Ever Home Decor

The sofa bed is a popular piece of furniture that has been continuously developed over the past few decades. As a result, there are now many different types of sofa bed available for a wide variety of living wishes and needs. In this article, we will explain to you what you should look for when choosing and buying a sofa bed.

What is a sofa bed?

A sofa bed is a multifunctional piece of furniture that combines the function of a sofa [sitting] with the function of a bed [sleeping]. There are sofa beds in various qualities and designs, which result in different suitability.

For example, sofa beds are ideal for furnishing one-room apartments or smaller apartments. In addition, such pieces of furniture are also ideal for the flexible design of youth, children’s and guest rooms.

Synonyms and Definitions:

Synonyms: sofa
bed, sofa bed, sofa bed, lounger, sofa bed
, chaise longue – sometimes also: ottoman, divan, chaise longue, sofa or divan.

Incidentally, the Duden does not “know” the commonly used term “sofa bed”. The following definitions can be found here:

Bed couch , the “couch that can also be used as a bed”

Sofa bed, the
“couch that pulls out, folds out, or the like. so that it can be used for sleeping ”

In the Internet search engines, the term “sofa bed” has a clear lead with almost 2.5 million search results. The “ sofa bed ” ranks second with a little more than 1.13 million hits. Far behind are the “ sofa bed ” [518,000 results] and the sofa bed [139,000 results].

How does a sofa bed work?

With most sofa bed variants, the “transformation” from a couch to a bed is done by pulling it out or using a folding mechanism. There are more or less big differences depending on the respective model or construction. In addition, other sofa bed solutions are available that can be used as a bed without being “converted”.

Overview: This is how the sofa becomes a bed | Functional variants (depending on the model)

• Fold the backrest down
• Remove the backrest and / or armrest / s
• Fold out / pull out the complete bed integrated in the sofa
• Fold out individual parts (backrests / additional elements) to enlarge the lying area
• Add additional elements or cushions to the existing seat of the sofa to enlarge the lying area
• Fold out or roll out the futon
• Unfold / unfold cushion / mattress like an accordion
  (lying surface directly on the floor)

Types of sofa beds

Basically, sofa beds can be divided into longitudinal sleepers and transverse sleepers based on the type of use as a bed. In addition, sofa beds are often divided into different categories based on their design principle or structure or certain equipment features.

Sleeper lengthways

If the person sleeps lengthways, the couch is “converted” so that the seating area of ​​the piece of furniture corresponds to the lying width. To produce the lying surface, the lengthways sleeper is pulled out or folded out towards the front, which results in the length of the lying surface. In the case of sofa beds that are designed to sleep lengthways, any armrests that may be present are not necessarily folded down. In addition, the position of the backrest is not changed on many models when the sofa is used as a bed.

Advantages and disadvantages of the sleeper lengthways sofa bed:

• Large amount of space (lying area usually much larger than that of the transverse sleeper)
• comfortable bed for two people (depending on model and size)
• When converting, armrests and backrests usually do not necessarily have to be adjusted
• more floor space / space required – when converting to a bed it may be necessary, for example, to move the table in front of the couch to the side
• Handling during the conversion can be a little more difficult depending on the model
• Purchase prices are often a little higher

Cross sleeper

With the cross-sleeper sofa, you lie across the seat, with the backrest and, if necessary, armrests folded down to enlarge the lying area. The length of the lying surface of the cross sleeper corresponds to the length of the seat plus, if applicable, the width of the armrests. The width of the lying surface results from the depth of the seat plus the height of the folded backrest.

Advantages and disadvantages of the cross sleeper sofa bed:

• More space-saving than sleeper lengthways, because less floor space is required when unfolding
• Depending on the design, it can be equipped with a bed box
• Also available in larger formats, e.g. lying area 160 × 200 cm as a comfortable double bed for two people (depending on the model)
• Converting from sofa to bed is usually quick and easy
• The length of the lying surface is sometimes relatively short
• many models are designed for one-person use only
• For models with armrests that cannot be folded down completely, lying down may be less comfortable