Purchase guide – how to wisely choose a corner sofa or a sofa with a sleeping function?

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19 January 2020

Healthy sleep is a guarantee of beauty and well-being. After a good and effective night’s rest we wake up filled with energy and in a better mood. A healthy sleep is a comfortable sleep. It definitely requires a bed with a suitable and comfortable mattress.

Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world and not everyone has enough space to have a separate bedroom with a comfortable bed and a good mattress. Many of us live in studios or smaller apartments, where one of the rooms is occupied by children, while the other is used as a living room for the parents. The opportunity to arrange a guest bedroom is even more rare.

What to do then?

In this case, adapting one of the rooms as a multifunctional space becomes a necessity. During the day, it is a living and dining room where you can relax sitting. At night, it turns into a bedroom, used every day by household members or occasionally by guests. Furniture for such a multi-functional room should be chosen carefully and wisely. This will guarantee that it will serve well for many years, and at the same time will provide appropriate comfort for both day and night rest.

A comfortable sofa or corner sofa for relaxing or for sleeping – this does not always mean the same

We expect both beautiful design and comfort from the furniture we choose for the living room. The sense of aesthetics and taste are highly subjective. So which style will appeal to you the most depends only on what you like and enjoy. Functionality is a bit different. In this regard you can (even should) base your decision on “hard” parameters. Thanks to this, you will buy a satisfying piece of furniture that will certainly meet your needs.

Remember that the furniture available on the market can be generally divided into three groups:>:

• furniture without functions, primarily for sitting (see sofas without the sleeping function),
• lounge furniture with the occasional sleeping function (see sofas with the sleeping function and corner sofas with the sleeping function),
• lounge furniture with everyday sleeping function

There is nothing surprising about the first group – these are two and three-seater sofas and corner sofas that are not equipped with a folding mechanism for sleeping. Because it does not require a suitable mechanism, such furniture is usually slightly more comfortable than folding furniture. However, we will not focus on it right now. But we will explain the difference between the second and third groups and what to consider when deciding to buy furniture with a sleeping function.

Lounge furniture with the occasional sleeping function includes sofas and corner sofas designed so as to mainly guarantee a comfortable rest sitting or reclining. So the sleeping function is not essential, but rather an added value that improves the furniture functionality. In this type of furniture, the sleeping surface usually consists of a seat and a special pull-out piece hidden inside the furniture when it is folded. The occasional sleeping functions include the Dolphin (type A), Leopard (type B), Trolley (type C), Sedalift (type D), belgian frame (type E), G.S.T. i.e. Gala Sleeping Technology (type J), SLEEPING SET (type M) and Puma (type P).

Lounge furniture with the everyday sleeping function is designed in such a way as to primarily guarantee an even sleeping surface after unfolding. This means that the user sleeps on the furniture elements with the same filling or on a mechanism topped with a full-size mattress. The everyday sleeping functions include the DL (type G), DL PLUS (type N), C.S.T. i.e. Comfort Sleeping Technology (type H), italian frame (type F), italian frame PLUS (type K) and italian frame MONO (typ N).

What to look for when choosing a corner sofa for sleeping?

There are a few aspects you should consider. We will try to discuss the most important of them.

1. The frequency of unfolding the sleeping furniture

The first key question you should ask yourself when choosing a sleeping sofa or corner sofa is:, brzmi:

Will I use it for sleeping everyday or only occasionally?

This way you will know which of the furniture groups described above you should choose.

If the sofa will be unfolded rarely, for example, when someone in the house is sick or when a guest intends to stay overnight, select a piece of furniture that above all guarantees a comfortable rest in a sitting position, preferring it to relaxing in a lying position. But if you intend to sleep on the sofa every day, definitely choose the sleeping function dedicated to that purpose. This will ensure comfortable night rests on an even sleeping surface.

2. Furniture size before and after unfolding

Before you buy any piece of furniture, check carefully the available space in the room where you will put it. Remember, an unfolded sofa or corner sofa always takes up more space than you think at first glance. In addition, a piece of furniture in the store always seems smaller than it actually is. This is because you see it against the background of a large space.

Therefore, check the furniture dimensions both before and after unfolding. While a folded sofa or corner sofa can have a compact size, once it is unfolded you might be unable to access your closet or window.

We suggest a very simple way to check the space that will be taken by a piece of furniture. You will need a few metres of string (or 2–3 jump ropes) or masking tape (used for securing the floor or ceiling from getting dirty while painting). Lay a string on the floor or attach the tape according to the furniture dimensions after unfolding. Check if you can move around the room freely – for example, open a window to the balcony, pull out a drawer in your dresser or open the door to the room. If you want to buy an armchair with the sofa, or put a table or pouffe next to it – check if there will be room for it when the sleeping function is unfolded. It may turn out that each time you will have to move the armchair to a far corner. For this reason, any additional furniture should be light and mobile. It will then be a good idea to buy an armchair on wheels.

If love how the corner piece looks, but do not check the sleeping area size after unfolding, you may find that you will sleep… with your legs curled up. There is no specified standard for the size of the sleeping area in lounge furniture. Manufacturers offer a variety products, so it is a good idea to carefully analyse this parameter. Remember, the more centimetres in width and length, the better and more comfortable the furniture is.

3. The size of the sleeping area when unfolded and the seat height

Remember that the size of a corner sofa is not directly proportional to the size of the sleeping area. When choosing a piece of furniture for everyday sleep, check exactly the space it will occupy after unfolding. This includes both width and length. The assumed minimum width of the sleeping space for adults is 60 cm. The sleeping surface length should be at least 15–20 cm greater than the user’s height.

If love how the corner piece looks, but do not check the sleeping area size after unfolding, you may find that you will sleep… with your legs curled up. There is no specified standard for the size of the sleeping area in lounge furniture. Manufacturers offer a variety products, so it is a good idea to carefully analyse this parameter. Remember, the more centimetres in width and length, the better and more comfortable the furniture is.

Also pay attention to the seat height and the sleeping surface height. A higher seat makes it easier to get up from the sofa, especially for the elderly or less able-bodied. You do not put as much stress on your spine compared to when you get up from a very low piece of furniture.

4. How the furniture is unfolded

Currently, there are many different mechanisms on the market that allow you to unfold sleeping furniture. They differ in terms of comfort during the night’s rest and the folding method. In some, you must remove the backrest cushions or the seat, while in others you pull out the so-called “trolley” from under the furniture or unfold the hidden frame for the mattress. Regardless of the chosen type, you should always unfold and fold the sofa before buying.

Thanks to this, you can check whether you will not simply get tired when unfolding the sofa every day. You will also learn how a given mechanism works and how to use it correctly. The salesperson in the furniture showroom will tell you which part to hold when pulling out or in the “trolley”, so as not to damage the mechanism.

5. Furniture structure and filling

Remember that even if you choose a sofa or corner sofa with the everyday sleeping function, the sleeping comfort will always be slightly different than that offered by a traditional bed with a mattress. This is because of the structure of lounge furniture. In each case (whether you buy a sofa for daily sleep or a corner sofa with the occasional sleeping function), we suggest using the additional top mattress, i.e. a thin top mattress. Why? Let us explain.

In the case of many occasional sleeping functions (such as Dolphin, Leopard or Trolley), you will sleep on a surface made of a seat and a pull-out / sleeping section hidden inside the furniture. For example, there may be even a slight difference in height between the pull-out piece and the seat, or small gaps between these elements (the seat might be finished with rounded edges, while the pull-out mattress is flat). Additionally, the pull-out piece can have different filling than the seat.

The top mattress will even out the sleeping surface, eliminate any gaps, and also protect the seat against damage to the cover. If you sleep on the sofa often, the seat will be used much more frequently and intensively than the backrest. The top mattress will allow you to extend its life. In the case of heavily quilted furniture, the top mattress will reduce possible discomfort caused by feeling the seams or decorative buttons. It will also prevent you from sliding off the sofa if its seat is slightly inclined.

6. Bedding compartment

Note that some unfolding mechanisms make it impossible to include a bedding container. So if you want a piece of furniture that also allows you to store a quilt, blanket or pillows, check if the chosen model offers this option. Also, remember that the size of the compartment can vary greatly, from very small “sock container” sizes, to large containers, in which you can fit many “sleeping accessories”. An alternative to sofas without a bedding compartment are large pouffes with a box, which can also be used as an additional seat or footrest.

Like everything else, a bedding container in the furniture has its pros and cons. The undoubted advantage is that you do not have to find a place in the closet for the duvet or pillows. You will have easy access to them when unfolding the sofa or corner sofa, regardless of whether you do it every day or occasionally. But the disadvantage is that furniture with a container is usually more massive and heavier (for design reasons).

7. Subjective feeling of comfort and convenience

The essential and basic rule of a successful purchase is: test the furniture in the store before you buy it. Sit on it, lie down, stretch out comfortably, check how it unfolds, do it several times. You can naturally read the rankings, testers’ descriptions, browse the catalogues or ask your neighbour for opinion. But remember, convenience can mean something completely different to others.

Some prefer hard furniture, others like sofas that you can sink into. You should approach to buying a sofa that you want to use mainly for an afternoon rest sitting differently to purchasing a piece of furniture intended also for sleeping. It is pleasant to rest sitting on a soft and cosy piece of furniture, while it is definitely better and healthier to sleep on a harder, springy surface that supports the spine in its natural position.

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A well-rested person is a happy person. Regardless of whether you have a cosy bedroom with a bed, or you spend your nights on a sofa in the living room, remember about a healthy sleep. It may be guaranteed by a properly selected piece of furniture, among others. Now you know what to pay attention to for good and comfortable sleep.

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