Writes the guides on Furniture Deals: sizes checked against the listings, prices and ratings read from Amazon India.
A wooden sofa cum bed is the one piece that makes a one-room flat or a guest room work: a sofa by day, a bed by night, with a solid sheesham or engineered-wood frame instead of a metal one. The thing to settle first is the size it opens to, because that decides whether it is a bed for one or for two.
Sofa cum bed sizes
As a sofa
As a bed
Sleeps
Floor when open
2-seater, about 48 in wide
Single, 36 × 72 in or 48 × 72 in
1
4 × 6 ft
3-seater, about 72 in wide
Double, 72 × 48 in or 72 × 60 in
2
6 × 5 ft
3-seater with pull-out
Queen-ish, 72 × 72 in
2
6 × 6 ft
The bed is as long as the sofa is wide. A 3-seater opens into a 72-inch-long bed, which is the length of a standard double, so two adults can sleep on it; a 2-seater opens to a bed for one. Check the “bed size” line in the listing, not the “sofa size”.
The three ways a wooden sofa cum bed opens
Fold-down back. The backrest drops flat to join the seat. Simplest, fewest parts to break, and the sofa cushions become the mattress, so the bed is as firm as the sofa.
Pull-out seat. The seat slides forward and the back folds in behind it. Opens to a wider bed, needs 2 to 3 feet of clear floor in front.
Trundle. A second frame slides out from under the seat; two single beds side by side. Best for a child’s room with sleepovers.
What to check in the listing
Frame material: solid sheesham frames weigh 40 kg and more; engineered-wood frames half that. The weight line tells you which.
Mattress: most come with 3 to 4-inch foam cushions. For nightly use, buy a 6-inch mattress in the open size.
Storage: some have a box under the seat for the bedding, which is the whole point in a small room.
Open size and closed size, both stated. A 3-seater that opens forward needs 6 × 5 feet of floor at night.
Wooden sofa cum beds on Amazon India, highest scores