Are Pull-Out Couches Comfortable, Asked and Answered

Pull-out couches, also known as sleeper sofas, are becoming a popular choice for homeowners looking for versatile seating options. We have one in our den that we occasionally use for guest.

These furniture pieces, usually made of materials like foam, leather, or microfiber, can be used as a traditional couch during the day and then transformed into a bed at night.

But, the comfort level of pull-out couches is still a debatable topic.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the comfort level of pull-out couches and explore the factors that can affect it.

We will delve into the comfortability (is that a word?) of different types of pull-out couches available in the market, such as memory foam pull-out couches, air mattress pull-out couches, and more.

Whether you’re considering purchasing a pull-out couch or are wondering if your current one is up to par, this article is for you.

Get ready to find out if pull-out couches are truly comfortable or if they’re just a convenient option.

Why Are Pullout Couches, Sleeper Sofas, etc? So Uncomfortable?

Firstly, we should take a look at what makes your average sleeper sofa (note: we can use the terms couch and sofa pretty much interchangeably), so uncomfortable, if you’re in the market for a new sofa bed then you ought to avoid these issues during the purchasing phase and then your sleeper sofa will be comfortable.

• The bed frame on a sleeper sofa is often made of bare metal. A metal frame is hard and unpleasant to come into contact with during sleep and in the Winter it can also be very cold to the touch.
  
• The mattress is often very thin. This is because you want a sleeper sofa to fold into a couch, but it’s not ideal when you unfold your sofa and have to sleep on it. In addition to providing much less support than the mattress in a bed, you may find you can feel the sofa’s springs through the mattress which is not pleasant at all.
• Sofa beds are all about space-saving. That means they’re rarely the same size as a real queen-size or king-size bed because if they were they’d take up all of your living room. They’re there for occasional overnight guests and that means, mostly, that they just have to live with not having enough leg room.

You can find a comfortable sleeper sofa that avoids all of these problems when you buy one, but what do you do if you already own an uncomfortable sofa?

How To A Make A Sofa Bed More Comfortable

There are three sensible ways that we can think of to make your pull-out sleeper more comfortable.

Memory Foam Mattress Toppers

You can’t change the height of a foam mattress inside even the best sleeper sofa because if you do, you will find that it won’t fold up properly.

But what you can do is add a mattress topper. This adds about 1-3″ of additional cushion on top of the mattress. It will usually be made from memory foam which means that it’ll be easy for your guest to get a more comfortable night’s sleep as it will tailor to their body shape.

You can find this kind of product for every type of bed including a sectional sleeper sofa or “sleeper sectional”.

Companies like West Elm stock these products and you can find some options on Amazon too.

Switch Out The Mattress

While you can’t get a much thicker mattress, you can buy one which is better quality and more comfortable to lie on.

You will need to choose this kind of mattress with care, however, if you make a mistake, it’s going to interfere with the operation of folding your bed. Foam mattresses don’t come cheap.

We’d recommend that you visit a specialist mattress store or contact one online and explain the issue that you have at the moment and ensure that if you order the wrong thing, you can send it back. You definitely don’t want to get stuck with a spare laying around the house that you can’t use on any other sofa or bed.

Use Oodles of Cushions

Yes, this is the traditional approach and it’s a good one. Especially, if you’re like us and you already have dozens of cushions and throw pillows laying around in your living room.

The nice thing about cushions is that the person sleeping can adjust them to any position that they like to feel more comfortable and they don’t require any real investment from you.

Even if you have a queen-size mattress or twin sleeper on a soda bed you can find that they’re just not comfy to sleep on.

However, with a little bit of effort, you can always make a pull-out couch much more comfortable without going overboard.

Of course, it’s best to buy the right kind of pull-out couch in the first place and if you can’t find one, you might also consider a wall bed.

A wall bed is custom-fitted to the wall and drops down to serve as a bed when needed. It’s not ideal for living spaces but in small spaces like a guest bedroom, it can be really useful as long as you don’t need it to double as a couch.

If you do end up buying a sleeper make sure to dispose of the old one in the right way.