How to Use a Twin Bed as a Sofa

There are many reasons why a person would want to use a twin bed as a sofa. Living in a studio apartment or a dorm room could mean your bed has to double as a sofa. You may want to keep a bit of sleeping space in your home office. You may just need a sofa and have a spare twin bed. Whatever your reason is, you can follow these steps on how to use a twin bed as a sofa.

Things You'll Need

• Twin bed
• plywood
• bedding
• pillows

Instructions

1. Remove any posts from the bed. To convert the bed into a sofa, it helps to make the foot and head of the bed less dominant. This may mean removing posts from the headboard, in an attempt to make the head and foot the same height. It may also mean removing posts from a four-poster bed. If you can remove the headboard and footboard completely that would give you a simple bed to start with.

2. Adjust the height of the bed. The bed should be a height where you can sit down comfortably and not have to climb on. Most beds are a bit too high, and so trading out the box spring for a thin low-profile box spring or plywood base (as in a platform bed) will make your bed a comfortable height for sitting. If your bed is too low for sitting, you can adjust the height using risers.

3. Place the bed against the wall. The most important part of making a bed into a sofa is placement. Putting it against a wall, or in a corner immediately gives it the structure of having a back and at least one side.

4. Design a backboard (optional). To really give your sofa substance, it helps to build a headboard-like sideboard for the back of the bed. Simply get a piece of plywood that is the length of the bed, and if you wish, you can cut a simple curve into the back. Cover this plywood with batting and fabric and place it in between the back wall and the bed.

5. Add bedding. Bedding for a sofa/bed should be highly structured and rigid so that it does not have to be smoothed every time someone sits on it. A fitted daybed cover will give you sofa/bed the look of a streamlines structured sofa and will come with coordinating bolster pillows for the back and side of the bed. http://bed-and-bath.bedbathstore.com/homeware/Fitted%20Daybed%20Cover If you have good sewing skills you can sew your won daybed covers from a pattern. Of course this bedding isn’t necessarily comfortable for sleeping, but you can keep a down blanket and flat sheets under the bed in a rolling drawer for sleeping.

6. Add lots of pillows. To eliminate some of the depth of a sofa that has been made from a bed, you only need to add lots of pillows to create a comfortable back for people to lean on. Start with large firm pillows for function, and then add smaller more comfortable pillows to add a decorator’s touch.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish