Sofa Bed Buying Guide

A sofa bed has to do two jobs well, and most of the ones you will see online only do one. It has to be a sofa you are happy to sit on every evening, and a bed someone can actually sleep on. This guide goes through what we would check ourselves, in the order that matters.

Start with how often it will be slept on

This single question decides almost everything else. A sofa bed that is opened three or four times a year for visiting family can be simpler and cheaper. A sofa bed that someone sleeps on every night — a studio flat, a lodger, a teenager's room — needs a proper mattress and a frame built for daily folding.

Be honest about this before you look at prices. The most common complaint about sofa beds is not that they were poor quality; it is that an occasional-guest model was bought for everyday use.

Mattress depth matters more than the mechanism

Most people ask about the mechanism first. In practice, the thing you will feel every night is the mattress.

• Under 8cm — fine for one or two nights a year, not much more.
• 10–14cm — comfortable for regular guests and most weekend use.
• 15cm and above — the range to look at if someone will sleep on it most nights.

Also check whether you can feel the frame or any bars through the mattress when it is open. A thick mattress over a poorly supported base still gives you a bad night's sleep. Lie on it in the open position if you ever get the chance, or ask us for the exact mattress depth before you order — we will tell you the real number.

Understand the three common mechanisms

You will meet three main types in the UK market.

• Click-clack (or fold-down back) — the backrest pushes down flat. Simple, few moving parts, very reliable, and usually the lightest to operate. The sleeping surface sits at seat height.
• Pull-out — the bed folds out from inside the seat on a metal frame. Gives a more bed-like height and often a thicker mattress, but needs clear floor space in front and is heavier to open.
• Corner with storage — the chaise section lifts to reveal a storage box, and the seat pulls forward into a large sleeping area. The best choice when space is tight, because the bedding lives inside the sofa.

None of these is automatically better. Click-clack is the least to go wrong; pull-out usually sleeps better; corner units give you storage you would otherwise need a separate cupboard for.

Measure twice — folded and unfolded

A sofa bed has two footprints, and people usually only check one. Write down both before you buy:

• The closed size, for everyday living.
• The open size, plus at least 50cm of clear floor in front so the bed can be made up and walked around.

Then measure the route in: front door, internal doorways, hallway width, stair turns and any tight corners. A sofa that fits the room but not the hallway is the most expensive mistake in furniture. Our guide to measuring a room before buying furniture walks through this properly, and every listing on our sofa beds page gives both sets of measurements.

Think about the cover fabric

Fabric decides how the piece ages and how much work it is.

• Plush and crushed velvet — soft, warm, and very good at hiding light marks. Needs an occasional brush in one direction to keep the pile even.
• Flat weave and linen-look — cooler to sit on in summer and easy to vacuum, but shows spills more quickly.
• Faux leather — wipes clean in seconds, which is why it suits homes with young children, though it can feel cold in winter.

Whatever you choose, check the piece is suitable for the room it is going in. A pale fabric in a busy family living room will need more care than a mid or dark tone.

Check the storage before you assume you have it

Storage sofa beds are not all equal. Some give you a shallow tray that holds a single duvet cover; others give a full-depth box that swallows a duvet, two pillows and spare bedding. If storage is one of your reasons for buying, ask for the internal depth, not just the words "with storage".

Weight, assembly and delivery

Sofa beds are heavy — the metal mechanism sees to that. Two points worth planning for:

• Our team brings your furniture to your home on any floor at no extra charge, but someone aged 18 or over has to be there to receive it. Tell us in advance about parking or lift restrictions.
• Decide whether you are assembling it yourself. Most of our sofa beds need only the legs fitting. If you would rather not, our own team assembles sofa beds for £20 per piece — our staff, not a third-party courier.

You can read exactly how we deliver, and what happens if something is not right, on our delivery and returns page.

A short checklist before you order

• How many nights a week will it be slept on?
• What is the mattress depth, in centimetres?
• What are the closed and open measurements?
• Will it come through the front door, hallway and any stair turn?
• Is the fabric right for the room and the people using it?
• If it has storage, how deep is the box really?
• Who is assembling it?

If you can answer those seven questions, you are very unlikely to be disappointed. If you are unsure on any of them, send us the room measurements and we will tell you honestly whether a piece will work — including when the answer is that it will not.

Where to look next

• Browse all sofa beds — every size, with open and closed measurements listed.
• Are sofa beds comfortable for everyday sleeping?
• Corner sofa bed or 3 seater — which suits your room?
• Sofa bed mattress types explained