Small homes are becoming more popular as people downsize and as property prices in many parts of the country increase. Whether you have a tiny cottage, house, or apartment, if you live in a small space, you may be looking for ways to live comfortably with fewer pieces of furniture. One way to save space is to combine seating and sleeping areas. If you are considering replacing a traditional bed with a sofa bed or comfort sleeper, there are a few questions you will want to ask yourself:
1) How much privacy does your home offer?
If you have a studio apartment or an open-concept space, it can be awkward to have people visit only to have your bed clearly visible from where you entertain. Privacy screens are one solution – provided you have the room for them. Another option is to have a sleeping area and a seating area in one. Comfort sleepers and other forms of fold-away beds are now just as comfortable as traditional beds, and give you lots of choices in terms of mattress types and sizes. A comfort sleeper lets you entertain and have an area for sleeping that does not get in the way of entertaining.
2) How much space do you really have?
Both beds and sofas are important for your home, but both take up a lot of room. If you have very little space, combining a sleeping area and sitting area by getting a comfort sleeper, sofa bed, Murphy bed, or an alternative can save you a lot of room. You can find a range of sleeper sofas at Sleepers in Seattle. Getting a sleeper sofa can mean more room for clothes, bookshelves, and other things you want in your home.
3) What are your needs in terms of seating and sleeping?
Do you need a huge sectional sofa because you have big groups of friends over? Do you need a special mattress because you have back problems? Do you need a larger queen or king size bed because you are tall – but have little room in your home for both a sofa and a larger bed? Carefully consider whether combining your sleeping and seating areas will give you what you need. If you decide that sleeper sofas are what you need, About.com has a handy buying guide to get you started.
4) How much time do you have to set up your sleeping areas and sitting areas each day?
If you have a sofa bed, you will need to spend a few extra minutes each day dismantling and setting up your sleep area. In this situation, you may want to opt for a comfort sleeper because you can simply keep your blankets and linens in the sofa when you fold it back up – there are no springs that will harm your sheets. Still, you will need time to set up and fold your comfort sleeper up.
5) How important are separate sleeping and seating areas for you?
For some people, having a separate bedroom area and a separate living room area are really important – even if it means having less space for other items. If separate areas are really important to you, it’s important to figure that out before you ditch your bed for good.
Are you ready to give up your bed and replace it with a comfort sleeper or another option that saves you tons of space? Give yourself some time to consider the idea – it may be one solution for a tiny home.