Discover Italian design and superior comfort with the beautiful Lowe Sofa Bed (which maximises the size of the mattress to its width)
Sofa beds have always been popular but until recently they were regarded as a more practical choice rather than an object of desire. Styles were often limited, but you can now find beautiful pieces of this “transformable” furniture to give you flexibility in your home, without any compromise on comfort or aesthetics. Read on to find the best sofa bed for you.
Not only do sofa beds vary tremendously in style but also in quality – some are fine for occasional overnight guests only, while others offer bed-like comfort and are designed to cope with frequent or daily use.
So, when making your selection, do consider how and where your sofa bed will be used to ensure you get the perfect solution for your needs.
Which room is the sofa bed being used in and what is its main purpose?
Is your main intention to find a perfect sofa for your sitting room that can occasionally accommodate overspill overnight guests? Are you looking for the perfect combination of a design-led sofa that multi-tasks as a daily-use bed in a studio apartment? Or are you perhaps looking to put a sofa bed in a study, dressing room or kid’s bedroom for occasional overnighters?
The good news is there are sofa beds and other extra bed options to suit your specific requirements and you don’t need to compromise on design either.
Will the sofa bed be used for sitting every day?
If you are planning to use your sofa bed to sit on regularly, it is important to consider that upholstered furniture needs to be well-constructed to stand up to daily use. The fabric and fillings you choose will not only affect comfort and how the sofa bed looks, but also its longevity and ease of cleaning, too.
Always check the quality of the fabric – you can do this by checking its Martindale number – this is an industry standard to essentially indicate the number of times you can “sit on the fabric” before it wears out. And why settle for only a few fabric choices when there is the option to have your sofa bed custom made from a wide range of fabrics and colours, or even in your own fabric (COM “customer own material”).
Look for sofa beds where the mattress is separate to the main sofa seat pads for the optimum in comfort, both as a seat and a bed.
Tip: If you have kids, pets or are prone to the odd spillage, you might want to consider options with removable, washable and replaceable covers.
Will it be used to sleep on frequently or just for the odd overnight guest?
The Go.Up Sofa Bed collection offers a sofa perfect for sitting and sleeping on every day with its ultimate 19cm mattress
When used as a bed, sofa beds vary enormously in terms of comfort and support. Unfortunately, most mass-produced low-quality sofa beds come with cheap mattresses and mechanisms that aren’t going to provide you or your guests the comfort you would be looking for.
The sofa bed mechanism and frame may not be your first thought when you are looking at options, but this is a fundamental component, both for quality but also for ease of use. If it’s made from cheap wood, it could buckle or break, and certainly won’t stand up to regular use, so do delve into the detail. And, if you are using it regularly, you certainly want to pick a mechanism with a simple process that transforms from sofa to bed in simple easy movements, without having to take off all the cushions first!
Tip: When selecting, look out for what mattress types are offered (for example you may prefer a spring or a memory foam option), the depth of the mattress and what type of mechanism is used.
How many people will be staying over?
Unless you have very specific requirements, you may want flexibility on how many guests can be accommodated and in different sleeping configurations.
This is where clever design really comes into its element with some sofa beds enabling you to create multiple variations of sleeping with single, twin and double use from one sofa.
Or, if you are really limited on space, there are chair beds, ottomans and poufs that “punch above their weight” and can convert to provide double bed size sleeping options too!
An example is the Zoom Pouf which amazingly transforms from a compact ottoman to an inflatable double bed!
How easy is it to convert from sofa to bed?
Check out how easy it is to transform from sofa to bed – struggling with an awkward mechanism certainly isn’t welcome, particularly late at night! And this is the hidden area of your sofa bed design that will really make a massive difference to how happy you are with your choice.
A comfortable sofa bed is not light in weight as the mechanisms should have robust metal structure and, at the same time, be easy to open and close in one smooth motion without the removal of any cushions. It requires expertise and ingenuity in design and manufacture to achieve a fine balance between robustness and smoothness.
Discover the Oblò Sofa Bed
Choosing a sofa bed that works for your space
The Olo range offers a convertible sofa which can be a single, twin or double bed
Sofa beds are available in a surprisingly wide range of sizes and styles from compact two seaters to luxurious large L-shape sofa configurations. You can find different models with carefully thought-out features like – sideways openings, options to configure single, twin and double from one model – giving you plenty of options to find the one that fits your space perfectly.
On a practical level, you should always check the measurements of any piece of furniture that you’re looking to buy to ensure it works in the space but, with a sofa bed, not only do you need to ensure the “sofa” version will fit into your desired room for everyday use, you’ll also need to make sure there’s plenty of space to accommodate the bed too. You may like to check out the “Will It Fit?” guide to give you some tips.
Be aware that the larger the sofa bed doesn’t necessarily mean the larger the sleeping area and some compact sofa beds have been brilliantly designed to maximise the sleeping surface.
Tip: Always check the size of the mattress as these can vary tremendously and we recommend opting for the largest size mattresses that your space will allow to give the greatest comfort to guests, especially for frequent use.
Why settle for a sofa bed that looks like a sofa bed?!
There is no need to compromise on design, quality or comfort. We have carefully curated a collection of sofa beds from one of the absolute pioneers in producing convertible furniture in the world. From 1959, the company started making sofas that became beds and they have firmly established themselves as a leader in sofa bed design, comfort and craftsmanship. Discover the innovative range of Campeggi sofa beds, sofas, chairs and transformable furniture in the UK at www.houseofdome.com.
Campeggi’s Ritz collection provides superb comfort and the flexibility to configure exactly as you need
The House of Dome Difference
- Innovative range of Italian designed and made sofa beds – custom-made and delivered to you within just 4-6 weeks
- Award-winning designs – no compromise on aesthetics or comfort, either as a sofa or a bed
- An unrivalled range of mattresses – you can pick from 3 different types including spring, CFC free polyurethane foam and memory options, good enough to sleep on every day
- A unique 19cm deep mattress option – in our view, the absolute best available
- Easy-to-use top quality mechanisms – transforming from sofa to bed in seconds
- An extensive choice of high-quality Italian fabrics (made to British Standards) and supply free swatches for your mood board
- The option to customize with your own fabric
- Removable, washable covers – ideal if you have pets, children or the odd spillage
- Products built to last – replacement covers and mattresses available
- Professional advice to help direct you to the product most suited to your needs – chat to one of our design team on 0203 908 5605 or email to designconsultation@houseofdome.com
