Smart Shopper: How to Choose a Sofa Bed

Anyone who has spent a restless night on a buddy’s fold-out sofa will appreciate the significance of a fantastic sleep couch. Yes, you will find comfy models available on the market — you only have to know what to look for when you shop. Here’s a rundown of some of the most important facts to take into account.

Cindy Ray Interiors, Inc..

Do you need a sleep couch? If you have never needed a sleep couch before but are thinking about purchasing one “just in case,” you may wish to believe again. A sofa bed is more expensive than a conventional couch, so unless you’re likely to use it for sleeping, you’re better off purchasing a conventional sofa and stashing an air mattress in the cupboard. As a result of their construction, sleep sofas have seats that are firmer than couches. While seniors frequently like the extra support (it is a lot easier to get up), others might find sleepers less comfy.

What size? Quantify the place where you want to set the sofa mattress, and figure out the ideal couch width for this space. Sleepers come in four standard widths:

Chair: 51 to 58 inches
Twin: 56 to 65 inches
Complete: 68 to 92 inches
Queen: 79 to 101 inches

Can it fit through the doorway? Measure the height of this room’s ceiling and also the width of the doorway (and any preceding doorways, stairs or lifts). Bring those amounts to the store, so you will know if you are able to find the piece into the room. Legs can usually be unscrewed.

Grace Blu Designs, Inc..

Most mattress frames will be the same. Most sleep couch mechanisms are created the same way (and from the same manufacturer), so there is very little difference from one brand to another: You’ll find a metal frame with coils around the edges holding canvas decking. (Although couch beds still possess that pub underneath the mattress, it today stinks from the body, preventing debilitating surprises in the morning.)

One notable exception is the lineup of sleep sofas created by American Leather/American Upholstery. These feature a solid wood base underneath the whole mattress. This system allows the enterprise to utilize conventional-size mattresses (most couch bed mattresses are shorter), yet its sleepers take up less floor space whenever they’re open.

Pick your own mattress. The mattress is the thing that distinguishes one sleep couch from another. Because it folds, it won’t be as solid as a conventional mattress. There are 3 basic types:
Innerspring mattresses have coils indoors; the more coils, the better. The typical is 345 coils; 644 is very good. Memory foam mattresses are better. They’ve no coils indoors; the foam conforms to the consumer’s body. Air-coil mattresses are really on a level with memory foam and feature an innerspring mattress having an air mattress built on top.

Design Within Reach

Test it all out. Shoppers are often shy about testing out a couch bed in the store, but considering how big this investment you’re making, it is well worth a few minutes of embarrassment.

Lie back on the mattress and mimic various sleeping positions (within the realm of good taste, naturally).

Retract the mattress so that you may feel the weight and ease of this mechanism, then sit on the couch with the mattress folded up so that you can judge how it seems to sit (which is, after all, how you will be using it most of time).

Don’t wait till the final minute. If you begin searching for a couch bed the week before Aunt Minerva’s visit, your selection of colors and fabrics will be limited to what is available on the sales floor. For best results do your purchasing at least two months in advance, so the store has time to custom order the piece in exactly the colour and fabric you desire.

More
How to Buy a Sofa
How to Buy a Sectional
How to Buy a Mattress

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