Sofa bed.

We did exactly the same wanting to use the second bedroom as a ‘useful’ room.

It took us a while to find a comfortable sofa bed. We eventually bought one in Dreams, it folds up and down with no effort and has a proper comfortable mattress. It’s also very comfortable to sit on as a sofa. It was quite expensive though.

Same here in terms of the room use, and a sofa bed bought from Dreams, a “clic-clac” design. I’m happy with it, except for the fact that it takes up quite a bit of room in the “sofa” position, because of the flat bit behind the upright, in order to accommodate the “bed” position. (It’s easy to swop between the two). So that would be something to be aware of.

What I mean is, in the sofa position, it cannot be pushed up against the wall.

My sofa bed is quite old now and has not had much use. Last used as a bed over 15 years ago, but I am reluctant to get rid of it, just in case.
Its drawback is that as a sofa the seats are too deep, especially for people with short legs. It is easy to convert, however, and although the mattress is fairly thin, is adequate for a couple of nights.

We bought our sofa bed from Sofology 18 months ago. It’s really comfortable, with a proper mattress. Everyone who has slept on it says it’s comfy.

Surprisingly we bought ours from Ikea. It looks like a sofa but opens to the biggest sofa bed we could find. Many struggle to sleep two adults and whilst ours does, we use it for two or one grandchildren. The arms make it feel a bit more secure for them as they’re only young and it’s sturdy. We’ve had it over five years and are pleased with it. We’ve slept ourselves, in some awful futons or click clak beds and haven’t found them comfortable.

We did have one for some time, with a proper sprung mattress. However the mattress did eventually become very uncomfortable because it was one of those that had to fold double to be stored under the seat cushions on the sofa. I'd suggest that you avoid this type if you can.
We solved it by having a blow up mattress which fitted on the sofa base when it was unfolded - it was actually quite comfortable and blew up with an electric pump.

Check the width of the mattress as they can be narrower than expected. I looked for a 4’6” mattress as most were 4’, and eventually found one , it’s reasonably comfy but sadly hardly been used.

My DS and DiL have a great sofa bed. When I stay I sleep on it just as a sofa as I'm only 5 feet tall so it's long enough . The sofa cushions are very comfy. When the'other' grandparents use it they put a matress topper on top of the matress that is in it as it is quite thin so you might need to consider that with some designs. The problem then is storing the topper! When I downsize I want to have a bedroom as a dedicated craft room with a sofa bed in for occasional use so I'll be looking for one similar to theirs. My MiL has one which I shared with my ex when I was heavily pregnant (over 36 years ago) and it was so unsupportive I was having to get up in the middle of the night and walk around for a while to relieve excruciating back ache. It looked great and felt great as a sofa but was awful as a bed. Definitely need to try out in a shop but what feels good for a quick lie down in a shop may not be supportive enough for a whole night.

I bought one about 10 years ago for when XDH came as he found the old single bed too narrow. It’s 130 cm wide. Although the remaining single bed is of good quality and only a couple of years old both DS2 and DD prefer it and find it very comfortable. I did buy a small chest to house the pillows, duvet etc. I bought it from a local shop ((Quilters) when it was closing down so all I can tell you is that it was a British make. It has been very useful over the years.

We got a trundle bed from John Lewis. When opened fully it can be two singles or joined to make a large double. When not in use, it can have a nice throw on it with cushions so it’s not obviously a bed. Very comfortable.

We bought one from Ikea which is a corner sofa with a lift up storage compartment in the short side for pillows, duvet etc. We bought it because we slept on the one my DD bought for their living room for when we stayed and it was comfortable. It is a bit wide in the seat, but I have lots of cushions behind me.

I've slept on a "clic-clac" sofa bed and found it very comfortable.

I've also slept on a pull-out bed from a normal looking sofa. Quite comfortable for one person but too narrow and sags in the middle with two adults (keep rolling into the middle) even with extra padding. The springing just isn't strong enough.

Choose the former if you want them to be comfortable, the latter if you don't want them to visit too often!

I have a click clack sofa bed from John Lewis- really easy to put up and down. It’s fine for one night, but I always put a duvet under the sheet to give a bit extra padding. Cost about £650. I think if you want serious comfort you need to be paying considerably more. Don’t buy anything online without trying it out in the shop first.

We bought 2 sofa beds from Next about 10 years ago and have used them for family visits very occasionally, however, they have a good mattress but is only 4ft wide, so just enough for 2 slim people of perfect for one. I don't find it comfortable to sit on as a sofa, but not uncomfortable either just a bit hard, not soft like I really prefer. It is a nice modern design. I have sold one as we do not need 2 any longer. We paid almost £ 1000- for each of them thenhttps://www.next.co.uk/homeware/sofas-chairs/michigan-leather/size-sofa-bed-fabric-turin-leather-dark-brown-feet-slim-block-dark this is ours but our mattress is a bit thicker I think. Difficult to tell

we bought one from willow and hall which is a proper mattress
they are worth the money

I bought my sofa bed from Sofa Sofa in S Wales. They deliver, (even when I buy new covers? Cant remember). Sofa is used every day. Bed is used 5 or 6 times a year. I put a duvet under base sheet, and perhaps should buy a mattress topper. But it's fine, and excellent value for money.

(Oh, and they send me a catalogue every so often with news of their sale)

Just measured the 3 seater sofa bed - 5 feet wide
sofasofa.co.uk/

Try IKEA they have fantastic 'truckle bed' types which slide underneath with a proper mattress that don't look like a bed when dresses with cushions etc. Not expensive either

When I was a child, my parents had a sofabed which had storage in each of its wide arms. They had hinged padded tops which opened to reveal chasms big enough to hold pillows, sheets and pillow cases, blankets and an eiderdown (this was well before duvets) with room to spare. It was quite big and covered in a grey plush material, so it was known as "the elephant". I have never seen that storage system since.

I reached far and wide tested tons! I found mine at Dreams, the bed base is great and it's actually a king size bed. I've slept on it a few times and sleep very well (I can tell within half an hour if a bed isn't supportive).
Also when you pull it into tge bed position, you don't need to remove all the seat pads etc they all fold neatly under the bed in a one movement mechanism. No pile of cushions in the corner!

Searched not reached!

My sofabed came from John Lewis. We bought it for mum for when we stayed with her as we found her various camp beds painful.

This is very similar and is more comfortable than my own bed. I used it when I came out of hospital with my new hip for about a month and was sorry to have to return upstairs.

John Lewis Slumber Large 3 Seater Sofa Bed, Dark Leg, Natural Weave share.google/khuisucx6j62fpNAj

I have a truckle bed type, that’s just two stacking single beds with the bottom one able to pop up level. My first lockdown task was to make 4 cushion covers that each take either two pillows or a single duvet. A pretty cover over the top mattress and pile the four fat cushions at one end and it makes a comfy ‘curl up with a book’ day bed rather than a sofa.