Tell me about your perfect day bed or convertible sofa

August 22, 2021 1:57 PM

Does the perfect day bed or convertible sofa exist? I’ve never found one that is comfortable as a sofa for lounging, watching TV, playing video games, etc. and comfortable for one (or even better, two!) people to sleep on. Does this unicorn exist?

I’m in the US, but not anywhere near most big box stores, so online availability is important. I don’t have a price range in mind and might be willing to sell one of my children for the perfect piece of furniture.

This item would primarily live as a sofa in my home office, from which I work remotely (permanently), and which doubles as an entertainment room for my kids after business hours, and is also an occasional guest room that requires a comfortable bed.

“Traditional” metal or wooden frames for daybeds and futons violate my “comfortable as a sofa” requirement, because lounging against wood or metal isn’t … comfortable. But if there has been some spectacular technological or design advance in the 20+ years since I last slept on a futon, I’m open to those suggestions.

I didn’t know how bad my current convertible sofa was until I had to quarantine from my family. Current one is similar to this (back of sofa folds down backwards to form the top third of bed, the seat portion of the sofa is the middle third of the bed, bottom third of bed is pulled out from under sofa and pops up to join the rest). It is unbearable.

posted by ellenaim to Shopping (9 answers total)

Best answer: You'll want to check out American Leather sofabeds to see if they meet your definition of comfortable-as-a-sofa. As beds, they operate totally differently than anything you've seen and it... just works and is a really great bed-that-is-usually-a-sofa. I learned about them here, did some research, and ordered one. They are not all leather, by the way. Ours is upholstered with their least expensive fabric and it was around $2K a decade ago. Totally worth it.
posted by DrGail at 2:45 PM on August 22, 2021 [1 favorite]

i super vouch for the small sofa beds from raymour & flanigan. slept over at my friend's parents home office over thanksgiving once and have been raving about them ever since
posted by wowenthusiast at 3:00 PM on August 22, 2021

Best answer: Seconding the American Leather recommendation. We have a Room and Board sleeper (that we got used) that is made by them and it's as comfy as a normal bed. Also you can take it all apart so it's actually movable (it just takes a while).
posted by ropeladder at 4:20 PM on August 22, 2021 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Nthing American Leather. I got one based on previous AskMes and have loved it enough to lug it to 4 apartments now. Every guest who sleeps on it comments that it's the best sofa bed they've ever experienced. Is it the most comfortable sofa I've ever been on? No, but it's certainly comparable to any average sofa. It's the only sofa in my apartment and works fine. They're pricy, but check Craigslist or set an alert there (that's how I got mine).
posted by estlin at 7:39 PM on August 22, 2021

If a futon is thick enough and good quality, you won’t feel bars underneath, particularly if you find a frame with flat, tightly spaces slats. I’m referring to mattresses made of cotton or other natural materials rather than foam.
posted by Comet Bug at 9:17 PM on August 22, 2021

Best answer: American Leather is so good that, when I found one at an estate sale, I bought it immediately even though it’s bright orange (I’d been planning and budgeting for something more neutral, but I guess our office/guest room is just going in an entirely different decor direction!).
posted by padraigin at 7:37 AM on August 23, 2021

Hey, all you American Leather fans... would you sleep on that sofa bed *every* night? Is it that comfy?
posted by ApathyGirl at 10:59 AM on August 23, 2021

ApathyGirl, it was recommended to me by a cousin, who slept on his for a couple years straight and found it to be very comfortable.

My husband also slept on said cousin’s AL sleeper as a guest many times while visiting on work trips (so I wasn’t there to sleep on it with him) and that’s the main reason we decided to commit to the expense.
posted by padraigin at 11:58 AM on August 24, 2021

Response by poster: That’s a pretty definitive answer. Thank you all!
I even have a local Craigslist lead!
posted by ellenaim at 5:58 AM on August 26, 2021