Bonus: They're actually stylish, too.
Today, we are talking about a niche product that, in our opinion, does not get enough attention: sleeper sofas for small spaces. Personally, we think a small space is the ideal fit for this dual-functioning piece of furniture because, well, bigger spaces can fit a legitimate bed in a way a smaller one may not. So, brace yourself for some of our favorite sleeper sofas, tested and reviewed by our very own editors.
We also spoke with Heather Goerzen, design director at Havenly, for tips on styling and buying sleeper sofas for small spaces, so if, after you add one to your cart, keep scrolling for her must-read advice. Back to the products, though: These range in everything from style to price, so no matter what you happen to be looking for, we happen to believe you’ll find it here. One thing they do all have in common, though, is the fact that they’re just as comfortable as a sofa as they are as a bed.
A white sofa can be tricky as it’s more prone to showing dirt and stains. This white sleeper, however, is special because it’s crafted from performance fabric, meaning it’s way less prone to stains and marks, but on the off chance that it does get scuffed, it’s shockingly easy to clean. What’s more, the streamlined shape makes this ideal in a small space as a sofa and, of course, as a bed. Just ask Social Media Editor Bianca Bonetti, who says, “I needed a sleeper sofa solution for my den, a room that's only eight feet wide, so the footprint of many sofas I was seeing was too large once they folded out into a bed.” Then, she found this one from Article, which she loves.
“The room would be used as a living space the vast majority of the time, so it was important to me to have a sofa that I actually liked sitting on and looking at every day, but could also easily convert the space to a bedroom when needed,” she adds. “The memory foam mattress is so comfortable that when a friend temporarily moved in with me for a month, she called it "the most comfortable sofa bed I've ever slept on."
At a touch over $3,500, this is not a cheap sleeper sofa, but when you consider what you’re getting—a very comfy sofa and a full-blown bed—it’s actually kind of a steal. Commerce Editor Kimberly Gedeon snagged it for her parents’ home and was pleasantly surprised by how well it fit their small den area. She notes the sofa is firmer than soft, sharing, “Rather than enveloping you in plushness, the back cushions offer the kind of firm, ergonomic support that feels spine-friendly instead of encouraging you to slump and slouch. The bench cushion also skews firmer than plush, though I've found it remains comfortable for everyday lounging.”
Urban Natural Home
Naomi Today SleeperGenerally speaking, the more you pay, the higher you can set your expectations, and this sleeper sofa from Urban Natural Home is a perfect example of why that’s a reasonable way to shop. For starters, it’s $2,500, so it’s not exactly cheap. However, you’re getting a lot for that pretty penny, including a very comfortable sofa and an even more comfy bed. The best part is that, unlike a lot of sleeper sofas, which only come in sizes full or queen, this one comes in twin, king, and every size in between, including queen plus. What’s more, it comes in 79 fabrics, so you’re guaranteed to find one that suits your space. You can even opt into a set of bamboo sheets! You are really getting a lot of bang for your buck with this one.
Crate & Barrel
Lounge Queen Sleeper SofaCrate & Barrel is one of those places you can always rely on. Not only are there always hundreds of options in every category, but most of them are customizable, from wood finish to cushion fill and more. You’re guaranteed to find something you’ll love here, which was the case for Deputy Managing Editor Sarah Esgro, who snagged her Crate & Barrel sleeper in the early days of the pandemic. “The couch easily fits three people (whereas our old one could only fit two) and we could transform it into a queen-size bed that allowed us to all pile in with blankets and pillows and cozily watch movies since there was little else to do at the time,” she explains. “It’s easy to convert into a bed and quite comfortable to sleep on in either configuration. Money well spent.”
Folded up, the Henry looks like a traditional sofa, but with a little elbow grease, it transforms into a queen-size bed (with a spring mattress and a pocket coil system included). If you're short on space, opt for the twin size, which folds up into a loveseat. Did we mention that it's completely customizable when it comes to the fabric? We'd consider that a win in our book. Pro tip: The brand recommends preserving your sofa by tucking the mattress back into the frame, without any sheets or bedding.
When tester Katie Ludlow moved into her New York City apartment, she needed to get clever about the design. The pre-war apartment building didn’t exactly lend itself to convenient layouts, so she knew she had to invest in a smaller sofa that would be able to make her living room work as a guest room when she had friends in town. After weeks of research, she landed on this one from Wayfair. ‘
“I was very satisfied and pleased when it arrived and thought it looked much nicer in person compared to its online photos,” she says. “It's sturdy and comfortable to sit (and sleep on). It's built well, and the queen bed is very comfy for a sofa sleeper. I ordered it in the Spinnsol white performance twill, which looks very chic and polished. Plus, it’s stain-resistant.”
Koala
Sofa Bed
Koala just released the latest iteration of their popular sofa bed, dubbed the 4th Gen, and this upgraded pick promises superior support, breathability, and responsiveness. It comes in three sizes so that you can opt for a Queen, Full, or Twin XL "bed," depending on your space. The cushions easily pull out and lay flat to become a sleeping spot, and customers say the sleeper sofa is actually really comfortable.
While Senior Commerce Editor Marina Liao may not be one such customer, she did have the pleasure of sleeping on this pull-out bed during a stay at an Airbnb. “When I went upstate for a weekend, my Airbnb had this Koala sofa bed in the living room,” she explains. “As a sofa, it comfortably fit three adults with a soft-medium feel. There’s not much support, so I did feel like I was sinking into the couch. When it was time to settle in at night to watch a movie, we transformed the sofa into a bed so that we could stretch out our legs and our two dogs could join us.”
Liao adds that it was easy to stretch a queen-size bed sheet over the “mattress” and that the bed form was more comfortable than the sofa. “The bed is soft and firm, and even though this is a fabric sofa, it did not feel dusty or dirty,” she says.
Our director of special projects, Carisha Swanson, is pretty picky when it comes to buying furniture for her own home. After all, the former market director knows a lot about what makes home products good, so when she invests in a piece of furniture for her own home, we know it’s top of the line. She ended up snagging the Skinny Fat sleeper sofa, which, funny name aside, offers serious comfort. “The sleeper itself is my favorite kind: a premium mattress with high-resiliency foam—no bars, no springs, no medieval contraptions,” she notes. “I already love anyone staying at my house, so I don’t want them in a torture chamber-like bed. This one says, ‘Stay awhile, I’m genuinely happy you’re here.’”
As for the ordering process, Swanson says it was extremely easy. “First, you place your order, and then the brand will send you swatches of your favorite fabrics, so you can pick at your leisure with no stress or delays. For the Skinny Fat sofa, you can choose between three sizes. I chose the 60-inch, with the queen mattress,” she adds. You can also choose your cushion fill and leg finish to ensure it suits your style and space perfectly.
When a new sleeper sofa comes out, we immediately want to test it out for ourselves. Associate Shopping Editor Janae McKenzie's mother just received the brand-new Span sleeper from Burrow, part of a collection of convertible sofas that launched back in March. “What I really love about the Burrow Span sleeper sofa is that it's so versatile," McKenzie says. "It is super comfortable as a couch, and it’s comfortable to sleep on. There’s no sagging, and when you open it up, it’s really a queen-size bed that can comfortably fit two people." The best part? You don't have to adjust the sofa to use it as a bed. "My pet peeve is sofa beds where you have to move the sofa back and forth to use it as a bed," she adds. "It fits in our office by simply folding down the front seats. No need to pull the sofa out from the wall, or push the back of the sofa down to sleep on it."
In our opinion, the best multi-functional furniture is anything that you would never guess can double as something else when it's in its main position. Case in point: This sofa bed from Article, which, as a sofa, looks like a sofa yet can also turn into a bed. This piece comes in only two shades, beige and brown, but what it lacks in color options it makes up for in supreme coziness. It unfolds into a queen size bed complete with an included memory foam mattress, and then folds back up into a sofa whose cushions are filled with high-resiliency foam, duck feathers, and polyester fiber.
"I bought this sofa bed for a multipurpose room/office and it's great! It's super comfortable to sit on and doesn't overwhelm the space," one reviewer said. "I think it's a great balance of design and function that can be styled to fit any room (my office has black walls and it pops so nicely!)" It's also in stock and ready to ship, so if you need something good in a pinch, you can't go wrong with this find.
We don't like to play favorites, but this Interior Define find is definitely at the top of our list. "I had the luxury—yes, I am calling it a luxury—of experiencing this sleeper sofa in the brand's Brooklyn store, and it is as much a bed as it is a couch," Associate Shopping Editor Jessica Cherner says. "I would even go so far as to say that if you're decorating a small space from scratch, you could skip the bed altogether and just sleep on this." Interior Define lets you pick both the seat cushion fill and the mattress material, so you can customize it to fit your exact needs. If you like a double down feather blend sofa and a memory foam mattress, feel free to go all out. "I sat on the memory foam mattress (as opposed to the standard alternative) and can confirm it is extremely cozy. If I were feeling really tired that day, I can almost guarantee I would have fallen asleep right then and there," Cherner adds. You can also choose one of the hundreds of fabric options to upholster your sofa.
This has a similar mechanism as the previous sofa bed in that you don't have to lift a super-heavy contraption to transform this from a couch to a bed. Full disclosure: Its easy-to-maneuver mechanism is about the only thing this and the previous pick have in common, which may be obvious considering the price difference. That said, if you're not looking to buy a sofa that would double as your own everyday bed, this will absolutely work for the occasional overnight guest who's spending a day or two at your home. One happy customer said, "It was extra easy to assemble, perfect size, the color and fabric are amazing for the price. Very sturdy, the pillows are very thick and comfortable."
When we give products the House Beautiful stamp of approval, we generally like to experience and live with them. Many of the stylish sofas on this list are editor-tested and approved. Our editors provided their candid feedback on the piece, detailing the pros and cons of their sleeper sofa of choice. For the pieces that didn't pass through our hands, we spent hours researching the best small sleeper sofas on the internet.
Not only did we opt for a wide price range to accommodate everyone's budgets, but we also considered a variety of styles. Most importantly, we read as many reviews as possible to get the most accurate sense of what each product is actually like and how it functions. We put forward the good, the bad, and everything in between. After all, we've tested enough samples to know that no product is perfect, but we'll try to get as close to perfect as possible.
Heather Goerzen, Havenly's design director, has a few opinions when it comes to buying small sleeper sofas. Of course, the most paramount element to consider is size, as you're trying to make one work in a relatively small space. We use the word "relatively" because what is small to one person may not be to another, so before buying your sleeper sofa, be sure to check the measurements of both the couch and your room. These three factors are the most crucial, according to Goerzen.
Scale: "Today, sleeper sofas come in every size and shape, from sectionals to armchairs, so choose what works best to optimize the flow and function in your room," she explains. "Remember to think about how you want to use the sofa portion most, though. Whether it's for movie nights, lounge time, entertaining, or all of the above, use the primary function of your piece in sofa form to determine the dimensions." She has a point. Unless you'll be using your sleeper sofa as a couch during the day and a bed every night, you'll likely be using it as a couch most of the time and a bed whenever you happen to have guests.
Style: This may seem obvious, but don't focus so much on the scale and making it fit in your space that you forget about how it looks. Choose something that complements your specific style. Consider the palette, form, and fabric to elevate your design. If this is going in a high-traffic area (a living room that doubles as guest space), look for performance fabrics that will hold up over time," Goerzen says.
Comfort: Like we and Goerzen suggested earlier, you will probably be using your sleeper sofa more as a couch than you will as a bed, but don't totally forget about the bed portion. It should be comfortable for your guests. Goerzen suggests, "Read the reviews on the mattress itself. If you can test it out, even better. Some sleeper sofas support longer mattresses, which certainly can grant a more comfortable night's sleep." While we do agree that reading reviews is always a good move, we've actually included the most informative snippets from verified reviews.
If we're being honest, few people prefer a sleeper sofa to an actual bed. That said, there are so many worthy options on the market today that are debunking the myth that all sleepers are uncomfortable. "The comfort will largely depend on the mattress quality. I would recommend a memory foam or spring mattress for the most comfort," Goerzen notes. "And of course, if you have the opportunity, head to a local store to try them out for yourself." Plenty of the small sleeper sofas on our list come with memory foam mattresses, but quite a few don't even need a mattress, as they use the cozy seat portion of the couch that doubles as the bed.
Though both sleeper sofas and futons are both furniture pieces that can double as a bed, there is a key difference: the mattress. While sofa beds' mattresses are often hidden in or underneath the frame, futons are the mattress. As you'll see, our list includes both—by definition. One is not better than the other, but if your guests are picky or a bit high-maintenance, we suggest going with a traditional sleeper sofa over a futon.
Associate Shopping Editor Jessica Cherner has written about plenty of sleep-related must-haves in the bedroom (and living room), including the softest sheets, platform bed frames, and convertible couches, so you can trust that she has the knowledge and research background to curate a list of the best small sleeper sofas. Plus, after interviewing more than 30 seasoned interior designers for home tours and expert tips on decorating, Cherner was able to tap Heather Goerzen for some shopping suggestions. Goerzen has been at Havenly since March 2017, first as a designer and, now, as the brand's director of content and design. During her nearly seven years at the online decorating service, she has designed more than 20 projects across the country, making her advice invaluable.
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