Convertible sofa for 2 adults?

May 6, 2019 9:42 AM

We moved and now our furniture is too large for our office/guest room. We want to replace the bed with a convertible sofa. But we can't find one that works for 2 adults.

We own a double/full sized mattress that we've always used in our office/guest room. We don't have guests that often - maybe once every 2-3 months, but when we do, it is usually 2 adults in their 60s-70s. This bed takes up far too much space in our new house's office/guest room, so we started exploring convertible sofas, but we can't seem to find any that would be okay for 2 adults. A standard full mattress is 54"X 75", a twin is 38"x75" - most of what we have found are a little bit bigger than a twin. An air mattress doesn't seem like a good option, FWIW.

Also we won't live in this house for that long, so we do not want to invest a lot of money into this sofa.

Here are some that we generally liked, in terms of look and price:
40"x74"
36"x74"
36"x74"
36"x73"
44"x78"
47"x71"
Ikea's convertible sofa (55"x78") has horrible reviews and isn't very nice looking.

posted by k8t to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

Is there are reason you're focusing on convertible sofas rather than pull-out sleeper sofas? My guess is that the trifold design of a pull-out sleeper sofa makes it easier to fit a queen-size mattress into a standard sofa footprint compared to the two-leaf design of most fold-flat convertibles.
posted by drlith at 10:07 AM on May 6, 2019

Response by poster: The pull outs that we looked at seem far more expensive than convertible sofas as well as far heavier (so hard to move, sell when we are done). But we are open.
posted by k8t at 10:12 AM on May 6, 2019

Ikea's pull out sleeper sofa is what we have. Definately fits two(and associated pets), not super comfortable but not uncomfortable either. It's held up under years of wear. We use the bed only occasionally and it has met our needs.
posted by AlexiaSky at 10:14 AM on May 6, 2019

Came in to say what drlith did—that for a good-sized sleeping area, you probably want to be looking at old style pull-out sofa sleepers rather than fold-downs. If you need a < $500 price point, though, perhaps you should consider futons. Not the most elegant of sofas, and not the most comfortable of sleep surfaces, but something's gotta give.
posted by mumkin at 10:20 AM on May 6, 2019 [2 favorites]

i think what you want is a trundle bed. they're usually aimed at kids but will get you two twin-size mattresses in roughly the space of a couch, they're cheaper, and they're easier to move since it's two parts.

sometimes they're designed to pop up to the same height but i wouldn't try to push em together as one is on wheels.
posted by noloveforned at 10:44 AM on May 6, 2019 [3 favorites]

I would recommend a good quality futon. I sleep on one every night that converts from a sofa/couch to a double/full bed.

Price does matter: a $100 futon may be worse than most convertible couches. But a $300 futon will be better, particularly as a bed. They are more portable than convertible couches, since you can move the frame and mattress separately.

I don't know where you are located, but I would recommend that you go to a futon specialty store if you can. Look for a solid wood frame with a 10-year warranty.

That said: if you're still committed to a convertible couch, you can search wayfair by size: here are convertible couches and futons that are full/queen sized when out as a bed.
posted by jb at 11:01 AM on May 6, 2019

As a futon-user: I would recommend a futon/convertible couch over a pull-out any day. They are easier to get out, and much, much more pleasant to sleep on (flatter, firmer, no scratching yourself on the exposed hinges).

They also make for a lighter and more easily moved couch. My futon folds flat (about 12-18 inches wide), so we don't even need to worry about door widths.
posted by jb at 11:04 AM on May 6, 2019

My apologies: after posting the previous link, I realised that most of those convertible couches marked as "full" or "queen" are substantially more narrow, just as you have found.

But the futons are larger: e.g. a queen futon 60" wide, 80" long.
posted by jb at 11:14 AM on May 6, 2019

This is probably not the solution for you, but where I live, there are a lot of Murphy/wall beds on Craigslist, sometimes free (new, they're very expensive). It's possible you could leave it in the house when you move, sans mattress. They work really well in offices and accommodate a regular mattress. But they are heavy and hard to move.
posted by pinochiette at 1:59 PM on May 6, 2019

I'm going to second the trundle bed suggestion, which is exactly what we got for our guest beds for two elder guests, and we got real mattresses for it. When it is closed up we use a foam roll bolster and pillows and covers to make it up as a couch.
posted by gudrun at 3:30 PM on May 6, 2019