Sofa Bed Buying Guide
The best sofa beds today are proper sofas first and proper beds second, with a real mattress that folds away in seconds. The worst are neither. This guide explains the mechanisms and what to look for, so your guests sleep well and you don't notice the difference the rest of the year. Shop all sofa beds →
In this guide
How often will it be slept on?
Be honest about this, because it decides the budget. For occasional guests a few nights a year, almost any good-quality sofa bed will do and you should choose it as a sofa. For a spare room that doubles as an office, or a teenager's bedroom, you want a thicker mattress and a mechanism built for regular use.
Mechanisms
- Pull-out (metal action) — the seat cushions lift off and a folded frame with a mattress pulls out. Sleeps like a bed and sits like a sofa, because the two are separate. The most common type in our Buoyant and Lebus ranges.
- Click-clack / fold-down — the back folds flat to make the bed. Simpler and cheaper, with a firmer, flatter sleeping surface.
- Chaise and corner sofa beds — the bed pulls out from under the chaise section, often with storage underneath. Good for a lounge that has to do everything. Corner sofa beds.
Whatever the type, try opening it in the showroom. A good mechanism can be worked by one person without lifting the sofa.
The mattress
This is where the money goes. A 10–12 cm sprung or memory-foam mattress will sleep comfortably; thin foam pads will not. Ask what the mattress is made of, and whether it can be replaced separately in years to come.
Size
Sofa beds are named by the sofa (2 seater, 3 seater, corner) but what matters for sleeping is the mattress width: 2-seater sofa beds usually open to a small double, 3-seaters to a standard double. Check the opened depth too — a pull-out bed needs roughly 2 metres of clear floor in front of the sofa.
Fabric or leather?
Both are available. Leather sofa beds from Newtrend Concepts are particularly good-looking and easy to wipe down, while fabric gives a wider colour choice and a warmer sit. See the fabric and leather sofa-bed collections.
Frequently asked questions
Are sofa beds comfortable to sleep on every night?
Pull-out sofa beds with a 10 cm+ sprung or memory-foam mattress are fine for regular use. Click-clack types are better kept for occasional guests.
What size bed does a 3 seater sofa bed make?
Usually a standard double (around 135 cm wide). A 2 seater makes a small double (around 120 cm).
Can one person open it?
A good pull-out mechanism, yes — the cushions lift off and the frame unfolds with one hand. Try it in the showroom.
Is the mattress replaceable?
On most pull-out mechanisms, yes. Ask us for the mattress size on the range you choose.
