Sofa Bed Buying Guide

A sofa bed is, as the name suggests, a sofa that can be changed into a bed when necessary. The change is only temporary, and it can be reverted back to a sofa when not in use. This makes them the perfect choice for smaller homes that maybe don't have the space for a guest room or just for those who always want to have a spot for a visitor to sleep on!

Most of the time, sleeper sofas have a mattress included in the frame, or it might even be that the cushions themselves turn into the mattress! A great benefit to a sofa bed is that they are the perfect way to combine two necessities in the home - a sofa and a bed all in one!

A sofa bed is a good choice to buy if you don't have enough space to accommodate a guest bed in your home, or if you have a guest bed already and just need another option! They're quick and easy to use, and we have everything from small sofa beds to suit homes running short on space to double sofa beds that can accommodate couples.

Their innovative design that combines a sofa and a bed helps to save on floorspace, so you get two uses in just one piece of furniture. On top of this, they're great for any events you might have, such as hosting a friend or family member for Christmas or even just the weekend. Some sleeper sofas, such as chair beds, can also be the perfect choice for a kid's bedroom to ensure sleepovers are always an option!

Using a sofa bed usually involves either pulling the bed section out of the frame or lowering the back of the sofa until it's in a flat position. There are two specific types of sleeper sofas that we sell here on Make It Homely, pull-out sofa beds and clic-clac sofa beds.

How do I use a pull-out sofa bed?

Pull-out sofa beds, as their name suggests, require you to pull the 'bed' section out of the sofa's frame. These can be slotted underneath the cushions and pulled out of the frame itself, or pulled out of the cushion section up and out.

Something to consider about pull-out sofa beds is that you will need to ensure you have enough space to accommodate the fold-out section. These sofa beds extend forwards, so they can usually be placed against a wall easily, but they need space in front of them. You will need to move footstools or coffee tables out of the way!

How do I use a clic-clac sofa bed?

Clic-clac sofa beds, on the other hand, have a special mechanism that allows you to push the back all the way down to turn it into a bed shape. What makes this special, though, is that some clic-clac sofa beds also allow you to 'click' it into a recliner position, so it's not quite a sofa and not quite a bed! The name comes from the 'clic-clac' noise it makes as you move it!

A clic-clac sofa bed needs space behind in order to be able to fold out fully. This means that if you place it against a wall, you will need to pull it forward to be able to turn it into a bed, as the back of the sofa needs to be able to be pulled down!

Sofa beds are very comfortable to sit on and are obviously designed to be comfortable to sleep on. They might not have that cloud-like feeling of sinking in like with some standard sofas, but that's because they need to be able to provide enough support throughout the night!

Many of our sofa beds are made with foam-filled cushions, which make them both comfy and supportive to sit and sleep on. You can use a sleeper sofa as a standard sofa with no problems, making them great for homes of any size.

Are sofa beds good for your back?

If you suffer form back pain, then you'll find that a sofa bed is not really good for your back. They're designed for temporary use, so they often aren't designed with all the specialised features that mattresses come with.

Sofa beds usually come with some form of mattress, whether it's a specially designed mattress exclusively for use with the sofa bed or foam-filled cushions which create that mattress effect. The foam-filled cushions can be beneficial for those with backache, but we wouldn't recommend this for long-term use!

Can you sleep on a sofa bed permanently?

We definitely wouldn't recommend sleeping on a sofa bed permanently, if it's possible. That's because, as we stated above, sleeper sofas are designed for temporary use. They're specifically created to be able to turn from a sofa into a bed and back again, so we wouldn't recommend them as a permanent option.

No! Just like with standard sofas, there is no one size of sofa bed and they come in a wide range of options here on Make It Homely, including chair beds, single sofa beds, double sofa beds and much more. This means that there's guaranteed to be a sofa bed to suit your needs and your home.

Smaller spaces can benefit from a chair sofa bed, which has the appearance of a normal armchair and expands out into a single sofa bed size! On the other hand, there are also plenty of small sofa beds that are great for solo guests or homes that are running short on space.

There are also sofa beds for couples, with double sofa beds offering space that accommodates two people at once, so there's always room for friends and family in your home! To find out more about specific sofa bed dimensions, check out each product page to find out all the information you need.

How should I measure for a sofa bed?

Measuring for a sofa bed will require you to measure the available space you have in your living room, guest room or wherever you want it to live, alongside the sofa bed dimensions themselves. Our useful measuring guide will provide you with plenty of tips on how to measure your space efficiently, but sleeper sofas require a little extra thought when compared to a standard sofa!

When measuring your space for a sofa bed, make sure to consider not only how big the sofa is when not in use but also how big it is when in the bed shape. Pull-out sofa beds will need more space in front of them, whereas clic-clac sofa beds need more space behind them, so make sure to consider this when measuring!