What To Know About Sofa Beds



Posted: Wednesday, February 10, 2010

by Annie Deakin
Annie Deakin

What to know about sofa beds means taking some time to learn a little bit about these couches and sofas that also contain beds within them. For those who live in small apartments such as a studio unit, these combo sofa-and-bed units can be a very smart way to save on available space while still having a nice, comfortable sleeping surface upon which to recline.

Today's common sofa bed should meet a couple of criteria for its owner; for one, it should be at least comfortable enough to have a decent night's sleep on but not so comfortable that guests finding themselves having to sleep on it want to keep coming back all the time just for the enjoyable experience. Today, these beds that are hidden within sofas are vastly improved in quality.

This means that the days when someone would have to accept a sofa that was kind of bland in looks and somewhat shoddy in construction all to have the convenience of a bed within it are gone. Nowadays, good quality sofa beds come in a huge variety of styles, coverings (including glove-soft leather) and fabrics. There's really no end to their looks or variety, as a matter of fact.

What then, should those who are considering purchasing a sofa bed be looking for? The first thing that anyone who is thinking of buying one of these units should look at is the mattress. At a minimum, the mattress should be at least 5 1/2 inches in thickness and should also include an adequate number of innersprings within it. This helps to provide comfort and support.

Mattresses that are cheap or shoddy should be avoided at all cost. Not only will the sleep experience be poor, but it is a sure bet that even more money will need to be spent down the road to find something better to sleep upon. There are combination mattresses that provide innersprings and some sort of air support. These are usually considered the best kinds of mattresses for a sofa bed.

After gauging the quality of the mattress, take a few moments to look at the frame itself. This is the object that is pulled out of the sofa and then unfolded. At a minimum, the construction should be of tubular steel and it should be double reinforced in certain areas. This includes the locks that help the frame rise up into what is called the 'TV position.'

This position is what people prefer when watching television from a sofa bed. The frame should be able to position the area where the sleeper's head will lie in an upright position. Check that there are double locks at this particular pivot point. After that, check overall sofa construction and the fabrics or coverings that are used along with the quality of the cushions.

What is a fact is that today's sofa beds are a full qualitative step above what was available in a sofa bed just several or so years ago. In this particular industry, the saying that quality costs is actually fairly accurate. One can go for a low price, but may not be happy with the quality of the sleep experience. Therefore, take some time to check out these beds online before purchasing.

Annie is an expert furniture and interior design writer. Her current area of specialism is dining chairs, office furniture sale and bed sale

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