Sofa beds have come a very long way in the last few years, particularly compact sofa beds for small spaces and modern living. Take your pick of exciting contemporary styles and a fabulous range of colours and fabrics.
These modern sofa beds have definitely put the fun back into functional. BUT – before buying a sofa bed (for any size space), it’s really important to do your homework first in order to invest wisely.
How to choose the best sofa bed for your small living space
Your essential sofa-bed pre-purchase checklist:
– Are you looking for a sofa bed for the lounge? It will only be an occasional guest bed, but it’s your main sofa. So comfort – along with good looks – are crucial.
– Does your sofa bed need to be both main sofa and your bed every night? The classic scenario if you live in a studio flat. Functionality, sturdiness and ease of conversion from sofa to bed are all important, as are looks and comfort. Spend as much as you’re able to get a top quality mattress and comfy sofa cushions.
– Do you need a sofa bed to go into a spare room? Space may be very tight, particularly if the room has multiple uses, e.g. home office. So the sofa bed needs to take up as little room as possible. But it will only be used as a bed when you have visitors, and won’t be your main sofa either.
Not sure where to start? Take a look – we’ve rounded up our Top 10 contemporary sofa beds for small spaces, with choices for all the above scenarios:
‘Clic-Clac’ / Fold Flat Sofa Beds for Small Spaces
First off, then, are sofa beds where the back folds flat with a ratchet mechanism. This style of sofa bed is perfect for longer, thinner spaces where you have room for a full width sofa, but not much space into the middle of the room. Another benefit of this style is that they have fixed seats, so there are no seat cushions for you take off (and find storage space for) come bedtime.
1. This stylish contemporary sofa quickly transforms into a bed by simply dropping down the back. Available in 8 fabrics, the Jasper Sofa Bed from M&S won’t break the bank and delivery is usually speedy too.
2. The extremely handsome Recast Sofa Bed, above, is a collaboration between John Lewis and Danish design company Innovation.
Crafted in Denmark with dark wood legs and mid-century styling, this pocket-sprung sofa bed is designed for ease of use. It has a simple pull out base and drop down back (below) plus there’s useful storage space in the bottom of the sofa back.
3. We love the unfussy lines, seamed details and cheerful ochre yellow upholstery of the Riley Clic Clac Sofa Bed. It folds flat in two easy clic-clac movements and is also available in navy or teal velvet.
4. Swyft is making a name for itself on the sofa scene, and the Swyft Model 04 Sofa Bed, above and below, is no exception. It’s designed to look like a normal sofa whilst providing the comfort of a standard double bed.
Made with stain-resistant threads, all of the Swyft fabrics feature child and pet-friendly stain-free technology. And as a final bonus, Swyft sofas and sofa beds come in a box (or boxes) for easy access into small homes, with the innovative Swyft-lok mechanism making assembly quick and easy.
5. Last of the fold-flat, ‘clic-clac’ contemporary sofa beds for small spaces is the Linear Medium Sofa Bed. John Lewis say that the Linear “Sits like a sofa, sleeps like a bed” due to the combination of webbing to support the foam and fibre filled cushions plus individual pocket springs in the seats. (It gets good customer reviews too). This could be your ideal choice if you need good performance as both sofa and bed. Other colours available.
Pull-Out Mattress Sofa Beds for Small Spaces
Moving on now to small sofa beds where the length of the mattress unfolds out into the room. These are the best style of sofa bed when you don’t have space for a wide sofa. They’re usually available in very compact sizes, but often with a choice of either 2 or 3 seater options. Which means you have the option to pick the size that works best for your room.
6. The Disraeli Sofa Bed, above and below, is an updated, angular and very slender chesterfield design from UK sofa specialists Love Your Home. It’s available as a 2, 2.5 or 3 seater (or your own bespoke size) and there’s a choice of over 100 fabrics. You can also upgrade the sprung mattress if desired.
7. Next, a great choice for when you need both sofa and bed to perform well. The Bailey 2-Seater Sofa Bed from John Lewis, above, has a neat silhouette, slim arms and a choice of leg colours. Suitable for regular use as a bed, the pocket sprung mattress is only slightly less deep than a standard double mattress. When used as a sofa, the seats are supported by webbing as in a tradtional sofa. A 15-year frame guarantee is included and you can choose from over 250 fabrics so you’re bound to find something to suit your own decor.
See the whole range of nine Bailey Sofa Beds here, including corner chaise sofa beds.
8. Another good choice for when the bed will be used regularly is the Exmouth Sofa Bed, above, from sofa specialists Darlings. It has a stylish wooden plinth and comes in a great choice of fabrics or leathers. It also features generous padding for optimum comfort (luxury foam and fibre wrap seat cushions) and the option to upgrade to feather-wrapped foam.
Made in the UK with a hardwood frame, there’s a good choice of sofa sizes available. The bed offers premium features too – the pull out mechanism is 10cm longer than standard, which gives you a thick and comfy 12cm pocket sprung mattress that’s 195cm long. You can also upgrade to memory foam if desired.
9. With its subtle mid-centrury lines, the Oscar 3-Seater Sofa Bed from M&S comes in a choice of over 100 fabrics. Which means you definitely don’t have to go short on style when choosing your sofa bed for small spaces.
10. To round off, the very compact Block Sofa Bed, from John Lewis, above and below, which is rather more basic as it’s comprised of blocks of supportive foam that quickly and easily fold out to become a mattress.
The Block Sofa Bed is definitely a neat solution for very small spaces, and I can see this being a great solution for a space-starved spare room/home office.Images: stores and brands as credited above
This post has been revised and republished to keep content relevant
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