Less space, more living
With more than half the world now living in cities, small spaces have become the norm – and every piece of furniture needs to earn its keep. Enter the sofa bed – once reserved for guests, now a day-to-night essential. Our product developers Juan Cardenal Basté and Jens Bengtsson share how their teams reimagined it to be more versatile, comfortable, and convenient than ever.
So, what makes a great sofa bed when space is tight and expectations are high? We’ve made it our mission at IKEA to turn the humble sofa bed into a multitasking marvel – one that sits well, sleeps comfortably, and fits into your everyday city life without making a fuss. Think smooth mechanisms, clever storage, cosy cushions and designs that work just as hard as you do – all of course, without breaking the bank.
One sofa, all the moves
In a small home, a sofa bed isn’t just for sitting – it’s for everything. “Our research shows how people are looking for ways to make every square metre work harder,” says product developer Juan Cardenal Basté.
The more jobs a sofa bed can handle, the more space you save (and the tidier things feel). A well-designed one gives you a place to lounge, snack, socialise, put your feet up, sleep – and even stash away your spare duvet and other kit in hidden storage. All of which makes it easier to relax, switch off, and sleep easy at night.
When a sofa takes up the bulk of the room, it needs to be much more versatile – the more it can do, the more efficient it is … for example, during the day, you don’t want to be stuck with a bed taking up space, you also need to use that space to eat, watch TV or hang out with friends.
From sit to sleep in seconds
Life in a small space moves fast. One minute you’re curled up on the sofa watching ‘just one more’ episode, the next you’re ready to crash. Then it’s morning again: emails, coffee, and figuring out where you left your keys. Our design team have spent time thinking about those in-between moments – and how a sofa bed needs to keep up. The result? Sofa beds that shift easily with you: no heavy lifting, no instruction manual. Just one pair of hands, and your room goes from night to day in seconds.
We designed the TORNSBORG sofa bed with a unique mechanism that makes it quick and easy to switch from sofa to bed. It’s ideal for anyone who sleeps on it every night and wants to turn it back into a sofa each morning without any fuss.
Looks like a sofa, moonlights as a bed
If your sofa bed’s going to live in the middle of everything, it needs to do more than be useful, it should look good too. In our design lab, we’ve done our fair share of head-scratching to leave the bulky ones behind and come up with designs that are slimmer, smarter, and built to fit in. The kind that looks like a sofa, sleeps like a bed, and feels right at home.
Since the sofa-bed is now part of a carefully curated living space, people are less inclined to compromise on aesthetics – even though they would like to use it for sleep, they don’t want to add something that looks like a camping bed, it should look like a sofa.
Get into your comfort zone
Sure, making a small space look good and work harder is great – but being able to kick back, relax and dive into a series after a long day? Now, that's a game changer! That’s where comfort comes in. Look out for a deep seat you can sink into, cosy armrests, and plump cushions that are just as comfy on the floor when the action pulls you closer to the screen. And when it’s time to sleep, a design that’s just as comfortable as a bed makes all the difference.
