As house prices go up and spaces get smaller, many are turning to sofa beds to make the most of their homes. Imagine having a sofa that transforms into a comfy bed every night – it's like magic! And a great way to save space and add versatility to your place!
But wait, can you really sleep on a sofa bed every single night? In short, yes, you can sleep on a sofa bed every night - but whether it's actually comfortable depends almost entirely on the quality of the sofa bed.
A cheap sofa bed with a thin foam mattress will leave you stiff and sore within days. A well-engineered one, with a deep mattress and a solid support base, can be just as comfortable as a regular bed.
This guide covers what makes a sofa bed genuinely suitable for nightly use, what to look for when buying, the honest pros and cons, and a few tips if you're already sleeping on one and want to make it more comfortable.
There are many things that make a standard bed different to a sofa bed. The obvious difference is that a regular bed has a larger footprint and has one singular function of providing a comfortable base for sleeping (unless it’s a storage bed, of course).
A sofa bed, on the other hand, has two main functions. A sofa bed can be used as a sofa in the day, which frees up more floor space allowing you to make better use of the room. When night falls, the sofa bed can be unfolded and provide a sleeping base. Because of this dual use, sofa beds are a great addition to studio apartments, living rooms, guest rooms or any home where more sleeping space is needed.
Because of this dual use, sofa beds are a great addition to studio apartments, living rooms, guest rooms or any home where more sleeping space is needed.
The key question, then, is whether that sleeping surface is good enough to use every night. And the answer comes down to three things: the mattress, the base and the mechanism.
Not all sofa beds are created equal. The same question - 'can I sleep on this every night?' - has completely different answers depending on what you're looking at. Here's what to focus on.
This is the single most important factor. A mattress that's too thin means you feel the frame beneath you, your hips and shoulders bear too much pressure and your spine can't maintain a neutral position through the night.
Depth matters, but so does what's inside the mattress:
At Furl, we offer all three options so you can choose what works best for how you sleep.
The mattress sits on top of a support base and the base matters almost as much as the mattress. A sprung slat base gives active, flexible support and lets the mattress breathe. A rigid board base is cheaper to manufacture but puts more pressure on specific points and can make even a good mattress feel harder than it should.
All Furl sofa beds use a sprung slat system, the same approach used in quality standalone beds.
If you're opening and closing your sofa bed every day, the mechanism has to hold up. Look for smooth, counterbalanced opening that one person can manage easily and check how long the conversion takes - a five-minute faff every morning will get old quickly. Furl's mechanisms are guaranteed for five years and designed to be folded and unfolded daily for the life of the product.
Once you know what to look for in a sofa bed, the next question most people have is a health one: will sleeping on it every night actually be bad for your back?
This is the question most people are really asking - and the honest answer is: it depends on the sofa bed.
Most sofa beds on the market use mattresses between 5–8 cm thick. That's not enough support for nightly use. At that depth, you can feel the frame beneath you, pressure builds at your hips and shoulders, and your spine doesn't get the neutral alignment it needs over 7–8 hours. That's where back pain comes from - not from sofa beds inherently, but from thin, unsupportive mattresses.
A sofa bed with a mattress of 12 cm or more changes the equation significantly. At that depth, a quality foam or pocket-sprung mattress can provide support comparable to a regular bed. Furl's sofa beds use mattresses up to 18 cm deep, the same depth as many standalone divan mattresses, which is why they're designed for nightly use rather than occasional guests.
If you're planning to sleep on a sofa bed every night, the quality of what you buy matters more than almost any other furniture purchase. A budget sofa bed designed for occasional guests will wear out quickly under daily use - the mechanism will start to stick, the mattress will compress, and the frame may begin to creak or sag.
A sofa bed built for regular use is a different product entirely. The mechanism is engineered for hundreds of open/close cycles. The mattress is deep enough to provide real support. The frame is constructed to hold its shape over years of use, not months. The upfront cost is higher, but the cost-per-night over a 10–15 year lifespan is very competitive compared to buying a cheap sofa bed every couple of years.
Every Furl sofa bed is hand-built in our workshop, using mattresses between 12 and 18 cm deep, the same depth as many standalone divan mattresses. The support base uses sprung slats rather than a rigid board, and the mechanisms are engineered for daily use rather than occasional guests.
We offer three mattress types so you can match the sofa bed to how you sleep:
At Furl, we offer a 5-year guarantee on our sofa bed mechanisms because we are that sure of their durability. This means you’ll get great peace of mind and excellent after-sales support if you need it.
At Furl, we offer 12 sofa beds with different designs and looks so you can find one that perfectly fits your style, and they’re all available in the full range of sofa and bed/mattress sizes. You have the freedom to select your fabric type and colour, allowing you to create the perfect look for your space. You can also choose your fabric type and colour, helping you achieve the look you want.
Many sofa beds on the market are very basic in terms of design but when you invest in a high-quality sofa bed you’ll find features you didn’t even know you needed. Many of our sofa beds offer clever space-saving solutions like storage arms, which are handy for storing bedding and pillows.
At Furl, we prioritise customer satisfaction above all else. Our dedicated team is committed to providing exceptional service, from pre-purchase inquiries to after-sales support, ensuring a seamless and enjoyable experience for every customer.
Every one of our products is hand-made in the UK by skilled people who take pride in their work. The products are then delivered in parts and assembled in your home by our team of experts. You don’t need to worry about a thing, we will take care of it all.
The best way to know whether a sofa bed will work for nightly use is to actually lie on one. Visit our showrooms in Swiss Cottage, Fulham, or the Barbican.
