Chair Beds and 1 Seater Sofa Beds: A Guide for Small Rooms

Not every home has room for a full sofa bed, let alone a spare bedroom. If you live in a studio flat, have a box room that doubles as an office, or just want somewhere for the odd overnight guest to sleep, a chair bed or 1 seater sofa bed can be the answer. It works as a comfortable seat during the day and folds out into a single bed when you need it. This guide explains what a chair bed is, who it suits and what to check before you buy, using the chair beds and armchairs we sell at Sofa Bargain as examples.

What is a chair bed?

A chair bed, sometimes called a convertible chair or a 1 seater sofa bed, is a single seat with a sleeping function built in. Most look like a wide armchair or a small loveseat. When you unfold the mechanism, the seat extends forward to make a single sleeping area. Some designs also hide a storage compartment under the seat, which is handy for keeping the bedding together and out of sight.

The appeal is simple. You get a proper seat for everyday use and a bed for guests, without giving up the floor space a double sofa bed needs.

Who is a chair bed for?

Studio flats and small flats: where every piece of furniture has to earn its place.
Box rooms and home offices: a chair bed gives you a reading seat by day and a guest bed when family stay over.
Children's and teenagers' rooms: a spare bed for sleepovers that takes up little more room than an armchair.
Living rooms that are already full: if you have a sofa you love but need an extra bed, a chair bed can sit alongside it.

Chair beds in our range

Here are the chair beds and single seat options you can browse on Sofa Bargain right now. The details come from each product page, so always check the page itself for the latest sizes, colours and delivery information.

Cheshire Convertible 1 Seater Sofa with Storage

The Cheshire Convertible 1 Seater Sofa with Storage, pictured at the top of this article, is our most compact chair bed. It is designed for smaller spaces such as youth rooms, studio apartments and small guest rooms. It measures about 102 x 109 x 84 cm and unfolds into a bed of about 79 x 190 cm. Under the seat there is a storage compartment of about 72 x 64 x 13 cm for keeping bedding or other bits tidy, and the seat is filled with T25 foam. You can see the full range of colours and fabrics in the Cheshire 1 Seater Convertible Collection.

Cheshire Convertible Sofa with Storage

If you have a little more room, the Cheshire Convertible Sofa with Storage is the larger version of the same idea. It measures about 155 x 105 x 75 cm, so it sits somewhere between a chair bed and a small sofa. It unfolds into a sleeping area about 196 cm long, has a bedding container, and is filled with a Bonell spring and T25 foam. The back is upholstered, so it can stand in the middle of a room rather than against a wall, and it comes with two decorative pillows in the same colour. Browse the Cheshire Convertible Sofa Collection for colour options.

Brighton Sofa bed + Armchair & Pouf Set

Sometimes the answer is not one piece but a small set. The Brighton Sofa bed + Armchair & Pouf Set combines a sofa bed of about 245 x 97 cm that opens to a sleeping area of about 195 x 125 cm, an armchair of about 108 x 89 x 85 cm and a pouf of about 102 x 64 x 40 cm. The pouf can be used as an extra seat, a footrest or a table. It suits a living room that needs to seat several people and sleep a guest or two. See the Brighton Sofa bed + Armchair & Pouf Collection for the fabric choices.

Leicester Armchair

If you only need an extra seat and not a bed, the Leicester Armchair is worth a look. It is not a chair bed, but it has an adjustable headrest and backrest, so you can lean back for a film or a long read. It measures about 125 x 97 cm with a height of about 105 cm including the pillows, and it matches other pieces in the Leicester range. Browse the Leicester Armchair Collection for colours.

What to check before you buy

Measure it open, not just closed

The most common mistake with any sofa bed is measuring only the closed size. A chair bed that fits neatly in the corner can need almost two metres of floor in front of it once it is opened. For the Cheshire 1 seater, that means allowing for a bed of about 190 cm long. Mark the open size on the floor with masking tape and check you can still open doors and walk around it. Our guide on how to measure a room for a corner sofa uses the same method.

Think about who will sleep on it

A chair bed gives you a single sleeping area, so it is best for one person. If you regularly have couples staying, a sofa bed with a wider sleeping area, like the Brighton, will be more comfortable. Our article on whether couples can use sofa beds covers this in more detail.

Look at the filling

The filling decides how the chair feels as a seat and as a bed. The Cheshire 1 seater uses T25 foam, while the larger Cheshire adds a Bonell spring. If you are unsure which you prefer, our guide to sofa fillings explains the differences.

Use the storage

Both Cheshire models have a bedding container. Keeping a pillow, a duvet and a set of sheets inside means the bed is ready in minutes when a guest arrives. Our guide on how to use sofa storage has more ideas.

Check access on delivery day

Chair beds are much easier to get through a narrow hallway or up the stairs than a full sofa bed, but it is still worth measuring doorways and tight turns before you order. Our guide on how to measure access before delivery walks you through it.

Choose the fabric carefully

A chair bed in a small room tends to get a lot of use, so choose a fabric you are happy to live with. Colours can look slightly different on different screens, so contact us if you need an exact shade. Our guide to durable sofa fabrics can help you decide.

Ordering and delivery

At the time of writing, the chair beds and armchairs in this guide show as pre-order on their product pages, and the delivery time varies by collection. Delivery times can change, so always check the delivery information on the product page before you order, especially if you need the furniture ready for a particular visit. Cushions and pillows shown in the photos may not always be included, so check each product page for what comes with it.

The bottom line

A chair bed is one of the easiest ways to add a guest bed to a small home without losing a room to it. Choose the Cheshire 1 seater if space is tight, the larger Cheshire if you want something closer to a small sofa, or the Brighton set if you need seating for the whole family as well as a bed. Browse our Sofa Beds & Loveseats to compare sizes, colours and fabrics.