousness: the feather-filled cusions are the kind you might hope to sink into after a long day, and the strokeable cover is removable for professional cleaning. (The cushions do require plumping, otherwise they sink and look a bit creased.)
Itâs a pull out mechanism, which reveals a coil-sprung mattress with plastic webbing underneath. Unlike many sprung sofa bed mattresses, you canât feel the springs and its perfectly comfortable and sturdy to recline on.
I like the fact that it retains a semblance of a headboard when folded out, and I felt cocooned by the thick scrolled armrests, too. As either a sofa or a bed, I could happily lay on it for hours on end.
Purple is the bestseller, but the Louis is also available in dark grey, sage green, orange or emerald green.
Visit:Â https://www.worldofsofabeds.com
blakekathryn
pixelskylines
gracieabrams
amandla
stormborns
yousharknotpass
areudirty
