Drapehaus
Drapehaus
Preparing the room
Drapehaus
Preparing the room
Sofas
A sofa that becomes a bed — the answer for a study that doubles as a guest room, a small apartment, or a homestay that needs an extra sleeping place.
Durability scale (Martindale rubs, BS 2543)
15k
20k
25k
30k
40k
Who uses it
Where it lives
How it is used
Durability to ask for
30,000+ rubs
Severe domestic / general contract
Removable covers
Yes
zipped, washable, and a spare set
Fibres that suit
Avoid: Anything you cannot clean in place, on a piece used every day. Rub count is one number among several — weave, colour-fastness and how a fabric handles humidity matter as much. We bring samples to see in your room.
In short
By the Drapehaus studio · How we write
Is it right for you?
A sofa cum bed has to be two good pieces of furniture at once, and most fail at one of them. Either the sofa is uncomfortable because the mattress is folded inside it, or the bed is poor because the mattress was chosen for folding rather than sleeping. Getting both right depends on the mechanism, and the mechanism should be chosen before anything else.
It suits a study that becomes a guest room a few times a year, a small apartment where the living room doubles as a bedroom, and a homestay or rental that needs an extra sleeping place without giving a whole room to a second bed.
If a guest room is used most nights, a proper bed with a sofa or daybed elsewhere is kinder to guests. And if the room is very small, check that it has space for the bed when open, not only for the sofa when closed.
The details
We make sofa cum beds with mechanisms that are easy to open and close every day, and with a mattress that is comfortable to sleep on rather than an afterthought.
Covers can be made removable for washing — useful in a homestay or rental where the bed is used by different guests.
Your options
The mechanism decides how the sofa sits, how the bed sleeps, and how easily it opens every day. These are the main types we make.
Swipe for all 4 →
The honest view
Two rooms from one
A study, home office or television room becomes a guest bedroom when needed, without a bed standing unused the rest of the year.
Extra capacity for rentals
In a homestay or rental villa, a sofa bed adds a sleeping place for a child or an extra guest while keeping the room a living space by day.
Made for your room
Built to size, the bed can be set to open in the space you actually have, with the mechanism chosen around the floor and the door.
Washable between guests
Removable covers and a separate mattress protector let housekeeping refresh the sofa bed fully between stays.
Heavier than a sofa
The mechanism and mattress add considerable weight, which makes the sofa harder to move and to carry up narrow old staircases.
Compromise in the seat
Some mechanisms make the sofa slightly deeper or firmer than a plain sofa. The pull-out and daybed types compromise the seat least.
Needs floor space to open
The open bed extends well beyond the sofa. A room that holds the sofa comfortably may not have space for the bed plus a path around it.
Metal parts near the sea
Mechanisms contain steel. Close to the coast they need good coatings and occasional checking, or they stiffen and corrode.
Side by side
The alternatives to a sofa bed are a daybed or a separate guest bed. The right choice depends on how often someone sleeps there and what the room does the rest of the time.
| Sofa cum bed | Daybed | Guest bed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleeping comfort | Good if well specified | Good, single only | Best |
| Seating comfort | Good | Deep bench | None |
| Sleeps | One or two | One | One or two |
| Room in daytime | Living space | Living space | Bedroom |
| Daily opening | Depends on mechanism | None needed | None needed |
| Weight and access | Heaviest | Moderate | Carried in parts |
Swipe to compare →
If guests stay most weeks, give them a bed. If they stay a few times a year, a well-made sofa bed is the better use of the room.
Rather see it in your own room?
We bring samples to the house, measure every window, and specify for the light and exposure you actually have.
Room by room
The classic use: a working room most of the year that becomes a guest room when family visits. A pull-out or daybed keeps the seat comfortable for daytime use.
Adds a sleeping place in a suite or family room. Choose removable covers, a durable fabric and a mechanism housekeeping can open easily.
In a small apartment the main sofa can double as a bed. Choose a seat that is comfortable first, since it will be sat on every day.
A trundle or daybed gives a place for a friend to stay over. Keep the mechanism simple and the covers washable.
Rarely needed. A small sofa or daybed at the foot of the bed usually serves better than a mechanism that will never be opened.
A daybed on a covered verandah is traditional, but its mattress must come indoors for the monsoon. A mechanism sofa bed is not suited to open verandahs.
In depth — tap a heading to read
The mattress is where most sofa beds go wrong. A mattress that has to fold into the sofa is limited in thickness and in construction, and a thin, soft one lets the sleeper feel the frame beneath. We choose the mechanism partly so the mattress can be specified for sleeping.
Pull-out and daybed types can take a proper foam or pocket-sprung mattress, because it never folds. Fold-out mechanisms need a mattress made to fold, and here a firmer, higher-density foam gives the best result. With fold-down backs, the seat and back cushions are the bed, so their foam must be firm, even and level across the joins.
In a humid climate, a mattress that stays inside a closed sofa for months needs air. Breathable ticking and a removable, washable protector help, as does opening the bed occasionally through the monsoon to let it air.
Choose the mechanism around the mattress you want, not the other way round.
Measure the room with the bed open, not just the sofa closed. A pull-out or fold-out bed extends a long way in front of the sofa, and there needs to be space to walk around it, reach a bedside table or lamp, and open the door.
We plan the open footprint on the floor plan at the survey, and check that a coffee table can be moved easily out of the way. In a study, the desk chair and any cupboard doors need clearance too. A fold-down back needs less floor space but still extends the sofa forward.
Every sofa bed mechanism has metal parts: runners, hinges, springs and folding frames. Near the sea, salt air and monsoon humidity attack untreated steel, and a mechanism that opens easily in its first year can stiffen and squeak by its third. We specify coated mechanisms and keep metal parts inside the upholstery where air circulation is limited.
A mechanism used regularly stays freer than one left closed for months. If the sofa bed is in a second home, opening it fully once or twice through the monsoon keeps the parts moving and lets the mattress air.
In a rental, the sofa bed is opened and closed by many different people, and made up by housekeeping between stays. The mechanism should be simple enough to operate without instructions and sturdy enough to survive being forced. Pull-out and daybed types suit this best.
Fabric should be treated as contract use, at 30,000 to 40,000 Martindale rubs, with removable covers so the sofa can be washed as a routine. A washable mattress protector and a spare set of covers keep the room in service between cleans. Storage for bedding, in drawers below or a nearby cupboard, saves housekeeping carrying linen through the house.
A sofa bed is considerably heavier than a plain sofa of the same size, because of the mechanism and the mattress. On an old timber staircase or a narrow turn, that weight matters as much as the dimensions. We measure the route and plan how the sofa bed will be carried, and where needed the mechanism is fitted in the room rather than carried inside the frame.
In apartments, the lift car size and the building's rules on moving heavy furniture are checked at the first visit.
Living with it
Unfold the bed every few weeks even if no one is staying. It keeps the mechanism free and lets the mattress air.
A washable, breathable protector keeps the mattress clean and is far easier to wash than the mattress itself.
Before closing, check for bedding, toys or remotes caught in the frame. Forcing a mechanism closed on an obstruction bends it.
A mattress closed inside a sofa for weeks picks up humidity. Open it and run a fan or dehumidifier during the wettest months.
In rentals, remove and wash covers as part of the room turnaround, and keep a spare set in rotation.
Avoid these
A sofa that fits the room closed may leave no path round the open bed. Measure the open footprint and the walkway around it.
A thin folding mattress makes a poor bed. Choose a mechanism that allows a proper sleeping mattress.
Guests will force a mechanism they do not understand. In rentals choose the simplest type that suits the room.
A closed sofa bed in a closed house traps damp. Open and air it regularly during the wet months.
Checklist
More in sofas
Seating made to size, which matters in Goan houses where rooms are rarely the proportions furniture is manufactured for.
Our work
Our process
One team from the first visit to the last bracket, so nothing is lost between the person who specified it and the person who fits it.
FAQ
A good one is. We specify the mattress for sleeping, not just for folding, and choose a mechanism that opens flat.
Yes — they add a sleeping place without a second bed, and removable covers make them easy to keep fresh between guests.
Pull-out and daybed types, because the mattress never folds and can be a proper sleeping mattress. Fold-out sofa beds with a folding mattress are comfortable if the mattress is firm and dense enough. Fold-down backs depend entirely on the quality and evenness of the seat and back foam.
Yes, if the mechanism is chosen for it. Fold-down backs and pull-out beds are designed for daily opening. Fold-out mechanisms with folding mattresses are better suited to occasional use, since daily folding wears both mattress and frame faster.
Mustiness is trapped humidity. Open the bed regularly to air the mattress, use a breathable, washable protector, and run a fan or dehumidifier during the monsoon, when indoor humidity sits well above the level at which mould becomes likely. Avoid covering the closed sofa with plastic.
A daybed suits a study where one person stays occasionally and you want no mechanism at all. A sofa bed suits a study that needs to sleep two, or where the seat should feel like a normal sofa during the day.
Some do. Daybeds and some pull-out designs can include drawers beneath for pillows and bedding. Fold-out mechanisms use the space inside the sofa for the folded bed, so storage has to be found elsewhere in the room.
Next step
We visit, measure the room with the bed open as well as closed, and check the route in with the extra weight in mind. We talk through how often it will be slept on and by whom, bring mechanism options and mattress samples, and show fabrics in the room's own light. Then we build, upholster and deliver it, and show you or your housekeeping how it opens. Book a home visit to plan yours.
