Next just launched a new version of its bestselling sofa bed that has *hidden storage* – it's a game-changer for stashing guest bedding in a small home
Finally, somewhere to hide that extra guest duvet and pillows!
Next's Palma sofa bed has been one of the brand's bestselling overnight hosting solutions for a while now, and it's easy to see why.
Stylish, multifunctional, and reasonably priced, it's little wonder this fold-out bed gives many of the best sofa beds on the market a run for their money.
However, Next just upped the ante even further by adding *hidden storage* to this popular buy. To my mind, that makes this space-saving sofa bed even more of a game-changer for a small home.
The Palma sofa bed is already a great option if you want to host overnight guests but don't have much floor space.
It's a fold-out design, which means it concertinas up into a two-seater sofa in seat form, but, once extended, creates a double-bed-sized sleeping area. And the two-seater model's compact footprint means it works well in a small living room or home office.
However, when I bought my first sofa bed, the one thing I hadn't factored in was how much space the extra guest bedding would take up in my home.
Most sofa beds require a good mattress topper to make them more comfortable, and these can be bulky to store. Plus, there's the extra guest duvet, pillows, and bed linen that need to be stashed somewhere.
That's why the new Palma storage sofa bed is such a dream for a small home. Unlike the original Next Palma Sofa Bed, which has stylish wooden legs beneath the seat, this new version features a hidden storage drawer at its base.
This drawer provides the ideal storage space for all your guests' bedding – both whilst they're staying with you, and once they've gone home.
As of writing, this new launch comes in two colourways. A boucle fabric in a light 'natural' shade, and a deep 'forest green' colourway in a jumbo chenille cord.
Both make a stylish addition to any home and look set to follow in the popularity of the original Palma sofa bed, which gets rave reviews from Next shoppers.
'We moved into a two-bedroom flat, but the second bedroom is quite tiny,' shares one reviewer of the standard Palma sofa bed on the Next website. 'We didn't want a full bed to take up the entire space all the time, so got this Next sofa bed to roll out when we have guests. It looks really premium and lush!'
'Excellent quality product,' says a second reviewer. 'Looks lovely. Like all sofa beds... firm to sit on and firm to lie on, but it is still comfortable. Very impressed with how easy it was to construct (only needed to add the legs) and the speed of delivery. Well done Next!'
And that £599 price point is definitely another big tick in the new Palma storage sofa bed's favour.
Whilst it's still an investment, as someone who's spent the past five years testing the best sofa beds and best chair beds on the market, I can assure you it's actually a very reasonable price compared to similar options. I've included a few alternatives below so you can compare.
Shop alternatives
Habitat's Roma Chair Bed is one of the most affordable hosting solutions on the market. However, although it's described as a small double, in reality the sleeping space is only 10cm wider than a single bed, so although its perfect for one guest, you'll struggle to sleep two at a time like you can on the Next Palma two-seater storage sofa bed.
If you want a little more sleeping space, then Habitat's three-seater Kota sofa bed is another very affordable alternative. However, it's very generously proportioned in sofa form and takes up a lot of space in a small home. There's also no hidden storage, so bedding will need to be stashed elsewhere.
A bestseller at John Lewis, the Innovation Living Cubed 140 Sofa Bed, is another great buy for a small home. It has a compact footprint and comes flat-packed, which can make getting it upstairs to a home office much easier. It also has hidden storage in its base, but the downside is it costs a *lot* more than Next's Palma sofa bed.
