8 best chair beds – single sofa beds for hosting guests when you have limited space

The best chair beds are a brilliant solution for hosting an overnight guest, especially if you have limited floor space to work with. Plus, a single sofa bed or futon for one can double up as a stylish accent chair the rest of the time.

Most chair beds will usually only offer a single mattress-sized sleeping area, although a loveseat chair bed might squeeze in just enough sleeping space for two guests at a time. However, just like when it comes to finding the best sofa beds on the market, a comfortable chair bed can be hard to find.

As such, over the past four years, I've travelled across the UK to visit 18 furniture stores and test out chair beds from Habitat, Loaf, MADE, Sofa.com, Darlings of Chelsea, Dunelm (and many more), to compile this guide. All in all, I've sat and laid down on over 20 chair beds (and counting), testing chair comfort, bed comfort, and how easy the sleeper chair was to transform from one to the other.

Depending on your budget, I think the compact Innovation Living Cubed 90 Armchair Bed or great value Habitat Roma Chair Bed are two of the best chair beds overall. However, I've compiled all of my first-hand testing experience into this guide, so you can jump straight to my top recommendations whether you're in need of a quick delivery chair bed or a budget-friendly futon.

The quick list

Short on time? This quick list is an overview of the very best chair beds I've tested. You'll find more information on each option and why I recommend it if you keep on scrolling.

Best chair beds

Best chair bed overall

This chair bed isn't cheap, but it is one of the best I've tested and feels very robust and well-made in person. It's also one of the few chair beds I've found that offers a true single bed-sized sleeping area.

Most chair beds only offer a small single sleeping area, which means guests can have as little as 70cm to lie down on. The Cubed 90 Armchair Bed offers a true 90 x 190cm sleeping area. In fact, you get a little extra, as this chair bed offers a 90 x 200cm sleeping space once extended, which tall guests will appreciate.

It does feel fairly firm, both as a chair and a bed – it's a chair you sit 'on' rather than sinking 'into' – but I still found it comfortable enough for both purposes. I probably wouldn't want to use it as my main living room seating, but as extra seating in a home office, it's perfect.

I'd add one of the best mattress toppers when using it as a bed, but this is the case for pretty much all chair beds. Especially ones like this, where the upholstered cushions become the sleeping surface, as you'll want to protect the fabric.

It's also very easy to transform from a chair to a bed, although it does involve a little lifting. You lift the chair base up and pull it forward to extend, and then swivel the backrest down to create the sleeping area. If you have the budget, this chair bed is a great investment.

Best value chair bed

Stylish, quick to transform from chair to bed, and very affordable compared to most options, Habitat's Roma chair bed is an easy choice for the best value chair bed.

If space is at a premium, this is also one of the best chair beds for a small room, with the smallest 78cm width frame coming in as one of the narrowest chairs in my round-up. If you have a little more space to play with, there are also two larger options to consider, and guests may well appreciate the wider 90cm or 100cm width options due to the extra sleeping space they offer.

When I tested, I found the click-clack design made for an easy transition from seating to sleeping, with hidden pockets (disguised by the coordinated scatter cushion) opening to reveal hinged legs, and the backrest and seat easily unfolding to create the sleeping surface. However, the build quality doesn't feel as sturdy as the Innovation Living option above. But then this chair bed is a fraction of the price.

In chair form, the lack of arms and fairly firm cushioning mean I wouldn't want to use it as main everyday seating, but it makes a great accent chair. Style it in the living room, bedroom, home office, or guest room, or add it to a teenager's or kids' bedroom for impromptu sleepovers.

Best quick delivery chair bed

Like a lot of furniture, many chair beds come with long lead times; 12-16 weeks isn't unusual if you're opting for a chair bed that's made to order. Pretty remarkable then that Swyft's furniture range can be delivered to your doorstep with next-day delivery if you order direct from Swyft, or under a week if you purchase via a third-party stockist like John Lewis.

And, not only is this chair bed super speedy to arrive – ideal if you have a guest soon to arrive and no sleeping space! – it's also one of the most stylish chair beds I've come across.

The Model 08 chair bed is available in 25 great fabrics – with a mix of linens, velvets, boucles, and faux and real leather options – and its slimline armrests and loose cushions mean it looks good enough to use as a chair in your main living space.

Because it's a flatpack design, it's also a useful option for anyone struggling with awkward delivery access, and the sofa arms can be detached if necessary, which is a bonus if you're short on space.

Best classic armchair bed

On first glance, you'd never know this armchair was hiding a pull-out mattress underneath its seat cushions, and it isn't just its looks that are deceiving. When I sat on it, I found this chair bed was barely distinguishable from the standard armchair in terms of seat comfort – a real rarity in the world of pull-out chair beds, where the hidden bed frame often means a much, much firmer seat.

It's definitely comfortable enough to use as your main everyday seating. On testing, I was impressed by the chair seat depth – I found it the perfect compromise between loungey and upright to keep both sitters and curler-uppers content – and the fiber back cushions and fiber-topped foam seat cushions felt really comfortable, offering some sink-in squish-factor but still offering support. Plus, I found its armrests a good height and nice and wide, unlike many other chair beds.

It also doesn't disappoint in bed form. There's an 11cm deep pocket-spring mattress that unfurls from its depths, which is a good depth in chair-bed terms. The downside is that the mattress is a little narrow – it's just 76cm, which is a small single bed size rather than a true standard single bed, but it's fine for a few nights.

I also wasn't blown away by the upholstery options on offer – they feel pretty uninspiring compared to the on-trend fabrics offered at other retailers – but there is a wide choice of coordinating furniture. If you want a chair bed that can integrate into a matching living room suite, then this could be a good option.

Best IKEA chair bed

IKEA offers a range of chair beds, but the brand's newest launch is the one I think offers the best combination of comfort, functionality, and value.

Although it's seating you sit 'on' rather than sinking 'into', I found the TORNSBORG offered a nice level of give and bounce when I sat on it. And it's well designed, with the backrest and armrests all at just the right angles to provide a comfortable sitting experience. So much so that I'd consider it as my main living room seating (as long as you don't mind a slightly firmer seat).

It's also comfortable in bed form, and it's really easy to transform from sitting to sleeping. Simply remove the back cushion, pull up on the fabric tabs, and the wheeled legs do most of the work for you. Then the backrest swivels down flat. I could do it all with one hand.

It's a firm sleep surface, but nothing a mattress topper can't solve. However, its main downside is its width. The sleeping area is 70cm wide (remember a standard single mattress is usually 90cm), and this is made to feel smaller because of the fixed armrests, which made me feel a little claustrophobic. It's fine for a child or small adult, but larger guests may find it too much of a squeeze.

Luckily, there's also the wider TORNSBORG two-seater sofa bed. That's 154cm wide all in all, so more of a loveseat than a chair bed. But if you have the floor space to accommodate it, it offers a true double bed-sized sleeping area that guests will appreciate.

Best bed-in-a-box

If you don't specifically need a chair bed, and just want a pull-out bed that can blend in with existing furniture, then a footstool or ottoman bed-in-a-box is a solution well worth exploring.

Sofa.com's Henry Bed in a Box comes in at 107cm wide and 74cm deep, making it a useful option for smaller rooms, whether that's as a footstool in the living room, or a place to perch in a compact home office or children's bedroom.

The ottoman holds a single pocket spring pull-out mattress, which at 8.5cm deep isn't quite as thick a mattress as other options on our list, but I still found it comfortable enough for the odd night's sleep when I tested it, and adding a mattress topper will increase comfort levels considerably. The lid of the footstool also lifts and slots into the base to serve as a headboard which is a nice design feature.

If you have more space to play with then as an alternative Sofa.com's Jack Bed in a Box offers a larger double mattress worth of sleeping space in its 158cm width frame.

And, the good news is that both options are available in Sofa.com's wide range of upholstery options, which is especially useful if you want to blend this piece of multifunctional furniture in with a living room suite.

Best loveseat chair bed

If you have a little more space – and a *lot* more budget – to play with, then Darlings of Chelsea's Weymouth loveseat sofa bed offers a classic look that I found scored big on comfort.

Fiber-wrapped foam or feather-wrapped foam seat cushions make this chair bed comfortable enough to use as your everyday living room seating, and the hidden pull-out mattress means that no one will guess it hides a bed in its depths.

There are over 175 upholstery options to choose from, along with a choice of coordinated or contrasting piping, and four options of leg colour. Plus, if you want to blend a sofa bed in with a larger living room suite then the Weymouth collection also offers armchair and sofa options (as well as four larger sofa bed variations). The 12cm deep mattress with either pocket-spring or memory foam construction means guest comfort is extremely well catered for too.

If you can accommodate the 128cm loveseat width but have difficult access to navigate, then for a slight price increase this chair bed can also be built with removable arms to give you some vital extra wiggle room on delivery day – genius.

Best budget chair bed

This simple futon chair bed may be basic, but if you're after an affordable way to put up the occasional overnight guest then it makes for a useful and budget-friendly extra sleeping space.

You can opt for the minimal Japandi vibes of the natural or pale grey upholstery, or there are multiple other colour options available, including practical darks and vibrant brights that are perfect for a teenager's lair or children's bedroom.

The FSC-certified solid pine frame is fairly roughly finished – there were a few sections that looked like they could splinter on the model I saw in the flesh and this experience seems to be reflected in the Mito's customer reviews – and, at this price point, the sleeping is a firm experience, but, you can add a mattress topper (although that will increase the price). Guests also won't be that far off the floor once the futon bed is extended, which may not be ideal for less mobile visitors.

However, whilst guests might struggle to spend a whole week on this temporary bed (which may or may not be a good thing!) if you only need a guest bed for the occasional overnighter and want a cheap and cheerful option that's a little more permanent than a roll-up or inflatable mattress, this budget option could strike just the right balance.

How I tested

As Ideal Home's Decor Editor and now our Sleep Editor, I've spent the past four years visiting furniture and mattress showrooms across the UK and attending trade shows and product launches to test out new furniture ranges before they hit the shops.

In that time I've tested out sofa and sofa bed ranges from over 18 retailers, and sat on, laid on, and tested every chair bed I've come across in that time for comfort and ease of use.

Amy Lockwood

I'm Amy, Ideal Home's Sleep Editor and previously Decor Editor for Ideal Home, Livingetc, and Homes & Gardens. I've visited Bensons for Beds, Darlings of Chelsea, DFS, Dreams, Dunelm, Furniture Village, Habitat, Heal's, IKEA, John Lewis, King Living, MADE, Next, Loaf, Sofa.com, Sofology, Sofas & Stuff, West Elm, and myself or one of the Ideal Home team has also tested the sofa bed ranges of online-only retailers DUSK, Cocoon, Snug and Swyft to find the best chair beds for this guide.

I tested each chair bed's comfort levels in seat form, tested how easy each chair bed was to convert into a bed, and how comfortable the chair bed was for sleeping on. I also assessed the range and quality of each chair bed's upholstery options, any additional features such as a flat-pack design, coordinating furniture, or quick delivery options, and considered its value for money.

I've also thoroughly researched any and all online reviews for each chair bed to ensure that my own or the wider Ideal Home team's experiences with the piece of furniture is in line with that of other customers. I've only included products in this guide that have overall positive customer reviews.

Where to buy a chair bed

As I mentioned, a chair bed can often be quite a tricky piece of furniture to buy, as not only do many of the best sofa stockists not sell sofa beds, but a lot of those who do sell sofa beds often don't sell smaller chair beds too! As such I've rounded up my top suggestions for where to shop a chair bed below.

• Argos: affordable Habitat click-clack chair beds
• Cocoon: single chair beds and compact two-seaters
• Darlings of Chelsea: luxury pull-out chair beds with price tags to match
• Dunelm: basic but budget-friendly click-clack chair beds
• DUSK: relatively affordable click-clack chair beds
• Furniture Village: mid-range pull-out chair beds
• IKEA: comfortable, functional, and affordable
• John Lewis: own-brand, Swyft, and Innovation Living chair beds
• Loaf: pull-out loveseats with great upholstery options
• Sofa.com: pull-out loveseat sofa beds in 100+ fabrics

How to choose a chair bed

One of the most important factors you'll want to decide on before you start shopping for a chair bed or sofa bed, is whether you would prefer to opt for a click-clack or pull-out design. There are pros and cons to each style so I've called out the key points worth considering below.

Click-clack chair beds

A click-clack chair bed is a design where the chair's backrest and seat fold flat to become the sleeping surface. If made of solid foam then quite often these designs can be the firmest for sitting and sleeping, the ‘bed’ also tends to be quite low to the ground once the chair bed is unfolded, and your guests will be sleeping directly on the upholstery surface.

A lot of these problems can be solved with the simple addition of a mattress topper, however, that will add to the overall price. (That said, the combined cost of a topper and click-clack chair bed is often still a lot less than opting for a pull-out chair bed).

Click-clack chair beds are more often contemporary in appearance, and quite often the upholstery options will be a little more limited. However, they’re generally the most affordable option, have the shortest lead times, and are the most compact if floor space is the biggest consideration.

Pull-out chair beds

A pull-out chair bed usually looks the most like a classic armchair. In this design, the chair seat cushion is removed and a folding bed frame with a dedicated mattress is pulled out from the chair seat cavity when you want to use it as a bed.

On a pull-out chair bed, the backrest and armrests remain in place once the mattress is extended, which means this option takes up more floor space than a click-clack chair bed. However, on a pull-out chair bed the sleeping surface tends to be higher from the ground and more like a standard bed, so some guests will find them more comfortable.

A pull-out chair bed will usually offer a lot more upholstery options than a click-clack chair bed, and there is more likely to be matching furniture available if you prefer to incorporate a chair bed into a living room suite. However, those additional upholstery options tend to mean there are longer lead times (often between 4-12 weeks) for a pull-out chair bed to be made and delivered.

There can also be a lot of variation in comfort between pull-out chair beds. When it's used as an armchair, you will be sitting ‘on’ the folded bed frame, so look for thick seat cushions to add comfort.

There can also be significant variation in mattress thicknesses and construction between pull-out chair beds. Generally speaking, you want the thickest pull-out mattress you can afford to make the sleeping area the most comfortable – a mattress depth of 10-14cm is a good gauge. Some pull-out chair beds will also offer the choice of a foam, sprung, or memory foam mattress. Which you option find the most comfortable tends to come down to personal preference.

FAQs

Got a burning question about chair beds? I've answered some of the most common queries below.

What's the difference between a chair bed and a sofa bed?

The only difference between a chair bed vs a sofa bed is the width, with a chair bed being the much smaller of the two.

On average, chair beds range from 90cm wide to around 130cm wide. Whereas sofa beds tend to start from a width of 150cm and can go up to widths of 200cm+. Loveseat chair beds fall in the middle of the two, tending to measure between 130-150cm wide.

Because of their narrower frames, a chair bed can only sleep one guest at a time, whereas a sofa bed can usually sleep two guests at once.

Are chair beds expensive?

A good chair bed does tend to be expensive, although there are more affordable options out there. For instance, the Habitat Roma chair bed currently retails for under £300, whereas the most expensive chair beds in our round-up cost over £1000.

If you're not sure that you can justify the expense of a chair bed, or you're short on space for even the most compact design, then our guide to the best air beds offers some viable alternatives.

Are sleeper chairs worth it?

If you don't have a dedicated guest bedroom in your home, or you want to transform a guest bedroom into a home office or playroom to get more multifunctional value from the space, then a chair bed can be a worthwhile purchase as it allows you to still host overnight guests.

The caveat is that you'll only be able to host a single guest at a time, as even a loveseat chair bed is likely to be an uncomfortable squeeze for two.

And yes, you could opt for a far cheaper air bed instead, but if you prefer to offer your guests a little more comfort, a chair bed is a worthwhile buy.

How can I make my chair bed more comfortable?

If you want to make your chair bed more comfortable to sleep on then you need a mattress topper. What is a mattress topper? It's a cushioned layer that you can add to the top of a sleep surface to mask any firmness underneath.

The main difficulty you might come across in sourcing a mattress topper for a chair bed is finding one to fit. Most toppers are designed to be used on standard mattresses and the sleeping area of a chair bed is usually smaller than a standard single mattress.

The best options I've found are the memory foam Panda Mattress Topper or the wool-filled Woolroom Deluxe Wool Mattress Topper. Both come in a wide range of UK and EU size options which mean there's more chance of finding the right size for your chair bed. The Panda topper offers great cushioning whilst the Woolroom topper is one of the best cooling mattress toppers we've tested thanks to its breathable construction made from natural materials.