Permanent sofa beds: top recommendations

Here we go:

Who is a permanent sofa bed suitable for?

You should think about getting a permanent sofa bed if you:

• Live in a one-room apartment, room in a shared apartment or a studio
• Often have overnight guests
• The sofa for your kids need
• You want to use your bedroom as a living room

Since you want to use the sofa permanently, as the name suggests, there is more to consider when buying a sofa than just a “normal” sofa.

The permanent sofa bed, also known as a sofa bed or sofa bed, has to be able to withstand much more than conventional living room furniture due to its permanent use.

While a normal sofa is only used for 1-4 hours a day, your permanent sofa bed has to carry you for 7-14 hours – depending on whether you are a late riser or whether you use the furniture during the day.

So that you can find the right sofa and not a bad one – unfortunately often! – surprises like

• Back & shoulder pain after waking up
• worn or dirty materials
• broken slatted frames
• Folding mechanism is defective or awkward to use

have to experience, I have put together everything you need to know for buying in this article.

What types of permanent sofa beds are there?

Most sofa beds that are suitable for long-term & permanent use are pull-out sofas.

However, there are also models that can be folded out or those that can be converted into a bed by converting elements.

Overview: different functional variants

• Fold out sofas:
  • Fold the backrest down
  • Convertible sofas: individual elements have to be attached differently
• Pull-out sofas
  • with integrated complete bed
  • combined elements

A distinction is also made between so-called lengthways sleepers and cross sleepers.

Sleeping lengthways means that you are lying with your head towards the backrest. With the cross sleeper sofa you lie parallel to the backrest.

The advantages and disadvantages of lengthways and cross sofa beds can be found in the following overview.

Alternatively, you can find out more about the different types of bed surfaces & upholstery below.

What types of upholstery are there?

The permanent sofa bed differs from the normal sofa in that it is used regularly, ie the sleeping comfort should be correspondingly higher. It is therefore important to pay particular attention to the upholstery or mattress. These types of materials are particularly suitable for the permanent sofa bed:

Innerspring

The classic. Used in both the manufacture of sofa furniture and mattresses.

• The core consists of elastic steel springs that allow good ventilation.
• However, there are great differences in quality, depending on the number and quality of the springs and depending on the type:

Pocket spring core, some with ergonomic lying areas, is perfect for permanent sofa beds

• With regular use, simpler models are only suitable for lighter people such as children
• Read more about spring core & Bonell spring core mattresses here .

cold foam

Cold foam, which is also used as the core material in mattresses, is very elastic and has a high resilience, i.e. the mattress returns to its original shape after the load and is not worn out so quickly. It is also breathable thanks to its fine-pored structure.

Gel foam

Relatively new & innovative material, mixture of cold foam and gel → higher elasticity and resilience. More comfortable addition to cold foam upholstery. Always in combination with a cold foam or spring core. More on this in this article on gel mattresses .

Boxspring federung

Also called an American bed, it has a sprung base instead of a slatted frame and a pocket spring core with a so-called topper (mattress pad).

Due to the layered springs, the lying surface is pleasantly high and therefore also suitable for older people, but unfortunately often not durable (!).

Materials such as futon or latex are not particularly suitable for sofa beds because of their lack of comfort (futon) or difficult handling due to the heaviness of the material (latex).

Surface materials

Fabric-covered sofas are best suited for long-term sleep, as they resemble the surface of a mattress and, unlike leather, do not make any noises when turning, turning and rolling at night.

Leather sofas are also usually more expensive and the surface wears out faster. And you can no longer call it really contemporary.

Valuable extras: bed box, slatted frame & mattress

A bed box is a box integrated in the sofa in which you can store the bedding.

This can be very useful because you have the bedding right at hand. In addition, down duvets and pillows, wool blankets and the like take up a lot of space in the wardrobe.

The advantages of a bed box are therefore many. Most of the time, they are also big enough to stow other things in them.

In addition, you should make sure that your sofa bed has an extra mattress and slatted frame if you plan to use it permanently and really want to sleep on it every night.

• This may be a little more expensive at the beginning, but you will have some of the sofa for longer because you can simply swap the mattress.
• In addition, this variant is more hygienic, as the mattress cover is usually easier to wash and clean than a sofa cover.

And of course it feels much more comfortable. There are also good sofa beds without a mattress that are really comfortable, but they usually don’t come close to an integrated mattress!

Which sofa is right for me?

A permanent sofa bed should be durable, easy to handle and convert, offer a sufficiently large sleeping area – ideally also for two people (I have nevertheless listed models for individuals below) and, above all, feel like a real one Bed!

All this combined in one model – is difficult to find.

I hope this article helps you to find your way around the jungle of many different offers.

You still have to decide for yourself which sofa suits you best, because that also depends on

• Your age and weight
• Your height
• the number of people who should sleep on the sofa
• the space that is available to you – pay attention to the size when unfolded!
• how high you want to lie or sit
• which design / which color you prefer
• how much you want to spend on the sofa

If you live in a city apartment, the dimensions are often yet another criterion.

Depending on the stairwell or elevator, the already heavy and unwieldy piece of furniture does not even get into the apartment – so it is often very annoying when the newly purchased sofa has to be sent back!

In general, however, there are a few important criteria that every good permanent sofa bed should definitely meet:

• it has a fabric cover (preferably removable)
• it has an integrated mattress made of cold / gel foam or with a spring core
• it has a slatted frame
• OR it is padded with a spring core / cold foam
• Long shelf life: it should be with you as long as possible

The handling should be simple – if it is too cumbersome / complicated, you will quickly get annoyed with daily use – in addition, the risk is so greater that you make a mistake when unfolding / pulling and the mechanics may be damaged.

Possible practical extras are removable covers and a bed box.

The best permanent sofa beds at a glance

Tired of searching the internet for a long time?

I have put together the best permanent sofa beds for you, sorted according to situation and needs. These selected sofas naturally meet all of the criteria mentioned above for a good permanent sofa bed.

My recommendation with the best value for money

Here is my favorite for the small budget and less space – so ideal for students, pardon, students who live in a shared apartment, people who live in studios, one-room apartments or other practical living solutions.

Or even for the small guest room, if you like to make your guests comfortable.

This sofa is good for one or two people who don’t have too much space and don’t have a lot of money.

• It has a spring core – no mattress, but still okay. The microfiber surface is easy to clean.
• In contrast to many other smaller sofa beds, it really has a lying area of ​​200cm, so that (almost) everyone can sleep on it.

And the price is really okay for the performance.

A sofa with a great design

If you don’t like the slightly futuristic, clear design and the abstract shape and you’d rather look for something more playful, this model with cold foam upholstery is not a bad choice either:

It has sturdy fabric, a slightly larger lying surface that is suitable for two people and a practical pull-out function. And I think it looks very good too.

Small permanent sofa bed for easy transport

Note : These models do not have an integrated mattress & slatted frame, but they are smaller, lighter and therefore better for transport & not so bulky.

People who suffer from back problems – or older people – should rather look for a solution with a real mattress. For everyone else, however, the following applies: These sofa beds with cold foam or spring core upholstery are super comfortable!

The sofa by place to be is a great permanent sofa bed that lasts a long time and looks chic.

My absolute favorite for those who move frequently. Unfortunately a bit expensive, but hey, you can use it for a lifetime, and the timeless, classic design never goes out of style.

• Everything your heart desires – a removable stain protector that is easy to wash.
• And a cold foam mattress that can be exchanged at some point – something for everyone with little niggles.

Conclusion : Anyone who lives in a shared apartment or similar or is only looking for a temporary solution is best served with a spring core or cold foam sofa. But if you are looking for a permanent solution, you should invest a little more and buy a sofa bed with a slatted frame and mattress (or an inflatable guest bed ).

Closing word

I hope this article has helped you choose your new sofa bed. In any case, it is important that you take your time with the decision and that you are well informed, because

• They don’t spend a negligible amount of money as well
• You spend a third of your time sleeping, which means that a careful selection of your bed surface is extremely important, as it affects your sleep and thus your quality of life.

In any case, I wish you a lot of fun with your new sofa bed and a good night’s sleep.

If you would like to read more about sleep, please take a look at our website. In addition to sofa beds, my colleagues also test air beds , light alarm clocks or write comprehensive advice on the right pillow .