IKEA has just launched a new sofa bed, the GRUNNARP, and it offers a lot for its £650 price tag.
As Ideal Home's Sleep Editor, I've tested hundreds of sofa beds to create our guide to the best sofa beds on the market, and I think IKEA's new launch is well worth having on your radar if you're on the hunt for an affordable way to host overnight guests.
Why? For a start, the IKEA GRUNNARP sofa bed offers great value for money. Admittedly, a £650 investment isn't cheap, but this is a three-seater sofa bed that transforms into a full-sized double bed, capable of sleeping two guests.
That's unusual in sofa beds in this price category. A standard double mattress measures 135 x 190cm, and most 'double' sofa beds offer a lot less sleeping space than this. In contrast, the GRUNNARP provides a generous 142 x 200cm sleeping area once it's fully extended.
Available in three colour options – grey, beige, and pink – the GRUNNARP also looks like a standard sofa, and a stylish one at that, so it's an option you can use in your main living space without anyone knowing it hides a bed inside.
For comparison, you could opt for Habitat's Kota 3-Seater Clic Clac Sofa Bed, which offers a similar amount of seating space for just £375. However, you don't get a double sleeping area, and its build is a little... basic. It's a useful budget-friendly option for a spare bedroom or home office, but you may not want it in your main living room.
The Habitat Julien Fabric 4 Seater Sofa Bed can seat four and features a double sleeping area, but it costs £850. That's £200 more than the new IKEA GRUNNARP. Every other double-bed-sized sofa bed I've tested and can recommend costs *far* more than that, with prices generally around the £1500 mark and above.
Plus, the GRUNNARP is also hiding another secret. There's roomy storage space hidden under its bench seating. That means if you have a small home that's short on cupboards, you have some much-needed extra room to stash the spare duvet, mattress topper, and bedding your overnight guests will need when they sleep over.
When it comes to how to store guest bedding, it's amazing how much space an extra set of bed linen can take up, even with the best bedding organisation. For that reason, the GRUNNARP's secret storage space is a real bonus.
Overall, this new IKEA launch offers stylish design – I love those rounded armrests –generous seating, a full-sized double sleeping area, *and* hidden storage, which I think makes it a great value buy.
Yes, this is IKEA, and that means you will need to assemble this piece of multifunctional furniture yourself. But if your home is anything like mine, with awkward delivery access, that could be another plus point. After all, it's far easier to get flat-packed furniture through a narrow hallway or awkward entryway.
I've included three tried-and-tested alternatives below so you can compare for yourself, but to my mind, the GRUNNARP looks like a great buy.
The Habitat Kota 3 Seater Boucle Clic Clac Sofa Bed is a lot cheaper than IKEA's GRUNNARP, but, in my opinion, it doesn't make for quite such a stylish living room sofa. It's also pretty bulky and doesn't offer any hidden storage like IKEA's new launch.
Like the IKEA GRUNNARP, this is a sofa bed I'd be happy to have centrestage in my living room. You'd never know that the seat pulls out and the backrest folds flat to become a double sleeping area. However, there's no hidden storage, and, it's more expensive.
Need a more compact option? The Innovation Living Cubed 140 Sofa Bed offers a double sleeping area and comes flat-packed for those with awkward access, it also has a much smaller footprint than the IKEA GRUNNARP. However, you're unlikely to fool anyone into thinking it's a normal sofa, and it's a *lot* more expensive.
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